LEE LITUMBE

Through Spirited Pursuit, a lifestyle blog and Instagram account she describes as “a visual daydream”, Litumbe depicts a crisply glamorous side of West African life. In

March, she launched her own brand, Eluwa, selling handcrafted homeware. Born in Cameroon but partly

raised in the USA, she moved to Dakar in 2016.

“I would travel to other places but Dakar always pulled me back: the chaos, ingenuity, the horses on the streets, the fact that women dress like the brightest flowers. The city made me feel creative and reconnected to Africa. I

like the version of myself that I am here.”

“I love Ngor Island, reached by a boat from Ngor Beach, where you’ll often see locals washing their animals in the

water. You leave what feels like a hectic place to cross clear waters to this island with no cars. At its highest point

you will see surfers below – where the film The Endless Summer was shot. There is a painter named Abdoulaye Diallo who has a beautiful red home on the island, which

he sometimes opens up as a guesthouse.”

“Gorée and the slave trade is part of our history, but it goes back further than that. Two or three hours out

of the city is a town called Djilor, where the Musée Mahicao is dedicated to pre-slavery times. It is where

I first saw a map of Africa that plotted ethnic groups without any of the borders drawn by colonial powers. With its artefacts from a personal collector, it really

resonates with me and my family.”

“I feel most alive in this city at a market. At Soumbédioune, everything is a one-off – mustard yellow,

black and indigo fabrics from Mali, baskets and fans from central Africa. My favourite is a vendor who sells all types of masks, with labels showing the origins and

context of every piece.” @spiritedpursuit

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LINDSEY TRAMUTA

Clockwise from top left: Lee Litumbe at the market; Ngor Island; colourful gate on Ngor; baskets at Soumbédioune Market