Photo credit: La Carmina

La Carmina’s path to success seemed laid out along fairly conventional lines, except for one notable exception. Whether on an annual family trip to Hong Kong or pursuing her JDL at Yale Law School, she remained true to her sartorial self-expression, developing a playful Gothic-Lolita style that drew heavily on both traditional dress and modern couture.But when her career took an unexpected left turn, La Carmina found the perfect venue to showcase her penchant for fashion, ethnicity, and street culture beyond the mainstream.

How did you transition from a budding law career to being a travel and fashion blogger?

It all happened gradually. I started the blog while I was in school, so I developed it first as a hobby. My posts about cute food in Japan and weird theme restaurants got the attention of a literary agent, and by the time I graduated, I had two book contracts. I was able to focus on blogging and related work, and it all grew from there–to TV, travel partnerships, and more.

Why do you travel?

I’m lucky that my family exposed me to travel from an early age. We went to Asia almost every year to see family, and I had been around the US and Europe by the time I was in my teens. Even as a child, I loved seeing new places and feeling inspired by the local culture and architecture. I knew travel would always be part of my life, but I never imagined in a million years that I’d be able to make it my job, and see all these far-off dream destinations.

Photo credit: La Carmina

With her purple hair, cat-eye makeup and penchant for black, La Carmina creates a sartorial base that is both distinctive and oddly universal. In the way that a cartoon can sometimes be a truer rendition than a photograph, her Gothic context makes the details and structure of traditional dress uniquely accessible, be it a Balinese robe or a German dirndl.

Do you ever go out without your signature look? 

All the time. On planes, I’ll wear comfortable clothes, no makeup, and glasses. I’m never without my colorful hair, and my t-shirt may have a bat print on it, but I don’t feel I need to dress to the nines at all times.

Does traveling with such a standout look ever get in your way when exploring a place, or does it help?

 I actually enjoy dressing up in styles that are inspired by the local culture, but still fit my aesthetic. For example, in Bali, I wore an Indian-style outfit–but with my signature purple hair, and hippie glasses! Likewise, I wore rainbow colors in Cape Town (known for its bright Bo Kaap district) and Japanese street style in Tokyo. I feel fashion is a huge part of my personal expression, and a way for readers to make a strong visual connection to the places I’m writing about. Everywhere I’ve traveled, I’ve always gotten positive feedback on my style–and it’s a fantastic way to get conversations started with locals.

Rainbow Village in Taichung, Taiwan
Photo credit: La Carmina

Along with many amazing opportunities with worldwide media outlets (such as National Geographic CNN and the Travel Channel), La Carmina’s inimitable travel style has brought her access to international subcultures that are virtually unnoticed (if not ignored) by outside visitors. While any traveler can benefit from her reports on where to stay, local festivals, and cultural notes, La Carmina offers travel guides specifically for alternative communities whose aesthetics she represents.

Have your particular interests in lifestyle and fashion helped you see sides of destinations that you might not otherwise experience? (Helped you meet certain people, gain certain experiences, etc.)

Marrakech, Morocco
Photo credit: La Carmina

Over the past eight years, La Carmina has covered nearly every major destination of note, from standbys like Paris and Bali to newer trendy destinations like Vietnam and Iceland. She makes herself at home in every place she visits, showing how looking different need be no barrier to accessing the cultural riches all over the globe.

Where is a place in the world where you feel perfectly at home?

I always feel at home in Hong Kong, since my parents are from here and I’ve been coming here annually since I was a year old. Picture walking down the street and looking up and neon signs in Chinese characters, next to cute character posters. You’ll smell Chinese food coming from market stands and local eateries, and hear people talking in Cantonese (peppered with the signature Ai-yahh! expression). The humidity will stand out on your skin, followed by brisk air conditioning as you enter one of the many giant malls. Perhaps you’ll stop for a cup of jasmine tea and egg tarts. Hong Kong is truly a feast for the five senses.

What does your way of traveling bring to the world that no one else’s does?

Hopefully, I can bring awareness to alternative and sometimes misunderstood cultures around the world. Right now, my team and I are delving into the new technology of Virtual Reality, which lets you capture environments in 360 degrees. With a headset, you’ll feel like you are actually traveling with me, in the Fez market or looking over a view of Lisbon! Our most recent virtual reality travel films are found on their Radius VR site–we’re excited to grow this new medium. Check out my La Carmina blog for my latest adventures and add me on Instagram and Snapchat (@lacarmina) to see my latest travels on the go!

Photo credit: La Carmina

The post Uncovering the World’s Alternative Side appeared first on Project Bly Blog.

A Pig in the River. Photography by Jakub Sliwa for Project Bly.

1. Three Perspectives by Bartolomeo Koczenasz 

(ul. Limanowskiego and ul.  Węgierska)

Follow Starowislna in Kazimierz to the Powstancow Slaskich Bridge to Podgorze (and of course don’t forget to check out the pig in the river while crossing the foot bridge!) At the corner of Limanowskiego and Węgierska Streets is local Krakow artist, Bartolomeo Koczenasz ‘s three dimensional installation titled Three Perspectives.  Podgorze  has a tragic history and images from different periods of its history are pasted so that its chronological past is fragmented.

Three Perspectives. Photography by Jakub Sliwa for Project Bly.

Podgorze, formerly part of Austria became a part of Krakow only in 1915. It’s darkest period was during World War II when the Jewish population of Kazimierz was moved here into a Jewish Ghetto established by the Nazis. An estimated 60,000 people lived in the Ghetto, and for most it was their last stop before being deported to the death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau. After World War II, under Stalin and until the fall of the iron curtain, Podgorze was mostly a ghost town. While several communist-era apartment buildings were constructed here, few people voluntarily chose to return to the site of so much horror. Today, Cracovians are reclaiming these streets, and it is home to several artists, galleries, and the MOCAK Krakow Museum of Contemporary Art which opened its doors in 2010.

2.  Starmach Galeria

(Węgierska 5, Kraków)

Two Crakovians who have been instrumental in infusing new life into Podgorze are art historians, Teresa and Andrew Starmach who own the Starmach Gallery. The Gallery which is housed in a renovated Jewish house of prayer opened in 1997, and has hosted more than 64 exhibitions of both local and Eastern European artists. Currently exhibited are haunting black and white photographs by Czech photographer Josef Koudelka of the Soviet Union invasion of Czechoslavakia in August 1968. The Starmachs also represent and promote Polish artists such as Marek Chlanda and Jan Tarasen.

(L) Marek Chlanda (R) Jan Tarasen. Image via ArtKontakt.

3. Ding Dong Dumb by BLU

(ul. Piwna 3a)

Down the street is Krakow’s most controversial street mural titled Ding Dong Dumb by Bolognese artist Blu which shows a giant raised bell used as a microphone towering over dazed confused heads. A criticism perhaps on the authority of the Vatican?

Ding Dong Dumb. Photography by Jakub Sliwa for Project Bly

4. Auscwitzwielickza

(Kącik 2033-332 Kraków) 

AUSCHWITZWIELICZKA, by Polish artist Mirosław Bałka. Photography by Jakub Sliwa for Project Bly

Auscwitzwielickza is a concrete tunnel with the words “Auschwitz” and “Wielickza” running into each other. Struck by tourist agencies that advertise “excellent entertaining day trips” that combine the somber memory of the savage Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps with “the beautiful salt mines of Wieliczka”, conceptual artist Miroslaw Balka created the sculpture as a commentary on contemporary culture and how it deals with historical remembrance.

(Next door to this installation is also a whimsical mural by local street artist Mikolay Rejs painted on the wall of the abandoned Wawel Chocolate Factory)

Mikolaj Rejs’s Mural at the Wawel Chocolate Factory. Photography by Jakub Sliwa for Project Bly.

5. Krakow’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCAK)

(Ul. Lipowa 4, 30-702 Kraków)

MOCAK, which opened in 2010 is located steps away from Balka’s installation and houses an impressive permanent collection including  Hungarian artist Csaba Nemes, Russian abstract artist Eligiusz Bielutin (1925-2012) and Jarosław Kozłowski, one of Poland’s most famous contemporary conceptual artists.

Image via MOCAK

6. The Art Warehouse District of Zablocie 

Next door to MOCAK is Zablocie, a hip industrial neighborhood of warehouses where mechanic workshops neighbor art studios, one of which belongs to Monika Drozynaska, a conceptual artist. Born in the small, mountainous town of Gorlic, 2 hours southeast of Krakow, she moved to the city to study art and design at Krakow’s Academy of Fine Art. Fascinated by the idea of bringing fashion into the public space, one of her first installations, entitled the ‘Hand of God’, used underwear elastic to trace the path of Maradona’s famous 1986 football goal shot. More recently, as part of a display in Krakow’s Museum of Contemporary Art, she created a 135 meter-long scarf that can embrace a 100 people at once. Formed as a functional piece of art, the scarf can be bought in one meter or more pieces.

Monika in her studio in Zablocie. Photography by Jakub Sliwa for Project Bly

If you’re getting hungry, now’s the time to stop for lunch or a coffee. In the same compound of warehouses as Monika’s is Coffee Cargo (Przemysłowa 3), a coffee shop housed in a series of old shipping containers. Next door is cafe Bal (Ślusarska 9, 30-710 ), frequented by students and artists, it’s light and airy, and a great place for lunch.

The Zablocie Art District, Krakow

7. Lookarna’s Atelier

(Józefa 22, 30-962 Kraków)

Kazimierz, the historic Jewish District has seen more rejuvenation than anywhere else. International and local street artists like Pil Peled ( corner ofWąska and Św. Wawrzyńca), Pikaso ul.Św. Wawrzyńca 5, and Kuba (ul. Bozega Ciala) have reinvented drab, gray walls. The streets are lined with cafes, bars, antique shops including one of our favorite artist’s studio and gallery. Contemporary artist and illustrator, Lookarna works out of her street-side shop whose walls are decorated with her drawings and poetry. We couldn’t get enough of her whimsical prints which you can purchase here!

Lookarna’s Atelier, Krakow

8. Alchemia and Andre Siek

( 33 332, Estery 5, 33-332 Kraków)

A great place to end your art walk and stop for a beer is Alchemia, a bar frequented by musicians, poets, artists and students. Small intimate rooms are filled with art, and in their collection is a piece by reclusive local sculptor Andre Siek. Born into a family of artists, Andrej creates spontaneous, and often autobiographical, sculptures from wood and stone and is inspired by folk tales and mysticism. Living simply on the outskirts of Krakow with just a mattress, two chairs, a fireplace, surrounded by his art, Andrej describes his work as a compulsion.

Andrew Siek. Photography by Jakub Sliwa for Project Bly

Want more art? Check out our story on Krakow’s Street Art!

Project Bly’s Art Walk, Krakow, Poland

Project Bly believes that to know a city you have to wander its streets, and we bring alive the streets of cities around the world through story and photography.

Explore the streets of Krakow, Poland

www.projectbly.com

The post A Walking Tour of Krakow’s Vibrant Art District appeared first on Project Bly Blog.