Latest News in Black Art features updates and developments in the world of art and related culture
Stella Jean designed the Haiti Olympic Team’s opening ceremony outfits. | Courtesy Stella Jean
DESIGN
Designer Stella Jean x 2024 Haiti Olympic Team
Haitian Italian designer Stella Jean, whose eponymous label is based in Rome, Italy, created opening ceremony uniforms for Haiti’s Olympic team. The outfits feature artwork by Haitian painter Philippe Dodard, titled “Passage” which appears on a full skirt for the women’s uniform and pants for the men. Worn during the boat parade down the Seine River that opened the Paris games on July 26, the uniforms were widely praised in international media for their style and design. Seven athletes are competing for Haiti, which remains in turmoil. The squad includes Haitian-American Lynnzee Brow, the first gymnast to represent Haiti at the Olympics, and swimmer Mayah Chouloute, who is only 14 and the youngest on the team. According to WWD, the Olympic uniforms by Stella Jean will be exhibited at the Haitian National Pantheon Museum in Port-au-Prince. (7/28) | More
AWARDS & HONORS
Tate Announced Artist for First Infinities Commission
Tate Modern is recognizing four Black artists. The London museum selected French artist Christelle Oyiri for its inaugural Infinities Commission. The new annual commission was announced in September 2023 and is designed to showcase the “limitless experimentation of contemporary art” and provide an opportunity for “an innovative and boundary-breaking international artist to create a visionary new work.” A Paris-based artist, DJ, and producer, Oyiri was selected by a five-member jury. She works across music, film, performance, and installation, “often exploring under-the-surface stories about contemporary culture, media and identity… including lost mythologies, youth subcultures, and diasporic histories.” In a statement, Catherine Wood, director of programs at Tate Modern, said: “We are thrilled with the selection of Christelle Oyiri for our very first Infinities Commission. She disrupts the boundaries between creative disciplines and tunes our attention to the world around us with fresh vision.” The jury, which included Senegalese French critic and curator Oulimata Gueye and Legacy Russell, executive director and chief curator of The Kitchen in New York, also chose three artists to receive £10,000 (about US $12,700) to help advance their work through research and development. The recipients are U.S. artists Rashida Bumbray and Xenobia Bailey, and Jean Katambayi Mukendi from the Democratic Republic of Congo. (7/22) | More
Kennedy Center Honoring The Apollo
For half a century, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., has celebrated exceptional artists by recognizing their lifetime achievement. This year, the 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will pay tribute to an iconic Harlem institution: The Apollo. “We are thrilled to be the first organization honored in the history of the Kennedy Center Awards, emphasizing The Apollo’s impact on the past, present, and future of American culture and the performing arts,” The Apollo President and CEO Michelle Ebanks said in a statement. The slate of honorees also includes: director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; American rock band the Grateful Dead (Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bobby Weir); blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval. The annual Kennedy Center Honors gala is Dec. 8 and will be broadcast on CBS on Dec. 23. (7/18) | More
IMAGE: Above right, Artist Christelle Oyiri. | Photo © Chris Lensz, Courtesy Tate Modern
From left, Sunda Uzzell and David Neal. | Courtesy High Museum of Art (2)
APPOINTMENTS
High Museum Adds Three Board Members
The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga., appointed three new board members. David Neal, Caryl Smith, and Sunda Uzzell are joining 44 others on board of directors and will serve for three years. Neal is president of Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC. Smith has co-chaired High Museum Atlanta Wine Auctions (2021, 2022) and is a parter in the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. A CPA, who has spent her career in finance and arts management, Uzzell was co-chair of the High Museum’s 2024 David C. Driskell Prize Gala. “Each of our new board members is actively engaged in the museum and our progress, so it’s fitting to leverage that leadership with an expanded commitment to our mission,” High Museum Director Rand Suffolk said in a statement. “They each bring a unique perspective on the High’s role in the community, and we look forward to their increased involvement as we collectively shape the museum’s future.” (7/30) | More
Norton Museum Elects Two Trustees
The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Fla., elected two new members to its board of trustees: Francine Walker and James “Chip” DiPaula. Walker’s diverse experience spans event and marketing consulting, interior design, and “sourcing African art and artifacts for collectors, galleries, and interior designers.” She is also vice chair and development chair of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation Board of Directors and serves in leadership roles with the Palm Beach chapter of Jack and Jill of America. (7/26) | Florida Weekly
MORE NEWS
Barnes Foundation Cuts Affect Black Staff
Over the past six months, the Barnes Foundation has eliminated 12 full-time positions, affecting several people of color. In particular, two roles the Philadelphia museum cut at the beginning of 2024, were held by Black staff members: director of finance and assistant curator for art of the African diaspora, a newly created position. (7/24) | ARTnews
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