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The National Cathedral will replace two windows with designs by Kerry James Marshall.
Kerry James Marshall has been chosen to replace two stained-glass windows at the Washington National Cathedral. Marshall, who is known for painting unapologetically Black figures, will collaborate with author Elizabeth Alexander to replace the two windows that pay tribute to Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. “It’ll have to be work that’s able to synthesize a multiplicity of ideas and sentiments about what the country represents for all of us,” Marshall says of the project, which will be finished by 2023. “There will be some kind of imagery that presents itself as an invasion to reflect on the meaning of America now.” The cathedral chose to replace the windows in 2017 after a white supremicast shot and killed nine African Americans at African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston.
Nordstrom’s New York store debuts a home goods section stocked with local makers.
Opening on the first and second floor of Nordstrom’s New York flagship is a brand-new section dedicated exclusively to home goods. The section, curated by the company’s VP of creative projects Olivia Kim, stocks a mix of mainstream and smaller brands. Local makers—Thompson Street Studio and Wooj among them—have a large presence, as does a special section devoted to wares from the MoMA Design Store. “We opened the flagship five months before the city shut down, and after what happened in the last 18 months, we felt it was important to support our local makers and be an anchor in the community,” Kim tells the New York Times. The store also follows the 15 Percent Pledge and features Black-owned brands including Harlem Candle Co. and Estelle Glassware. Most goods are small enough to fit in a bag, and an entrance kiosk even stocks souvenirs for Midtown tourists.
NADAAA revamps a pair of residence halls at the Rhode Island School of Design.
New England dorm structures have gained notoriety for their dated amenities, but NADAAA’s recent completion of a three-phase residential project at the Rhode Island School of Design ups the college modernization ante. The Boston-based architecture firm completed RISD’s Quad Block enhancement project through systematic revamps of a pair of dormitories, Homer Hall and South Hall, and the Refractory Dining Facility at the heart of its campus. Upgrades include spacious accommodations, social gathering arenas, and sustainable hardware systems and fortify RISD’s claim to renovate other defunct complexes across its campus.
The 2021 Baloise Art Prize goes to an American sculptor and Croatian textile artist.
In partnership with Art Basel, the Baloise Group presents the annual award to artists who partake in the fair’s “Statement” section. This year, Croatian textile artist Hana Miletić and American sculptor Cameron Clayborn snagged the 22nd edition of the $32,000 reward with their submissions that study power dynamics within society. Miletić, who practices and resides in Brussels and Zagreb, deployed her signature hand-woven textiles to put forth works from her 2015 series, “Materials,” and Clayborn generated “Homegrown” and “roompiercer (with tool)” using sculpture as his medium. The works will be purchased by the Baloise Group and are slated for donation to Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof–Museum für Gegenwart and Luxembourg’s Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean.
In London, a British-Somalian entrepreneur platforms wheelchair-friendly clothing.
Faduma Farah, who was diagnosed with a meningitis infection, harnesses her unbreakable will to co-design and debut a wheelchair-friendly collection at London Fashion Week 2021. Following her recovery, the market gap for disabled clothing became apparent to Farah; she conjured a fellowship program, called Faduma’s Fellowship, to realize her vision of tailored clothing dedicated to the world’s 14 million wheelchair users. The inaugural winner of her initial design competition, Harriet Eccleston, joins Farah to generate her groundbreaking runway lineup. “I know the potential is there. We only have to look at the maternity market,” says Farah. “If we can make clothing for maternity wear, which is a temporary condition, then we can also make clothing that is fashionable for people who have disabilities and are living with more permanent conditions.”
The National Gallery of Australia commissions a $14 million Ouroboros statue.
In commemoration of its 40th anniversary, the National Gallery of Australia enlists domestic artist Lindy Lee to craft a new sculpture, slated for 2024, as part of the institution’s renewed sculpture garden in Canberra. With a $14 million price tag, Lee’s larger-than-life model visualizes an Ouroboros consuming its own tail. “During the day, its highly polished mirror surface will reflect the imagery of the floating world. The transience of passersby, cars, birds in flight, and stunning clouds,” says Lee. “At night, the Ouroboros will be lit internally, returning its light to the world. It’s a dance between something solid and just drifting off into stardust.”
Today’s attractive distractions:
Twitter is rolling out a feature that enables users to tip their favorite creators in Bitcoin.
Loewe drops a line of hand soaps infused with scents of oregano, liquorice, and weed.
A new climate crisis–themed mini-golf course opens on the Williamsburg waterfront.
Theatricum Botanicum, a secluded theater in a California canyon, is bringing the buzz.
