“Asaase” (2021) by David Adjaye. Photography by Dror Baldinger…
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David Adjaye’s First-Ever Permanent Public Artwork Will Come to St. Louis
The second edition of Counterpublic, a triennial civic exhibition that weaves contemporary art into the daily life of St. Louis, will see David Adjaye’s first-ever permanent public artwork come to life. Anchoring the exhibition’s northernmost outpost along the Jefferson corridor at The Griot Museum of Black History will be a “monumental earthwork” by the Ghanaian-British architect that uses materials from the infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing development, an historic Black neighborhood located blocks away that was razed in the name of urban renewal.
James McAnally, artistic director of the triennial, hopes the installation will engage with communal memory: “I believe our present moment of historical and cultural reckoning has magnified the issues of public memory and reparative approaches to the future that Counterpublic aims to address on a national scale,” he says, “and serves as the perfect environment in which to elevate the voices of the artists we’ve chosen to collaborate with.” The triennial will be on view from May 15–Aug. 15, 2023 and feature more than 30 installations by the likes of Damon Davis, Steffani Jemison, Yvonne Osei, and others. —Ryan Waddoups
The Te Pae Convention and Exhibition Centre by Woods Bagot in Christchurch. Photography by Dennis Radermacher…
In Christchurch, the earthquake-destroyed Te Pae community hub has been rebuilt.
The 2011 earthquake in Christchurch enacted widespread devastation on New Zealand’s second-most populous city, destroying vital infrastructure and thousands of homes, buildings, cars, and cultural monuments, one of which was the Christchurch Convention Centre. Under the direction of arts, culture and heritage advocate Puamiria Parata-Goodall, the new Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has opened nearly 11 years later with a fluid form inspired by the country’s famous Southern Alps. Local firm Warren & Mahoney partnered with Australian architects Woods Bagot to design the new structure, whose exterior consists of 43,000 individually crafted and numbered façade tiles. Inside lies a 1,400-seat auditorium, an exhibition hall, and events spaces. In the lobby, timber features pay tribute to the island nation’s lush forests.
From concept to creation, a set of foundation principles that represent both Māori and Pākehā (white) New Zealanders guided the process: ‘Whakapapa’ (identity and connection to place); ‘Mana Motuhake’ (independence and autonomy); ‘Manaakitanga’ (charity, hospitality, reciprocity, and respect to others); ‘Ture wairua’ (faith); and ‘Mahinga Kai’ (cultivation, gathering and use of food). —Nate Storey
The Sydney Modern Project at the Art Gallery of New South Wales envisioned by SANAA. Image courtesy Art Gallery of New South Wales…
A SANAA-designed building will soon open at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
“The long-awaited Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW)’s Sydney Modern Project, the largest cultural development to hit the Australian city since the 1973 inauguration of its namesake opera house, now has an official opening date of December 3. The massive—and at times controversial—$243 million project not only entails a refresh of the existing historic home of the AGNSW—this includes a total reinstallation of its 36,000-object collection to better reflect its breadth and diversity—but also a new museum building designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning SANAA.” —[H/T The Architect’s Newspaper]
The fashion industry paid respects to late editor André Leon Talley last week in Harlem.
“The spirit and memory of André Leon Talley, the groundbreaking creative director, fashion designer, journalist, memoirist, and media personality who died in January at the age of 73, was celebrated on Friday at a memorial at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. A who’s who of the fashion world was in attendance to pay their respects to the renowned Black editor.” —[H/T Vanity Fair]
The NFT marketplace SuperRare will open a bricks-and-mortar gallery in Manhattan.
“A few years before NFTs captured global attention, NFT marketplace SuperRare hosted pop-up art exhibits at major tech conferences like DevCon. People were mostly confused and uninterested. We’re about to see how much times have changed. SuperRare is planning to open a gallery at 417 West Broadway in SoHo, New York on May 19, the company said in a press release Thursday. The first exhibit’s theme is science-fiction and futurism, and it will feature a curated selection of 15 SuperRare NFT artists. It will run through Aug. 28.” —[H/T The Defiant]
La Borda Cooperative Housing in Barcelona. Photography by Lacol…
Barcelona’s La Borda housing co-op wins the prestigious Mies van der Rohe prize.
“A Barcelona housing co-operative that had been in existence less than a year when Spain imposed one of Europe’s toughest lockdowns has won a prestigious architecture award after its model of community living thrived during the pandemic. The wood-framed La Borda scheme of 28 apartments and several shared spaces has won the prestigious Mies van der Rohe prize for emerging architecture for a project that the awards committee described as ‘a transgressive … model based on co-ownership and co-management of shared resources and capacities.’” —[H/T The Guardian]
Thieves steal three glass Ai Weiwei sculptures from Lumas Galerie in Hamburg.
“Three glass sculptures by artist Ai Weiwei were snatched from an exhibition at a gallery in Hamburg, Germany, during a daytime heist. As of Friday, local authorities are still appealing to the public for any information that could lead to the perpetrator behind the theft at Lumas Galerie, which is located on the city’s upscale shopping street Neuer Well. … The artworks—red, yellow, and orange reproductions of the artist’s hand—were listed each for €9,500 (about $10,000) on the Lumas website. The trio references the Chinese dissident artist’s well-known photography series, Study of Perspective (1995–2017), in which his middle finger is raised to monuments and politically charged sites around the world.” —[H/T ARTnews]
Image courtesy Canairi…
Today’s attractive distractions:
This chipper bird-shaped monitor drops dead when your home’s air quality is poor.
