DESIGN DISPATCH

Mariane Ibrahim Gallery Is Expanding to Mexico City, and Other News

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Image courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery

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The closely watched dealer Mariane Ibrahim will expand her gallery to Mexico City.

“Mariane Ibrahim, a closely watched dealer whose namesake gallery has locations in Chicago and Paris, will add a third exhibition space to her portfolio. Next February, the gallery will open in Mexico City, timed to coincide with the country’s main art fair Zona Maco. “We are going to where the future is, not where the present moment is,” Ibrahim told ARTnews. The two-level space, measuring 10,000 square feet, will be located at Río Pánuco 36 Col. Renacimiento, in a 19th-century building in the city’s Cuauhtémoc neighborhood, not far from San Rafael and Roma. The inaugural exhibition will be dedicated to a solo show of Clotilde Jiménez, an Afro-Latino artist now based in Mexico City.” [H/T ARTnews]

Ahead of Thanksgiving, New York State banned Native American mascots in schools. 

“Days before the Thanksgiving holiday, which many Indigenous people in the US observe as a day of mourning, the New York State Education Department circulated a statewide memo instructing all school districts to end their use of Native American “themed” sports mascots, team names, and logos, which perpetuate derogatory stereotypes of Native people. Sports team names and mascots have long made reference to Native American people in a reductive fashion, portraying them as inhuman and bellicose. Previously popular monikers like “Redskins” and “Savages” and logos of Native American chiefs have come under scrutiny for employing slurs and appropriating Indigenous culture to harmful ends.” [H/T Hyperallergic]

Guillaume Motte succeeds Chris de Lapuente as Sephora’s new president and CEO. 

“Sephora has named Guillaume Motte as its new president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1. Motte, a seasoned retail executive who recently worked at Sephora, will succeed and report to Chris de Lapuente, who stepped back into Sephora’s CEO role following the abrupt departure this June of Martin Brok, who joined the beauty retailer in September 2020. Concurrently, de Lapuente continues to serve as chairman and CEO of the Selective Retailing division at Sephora’s parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Motte’s appointment comes at a critical moment for Sephora, the only prestige beauty retailer with a global presence, as it expands geographically and competes head-on with rising, increasingly omnichannel players.” [H/T WWD]

Image courtesy of Kéré Architecture

Francis Kéré fashions a resilient community center in one of Uganda’s poorest areas.

“Steel canopies shade the spaces of the Kamwokya Community Centre in Kampala, Uganda, designed by Berlin studio Kéré Architecture. Located in one of Kampala’s poorest areas, the cluster of brick buildings provides multipurpose spaces for community activities, organized around a large sports court and play area at its center. Kéré Architecture, the studio led by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, created Kamwokya Community Centre with local nonprofit Kamwokya Christian Caring Community and humanitarian organization Ameropa Foundation.” [H/T Dezeen]

The Flyfish Club, an NFT-driven private dining club, has leased its first physical space. 

“A private dining club that sold $14 million in memberships through NFTs early this year has leased its first space. The Flyfish Club has landed in 11,000 square feet on three levels at 141 E. Houston St., a new office building developed on the site of the former Sunshine Theater by East End Capital, Grandview Partners, and KPG Funds. Flyfish was founded by the VCR Group’s restaurateur David Rodolitz, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, and chefs Josh Capon and Conor Hanlon—with membership through NFTs purchased on the blockchain that are now being resold on OpenSea. Those resales bring in another 10 percent fee, and are providing capital for the buildout and other events for members.” [H/T New York Post]

Iranian artists call for a global boycott of cultural institutions supporting the regime.

“Dozens of Iranian artists have called for an international boycott of cultural institutions run by or affiliated with the Islamic Republic in protest against the regime’s worsening human rights abuses. The call by artists, writers, filmmakers, and academics living in Iran and among its diaspora comes amid growing anti-government art activism by Iranians inside and outside the country after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. More than 6,000 Iranian cultural figures have signed a statement in support of art students in the country who are facing arrest and intimidation for taking part in the protests, which began 10 weeks ago.” [H/T The Guardian]

Brooklyn Public Library

Today’s attractive distractions:

Could listicles be one of our most ancient forms of writing and narrative? 

The Brooklyn Public Library’s most popular books aren’t what you’d expect.

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An old-school guitar shop survives the Chelsea Hotel’s chic makeover.

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