The sculpture is the work of artist and designer Simon Francis Thomas
Star Wars sculpture placed on Colston plinth
Photography exhibit explores the diminutive world of hummingbirds
Nirmal Khandan has an interesting point of view.
The images he captures are pieces that spark conversations.
His latest exhibition, “Grace in Motion,” will open at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces on Saturday, April 15.
The exhibit will then run through July 30 at the museum.
New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum is a 47-acre interactive museum which brings to life the 4,000-year history of growing food and fiber in this region. The museum also features livestock, indoor and outdoor exhibits, barns, greenhouse, gift shop and demonstrations.
There will be 36 portraits of hummingbird species common to the region interacting with local flora.
According to museum officials, the exhibit captures the world of hummingbirds from their incredible movement to the critical work they do as pollinators.
“As a nature/wildlife photographer, I have been sharing with my family, friends and social media the joy and pleasure of creating photographs of hummingbirds,” Khandan says. “Through this print exhibit, I hope to share my photography with wider audiences fascinated by hummingbirds and their aerial acrobatics. I hope viewers will appreciate the up-close view of nature’s mutualism as the hummingbirds take just what they need from the flowers without harming them in any way, while helping them with pollination.”
Khandan is a civil engineering professor at New Mexico State University. He is also the Ed and Harold Foreman Endowed Chair at the university.
He began photographing birds in Sri Lanka, where he is from.
Khandan moved to Las Cruces in 1998, where he continued to work on his craft.
Through this exhibit, Khandan hopes to raise public awareness about the valuable ecosystem services that hummingbirds provide through pollination.
Admission to the opening reception is free. Regular admission is required to see the rest of the museum.
The week in wildlife
Louis the osprey, who became an online star during the first lockdown, arrives back from migration at his nest at Loch Arkaig pine forest in Lochaber, Scotland, on 2 April. For the last two years, he has arrived back from migration on 11 April, with 4 April the earliest date before that. A live nest camera has filmed the ospreys at Loch Arkaig pine forest since 2017. Viewers are now hoping that Louis will soon be joined by his mate, Dorcha
Photograph: Woodland Trust Media Library/PA
Scripps removes sculpture with Nazi ties following student criticism
Scripps College removed the controversial sculpture “Young Woman” from its wellness center after complaints from students and faculty over the artist’s Nazi ties and the statue’s represent
Mountains, a lemon and 1930s China at Photofairs Shanghai
Luo Bonian, Untitled, 1930s-1940s
Bonian Space Beijing, established in 2019, presents the works of important figures in 20th-century Chinese photography, including Luo Bonian and Jin Shisheng, who were prolific in the 1930s, capturing daily life in China’s urban centres and tracing the history of these rapidly growing cities
Photograph: Luo Bonian/Bonian Space/Photofairs Shanghai
Covington Impact Report shows dynamic momentum built on ‘solid foundation’ of jobs, investments
Borrowing from the manifesto that drives its mission, the newly released 2022 Impact Report of Covington’s Economic Development Department lays out how doing things “of The Cov … by The Cov … for The Cov” culminated in a year that saw the city’s trajectory stay the course of an already dynamic momentum.
(Click for full report)
“Since the start of 2020, we have announced the creation of nearly 5,000 new great jobs and over $270 million in capital investment in The Cov,” Economic Development Director Tom West said. “This momentum provides the solid foundation we will use to attract jobs and investment to the Covington Central Riverfront redevelopment.”
The 2022 Impact Report reflects on a year defined by robust numbers for job creation and retention and capital investment … an array of small business incentives … groundbreaking workforce initiatives like the Enzweiler Building Institute’s construction trades school and the new Covington Academy of Heritage Trades … and big steps forward in the transformation of 23 acres in the new Central Riverfront Neighborhood (aka former IRS site), which will see Covington-based developers get a shot at creating the neighborhood’s projects.
Highlights from the 2022 report include:
• Almost $44.3 million in private capital investment.
• Over $1 million in City Incentives leveraged $19 million in private investment; 19:01 ROI
• Over $126,000 in incentives for small businesses.
• 13 City-organized ribbon cuttings.
• 23 acres nearly ready for development.
The “Of/by/for The Cov” language references the City’s utilizing of local talent for projects and to create opportunities for Covington businesses and residents. For example, Covington businesses and creative talent played integral roles in developing the 2022 impact report and related marketing, creating new branding, a new website, and marketing tools that will enhance efforts to attract new businesses:
• Durham Brands created the department’s new branding and marketing tools, such as a Business Guide that simplifies the process of opening a business in Covington in 10 easy steps.
For the last few years, West’s team marketed the City to prospective businesses, investors, and talent with varied branding messages that touted Covington’s historic spaces and edgy charm. Last May, the department unveiled its formal brand narrative: “Unapologetically Covington” boasts the City’s unabashed embrace of its quirkiness, diversity, and willingness to think big and push the envelope.
• Systems Insight designed the department’s new standalone website, thecovky.gov, to provide businesses, investors, and developers the information they need without a lot of digging through superfluous clutter.
“The new website is a tremendous resource and I encourage everyone to check it out,” said Covington Business Recruitment Manager Susan Smith. “It’s designed for businesses, developers, investors and brokers to easily find what they need when making a decision on where to invest, For example, a business owner can search for available commercial properties to see what may be a good fit, or if a developer would like to know updates on the Covington Central Riverfront Neighborhood. It’s all there, including the video fly-through.”
• AGNT, a strategic design studio, designed the department’s impact report and accompanying video (below).
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• Sam Greenhill, a city-based photographer, brings a uniquely Covington lens to capturing the faces and places in The Cov that are featured throughout the report, on the website, and in marketing efforts. Expect to see Greenhill’s photography throughout the city. Many of his images will play out on a series of panels along a portion of fencing around the Covington Central Riverfront neighborhood along 4th Street.
At the marrow of the impact report are the businesses and people that “keep it real” in The Cov, and the report highlights some of last year’s best by way of the 2022 Authenti-CITY Awards.
Last year’s awards played out at Covington Yard last May and featured the roll-out of Economic Development’s new brand.
After fierce debates among City staff who nominated the businesses, places, events, people and organizations that “keep it real” in The Cov, the five winners emerged: Lost Art Press, Riverside Korean, Hierophany & Hedge, Anchor Grill, and Amy Kummler.
The 2023 Authenti-CITY Awards will take place May 11, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at West Clinton St. alley — between Kung Food Amerasia and Train with Rocco. Nominations and the debate commence soon.
City of Covington
Three finalists chosen for W. E. B. Du Bois sculpture project in Great Barrington
Out of the 17 sculptors that initially applied, the group in charge of choosing a sculptor to erect a statue of W. E. B. Du Bois in front of the Mason Public Library in Great Barrington has chosen three finalists: New York-based sculptor Vinnie Bagwell, Ohio-based sculptor Richard Blake, and California-based sculptor Dana King.
Studio Harcourt : Francoise Huguier : Séries de Mode – The Eye of Photography Magazine
Until June 28, Studio Harcourt presents Séries de Mode by Francoise Huguier. She present it this way:
I started the fashion series with Marie Claire Bis. The artistic director at the time had seen my fashion show photos in Liberation. He asked me if I was interested in doing fashion series. I told him that I didn’t know anything about it. He told me that he would put me in collaboration with a talented stylist, who would choose the dresses with me. She also taught me how to select hairdresser, make-up artists and models and I had the idea of the theme.
One of the first trips we took together was to Martinique, hence the photo of the return from the burial. The model is wearing a Cacharel dress and sweater. The scene took place in a pineapple field after the rain, where three Martinicans are present in black hats and black suits, whom I had spotted during the funerals. When I show this photo now, everyone thinks it’s news. Which is normal because I come from reportage.
The collaboration with Marie Claire Bis lasted 10 years. Then the newspaper closed and I worked for Marie Claire, always with the same perspective of reporting and film framing. My best memories are the scouting and the collaboration with the stylist, the hairdressers and the make-up artists and the discovery of certain countries.
Francoise Huguier
Francoise Huguier : Séries de mode
Until June 28, 2023
Studio Harcourt
6 rue de Lota
75016 Paris
www.studio-harcourt.com
Student Sculpture Pop-Up stirs hearts and stimulates thoughts
A handful of artists and intern curators made an impact on the community of people that came to observe the City College Student Sculpture Pop-Up on April 6 at the Atkinson Gallery. The exhibition featured various themes with a multitude of expertise, ranging from City College students to artists outside of the college wanting to…
Researchers find evidence of twin mass extinctions
