In the last year Beau Slawn has appeared in the “Sprinter” music video with Central Cee and Dave, joined the duo on stage at Glastonbury, and given his parents the name for their new east London café, Beau Beaus. An impressive slate of work for a one year old.

Beau’s father is Oloula Slawn, the artist who started his career as a skatewear designer in Lagos and moved onto bold, graffiti-style pop-art, working extensively with the late Virgil Abloh and designing the 2023 BRIT award trophy. Slawn’s eclectic style gained him followers, but it was his outlandish marketing strategies that really got people’s attention – even going as far as making people brawl for his paintings. It was that rebellious streak that made the late Virgil Abloh take notice. Slawn was mentored by the multi-hyphenate, collaborating with Abloh on both Off-White and FREE-GAME, a website that offered free professional insight for people trying to build a streetwear brand.

At Beau Beaus, along with his partner Tallula Christie, Slawn is bringing that spirit of collaboration along. The coffee shop, fitted out with muted mid-century furniture and original Slawn artwork, is a space for people trying to make it in the creative industries who might have felt shut out. Here they can talk over smoky jollof rice, an iced chai or the “I’m trying to learn from people”, Slawn tells me. “I want art, music, whatever, to not feel inaccessible.”

The buzz around the café has been steadily growing for months. It began with a video from Fabio Dessena, a TikToker known for his street interviews, who posted a promotion for Beau Beaus which has since hit nearly 250k views. The clip featured rappers M Huncho and Unknown T going undercover as baristas and receiving treatment in the cafe’s acupuncturist clinic. The video showcased a typical Slawn stunt for the opening: anyone who bought a coffee was entered into a raffle to win a moped designed by the artist.

“The house can be a symbol of comfort and refuge from the harsh world. A house, in other words, can be a reflection of everything we hold dear,” says Toronto-based artist Julie Liger-Belair, whose mixed-media collages often center on depictions of home. “But a house can also be a place of fear, oppression, and powerlessness,” she adds. “I’m really obsessed by this duality.”

Liger-Belair augments found photographs, historical portraits, botanicals, and patterned papers with a range of drawing media. During the pandemic, when quarantines enforced boundaries between interior spaces and the outside world, she started to consider what it means to do or show something “on the inside.” This led to incorporating motifs related to living spaces and enigmatic dwellers. Bodies merge with architecture, botanicals bloom from torsos and limbs, and otherworldly landscapes extend into the distance.

“Lost with the Dolls”

Drawing on an interest in dreams and surreal worlds, Liger-Belair taps into the realm of the unfamiliar. Each composition is founded on a sense of wonder, examining what we perceive as reality or fiction. She says:

I think that humans have always been drawn to the realm of the implausible, since it’s such a common theme in books, films, and artwork from many different cultures and times in history. I’d even argue that we can understand science as an attempt to discover or glimpse the implausible hidden or embedded in the real. I’m thinking here of microscopic views of cells or even photographs of distant stars. These strange worlds are tangible and are not just to be found in dreams.

Liger-Belair gravitates toward the accessibility of collage and the endless potential to imagine, arrange, and recontextualize new narratives. She often works in series, allowing themes to emerge intuitively. “While the overall storyline may not be totally obvious in any one piece, it’s important to understand that with every work, I’m telling a story to myself,” she says. “In some sense, unfolding that narrative is just as important for me—and perhaps more gratifying—than finishing individual pieces.”

Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

“Blue Vase”

“Headdress 2”

“When Two Mountains Meet”

“I Am Winter”

“Headdress 4”

“Sometimes to the Left”

“Beasts of Burden”

“Headdress 3” 

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In Surreal Collages, Julie Liger-Belair Explores Home, Interiority, and the Terrain of Dreams appeared first on Colossal.

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ATLANTA – Georgia high school student winners and finalists of the 10th annual Poet Laureate’s Prize were recently announced.

Release:

Georgia’s Poet Laureate, Chelsea Rathburn, in collaboration with Georgia Council for the Arts, announced the winner and finalists of the 10^th annual Poet Laureate’s Prize. The prize is awarded for an original poem written by a Georgia high school student. This annual program is designed to encourage students in grades nine through 12 to write original poems and engage in the art form of poetry.  

This year, more than 200 students submitted poems for the 2022-2023 school year, and the students’ grade levels noted below reflect that time period. 

2023 WINNER POET LAUREATE’S PRIZE 
Eniola Badejo – “Right Here” 
Grade 12, Hillgrove High School 
Powder Springs, Cobb County 

2023 FINALISTS POET LAUREATE’S PRIZE  
(listed in alphabetical order by last name) 

Isabella Fonseca – “Prism” 
Grade 12, Harrison High School 
Kennesaw, Cobb County 

Andrea Lam – “Morning Anemoia” 
Grade 12, West Forsyth High School 
Cumming, Forsyth County 

Celina Simone – “The Habits of Strawberries” 
Grade 10, Lambert High School 
Suwanee, Forsyth County 

Jeonghyeon (Erica) Yun “Music Box Ballerina” 
Grade 12, McIntosh High School 
Peachtree City, Fayette County 

“Judging the Poet Laureate’s Prize is a difficult yet rewarding task. Along with celebrating our winner and finalists, I want to recognize the talents and techniques of the fine young poets across the state,” said Georgia Poet Laureate Chelsea Rathburn. “As I read and re-read this year’s entries, I could hear so many individual voices and unique stories, reminding me once again of poetry’s power to connect people across time and space.” 

Through a partnership with Atlanta Magazine, all winning and finalist poems are featured on its website. To read the poems, click here. 

“Georgia’s Poet Laureate’s Prize has been encouraging participation in the arts for the last 10 years, and we are always amazed by the ingenuity, creativity, and talent of students across the state,” said Georgia Council for the Arts Executive Director Tina Lilly. “Art is about self-expression, and every student who participated in this year’s contest embraced the challenge of making a personal statement through poetry. We are thankful for the many teachers and schools who supported these students along the way.” 

All Georgia high school students are encouraged to participate in this annual competition. Details about the 2024 competition will be available on the Georgia Council for the Arts website in fall 2023. The annual submission deadline is at the beginning of spring. Click here to learn more about the program. 

About Georgia Council for the Arts 
Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) is a strategic arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development whose mission is to cultivate the growth of vibrant, thriving Georgia communities through the arts. GCA provides grant funding, programs, and services statewide that support the vital arts industry, preserve the state’s cultural heritage, increase tourism, and nurture strong communities. Funding for Georgia Council for the Arts is provided by appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit gaarts.org for more information. 

About GDEcD 
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state’s sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for arts, film, and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. For additional information, visit georgia.org. 

CANDIAC, QC, July 5, 2023 /CNW/ – Fenplast, major manufacturer of windows and doors in Quebec, is pleased to announce today the acquisition, through its subsidiary Altek windows and doors, of Ramp-Art, a company that has been a leader for nearly 30 years in manufacture of custom aluminum and glass railings.

This strategic acquisition allows Fenplast to expand its activities beyond its usual fields of fenestration activities, while seizing a promising diversification opportunity. Indeed, Ramp-Art has a well-established clientele outside Quebec, thus offering significant advantages for the Fenplast group in terms of market expansion.

In addition, Fenplast is also announcing today the complete acquisition of Solarcom, a Quebec company specializing in the manufacture of custom aluminum fenestration products. Fenplast has acquired a minority stake in Solarcom last spring.

In both cases, the administrative structures and all the personnel will remain in place to continue operations and support the growth of the company.

Thanks to these strategic acquisitions, Fenplast is consolidating its position as a leader in the fenestration industry in Quebec. These new entities will strengthen Fenplast’s existing business and enable the company to provide an even wider range of superior products to its customers.

Mr. Jean Marchand, President of Fenplast, commented: “These acquisitions demonstrate our continued commitment to providing leading construction solutions to our clients in the housing sector. With the addition of Ramp-Art, we are expanding our product offering and consolidating our position in the construction field, exploiting new market opportunities beyond our traditional activities. In addition, the complete acquisition of Solarcom strengthens our expertise in the manufacture of custom aluminum fenestration products. We look forward to working with the talented teams at Ramp-Art and Solarcom to continue to provide excellent products and service to our customers.”

About Fenplast

Founded in 1989, Fenplast is a leader in window and door manufacturing in Quebec. Located in Candiac, the company relies on an extensive distribution network of over 80 independent specialized or owned dealers. The complete integration of manufacturing processes is what sets Fenplast apart from the competition.

The company continues to grow and now employs over 1,000 people dedicated to creating outstanding products in terms of both quality and energy efficiency. Visit www.fenplast.com

About Ramp-Art

Founded in 1997 in Lévis, the company designs, manufactures and installs high-end custom-made aluminum and glass railings for buildings in the institutional, commercial, and multi-unit residential sectors. Its projects extend throughout Quebec and Ontario. The company has around 60 employees. Visit www.ramp-art.ca

About Solarcom

Founded in 2007 in Beauceville, Solarcom is a Quebec manufacturer specializing in the manufacture of custom-made aluminum fenestration products, dedicated to the residential and commercial markets. It has a team of nearly 40 highly qualified and experienced employees. Visit www.solarcom.ca

SOURCE Fenplast

For further information: Sylvain Arbour, Marketing director, (514) 990-0012, ext. 2401, [email protected]

‘The art pieces tend to be a result of ongoing projects around place and themes of migration and displacement. When you look at London, you think: “What’s the identity of London?” This is where I live and, so as makers we take what’s around us and we make things with it. That interests me in regards to the migratory effects of material and of course London as a place of identity is its river, its trade, its commerce, its empire, slavery, all of that. I find it so fascinating here. My final masters piece was all about the Heygate estate.’

Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

The celebrated Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye has been accused of misconduct by three former employees, according to a report in the Financial Times. The allegations include sexual harassment, sexual assault, and an abusive culture within his company.

Adjaye, who is 57, has received worldwide acclaim for this architectural designs, which include several major cultural institutions like the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver.

Further commissions that are not yet completed include the new National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra, the Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City, and the U.K.’s forthcoming Holocaust memorial, the latter of which has now suspended in light of the allegations.

Artnet News reached out to the highly anticipated museum planned in Benin City for a comment, but did not hear back by publishing time.

Since the news broke yesterday, July 4, Adjaye has stepped down from a number of roles and trusteeships, including as architectural adviser to the mayor of London, according to the New York Times. He also resigned as a trustee of the Serpentine Galleries in London. Artnet News has reached out to Adjaye Associates for further comment but did not heard back by publishing time.

The three women were not identified but, according to the Financial Times‘s report, they are all Black women who were single mothers in their forties when the incidents took place. They had each known Adjaye before joining his company and were already well-established within their professional networks. The report emphasized that their experiences at Adjaye Associates had long-term impacts on their mental health, careers, and financial stability.

Two of the women, referred to with the pseudonyms “Maya” and “Gene,” joined Adjaye’s firm in 2018 to help establish a new office in Accra, for which they moved to Ghana with their children. They rarely received their salaries on time and endured lengthy waits for their work visas, forcing them into a precarious position. Adjaye has admitted to “cash flow issues” and “an initial lack of structure and process” in the office’s early days.

View of main entrance and courtyard garden of the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) in Benin City, Nigeria. © Adjaye Associates.

In September 2018, the pair met Adjaye for dinner and visited his apartment, where they alleged that he quickly maneuvered them into his bedroom and made persistent sexual passes, despite clear protestations from Gene, who left the room and waited outside. Maya, who stayed, claimed that she was under the influence of alcohol and that her recollections are hazy, but that she felt “overpowered, both emotionally and physically.” The next day she was given 4,000 Ghanaian cedi ($350) in cash by Adjaye without explanation.

A year later, in 2019, Maya said she was once again sexually assaulted after being pressured to enter a disabled bathroom at an airport in Johannesburg. Adjaye denies making any of the alleged sexual advances or payments.

Shortly afterwards, Maya said she attempted to report the alleged incident with Adjaye’s London office, with the Ghanaian police, and with Adjaye himself. In January 2020, she was abruptly dismissed and apparently received a cease and desist letter from Adjaye’s lawyers. A subsequent attempt to contact Adjaye with a request for financial compensation prompted a second cease and desist letter accusing her of extortion.

David Adjaye-designed National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C. Photo © Nic Lehoux.

The third woman, dubbed “Dunia,” said she was sexually assaulted in 2019 after meeting Adjaye for a dinner to discuss business ideas. “He told me to be a good girl and be quiet,” she said. Wanting to prove her professional worth, she began working for him as a communications and marketing specialist until March 2020. This period was allegedly marked by controlling behaviour, emotional, and sexual abuse. Dunia felt persistently undermined, in some cases due to her race. She recalled being scared of crossing Adjaye due to his considerable power and influence. Adjaye has admitted to an ongoing sexual relationship with Dunia but rejected claims that it was abusive or coerced.

Several other former employees of Adjaye Associates also reported a toxic work culture, feeling “very taken advantage of” and described the company as a “personality cult.”

“I absolutely reject any claims of sexual misconduct, abuse, or criminal wrongdoing,” Adjaye told the Financial Times. “These allegations are untrue, distressing for me and my family and run counter to everything I stand for.”

“I am ashamed to say that I entered into relationships which though entirely consensual, blurred the boundaries between my professional and personal lives. I am deeply sorry. To restore trust and accountability, I will be immediately seeking professional help in order to learn from these mistakes to ensure that they never happen again.”

The three womens’ accounts have been corroborated by the Financial Times, which reviewed written evidence including email exchanges, bank statements, and interviewed colleagues, family, and friends.

In addition to his major architectural projects, Adjaye is also known for his sculptural artworks, including work that is on view at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale and the Counterpublic triennial in St. Louis.

None

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