Art Bytes

DESIGNERS OF JAMAICAN DESCENT GET VOGUE FEATURE

 

Two fashion designers of Jamaican descent are included on Vogue Magazine’s top 15 black designers to know about in 2020.

Vogue compiled the list to mark Fashion Week and Black History Month. According to Jamaicans.com, the designers on the list have taken strong stands on societal issues with their designs and have often refused to follow traditional fashion industry demands. 

Fashion editors have praised Carly Cushnie, who relies on her Jamaican identity in her work, for her first solo collection. She is known for her signature high-slit dresses and jumpsuits with peek-a-boo silk lines.

The other designer, Aurora James is  founder of Brother Vellies, a firm she created to introduce the world to her favorite African footwear and to develop sustainable jobs for craftspeople in Africa. Her fashion footwear line includes boots, shoes, and sandals made in South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco. A trip to Jamaica has also inspired some of her designs.

 

Art Bytes

Jamaican artist Arthur Simms’ A Totem for the High Line is now installed at the 16th Street Spur Preserve in New York City’s Chelsea District.

The National Gallery of Jamaica has named Ashley James as guest curator for its 2024 Kingston Biennial which opens December 15th. Titled Green X Gold, the biennial will be the closing highlight of the 2024 Gallery’s 50th anniversary. The exhibition will cover works on the environment, nature, and land, inspired by the Jamaican flag’s ecological symbolism. 

The National Gallery of Jamaica will host a five-day Writivity workshop from August 12th to 16th  to help students sitting the Visual Arts CSEC exams with their reflective journals. The reflective journal is a part of the School-Based Assessment and the final grades of the CSEC exam.

Jamaican artist Garfield Morgan has another exhibit in Canada. This time his work is on display at the Don Wheaton Family YMCA in Edmonton.  until October 31st.

The National Gallery of Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary exhibition, Continuity, runs from June 30 to September 30th, 2024. Continuity revisits ten NGJ’s iconic exhibitions, including the Biennials of 2014, 2017 and 2022 and Jamaica Jamaica, (2020).

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