Art Bytes

OLIVE MORRIS GETS GOOGLE DOODLE

 

Google recently created a doodle to honour Jamaican-born British activist Olive Morris's 68th birthday. The doodle was designed by artist Linett Kamala, also of Jamaican heritage, and shows Morris at her old stomping grounds — Railton Road, Brixton.

Morris was a prominent leader in the fight against discrimination in Great Britain during the 1970s. She has had buildings, gardens and awards named after her. In 2018, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of most women in the UK gaining the right to vote, Olive Morris was listed by The Voice newspaper as one of the eight black women who contributed to the development of Britain. The Evening Standard listed her as one of the 14 “inspirational black British women throughout history.”

She helped to create self-help places in communities, and in 1969 defended the Nigerian diplomat Clement Comwalk against police violence.  She was part of the Black Panthers' Youth Collective, helped to found the Brixton Black Women's Group in 1973, one of Britain's first networks for Black women and co-founded the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent in 1978, considered instrumental in rallying movements for change.

Art Bytes

The BBC has made a film on the story of a Jamaican whose life was changed by the Windrush scandal.

Jamaican-born photographic print artist Paul Anthony Smith got to talk about the role of young, black artists in America’s current climate in an article in the current issue of Architecture Digest.

Abihail Myrie and Neko Kelly were featured in TeenVogue entertainment writer Sara Li’s 13 Best Vogue Challenge Posts article.

Harper’s Bazaar’s first ever black editor in chief has Caribbean parentage.

Brothers Akeem and Tyreik Pennicooke are working on a demo of a video game to be ready for release in the next three to six months for PC and Mac users.

Until June 28, Artist and stylist Akeem Smith is exhibiting his first major solo presentation Akeem Smith: No Gyal Can Test at Red Bull Art New York.

Pages