1:54 New York: Special Projects 2016
Announcing 1:54's curated series of events and project collaborations
Stephen Burks Man Made & Mariane Ibrahim Gallery. Material Composition Lounge, 2016. Dedon Ahnda lounge chairs and recycled carpets. Dimensions variable. Courtesy of Dedon Inc.
Alongside the FORUM and 1:54 PERFORMS programs, 1:54 presents Special Projects 2016, a series of curated events and collaborations taking place across the fair. The line up includes:
1:54 Lounge designed by Stephen Burks Man Made in partnership with DEDON
For 1:54, Stephen Burks brings together several of his Material Compositions designs with his Ahnda lounge seating collection for outdoor furniture manufacturer Dedon. Many of these designs will be presented for the first time. Both functional and playful, large-scale recycled carpets complete the vibrant lounge installation.
More info here
1:54 Bookstore at Pioneer Books
1:54's pop-up Bookstore returns, featuring specialized and hard to find publications on contemporary African art, artist monographs, exhibition catalogues, magazines and journals. All publications will be available throughout the fair at Pioneer Books, on Pioneer Street & Van Brunt Street.
Transmissions
1:54 presents Transmissions, a partnership with the 12th edition of the Dakar Biennale (Dak’Art – Biennale de l’Art Africain Contemporain). To celebrate the concurrence of the biennale’s opening week with 1:54 in New York, 1:54 is screening daily highlights from Dak’Art at Pioneer Works during the fair and simultaneously, daily highlights of the fair will be screened at Dak’Art during the biennale. As a cultural exchange between 1:54 and the current artistic activity in Dakar, Transmissions aims at mapping out the points of convergence between the two platforms.
More info here
Goodman Gallery presents Misheck Masamvu
Goodman Gallery will preview new works by Zimbabwean artist Misheck Masamvu ahead of his forthcoming exhibition at the Johannesburg gallery. Installed in the 1:54 Lounge, Masamvu’s paintings Taxi (2015) and BottomsUp (2015) are part of a new body of work by the artist destined to culminate in a solo exhibition entitled Still.
More info here
Book presentation and signing with Mickalene Thomas
Saturday, May 7, 12–1 PM, Pioneer Works, 2nd floor. RSVP to [email protected]
Co-hosted by Aperture and 1:54, Mickalene Thomas will present her recently published monograph Muse: Mickalene Thomas Photographs on Saturday, May 7 at 1:54. Selected photographs from the monograph will be installed in the space affording visitors the opportunity to meet the artist and view her works in print and in person.
More info here
Book presentation and signing with Sue Williamson
Sunday, May 8, 4–5 PM, Pioneer Works, 2nd floor. RSVP to [email protected]
Axis Gallery, Goodman Gallery and Skira Editore will host a conversation with Sue Williamson and the art historian and curator Chika Okeke-Agulu. Sue Williamson: Life and Work brings together for the first time all the significant works of one of South Africa's most highly respected and celebrated artists. The book contains an introduction by the award-winning journalist Mark Gevisser, and insightful contributions by leading historians Chika Okeke-Agulu and Ciraj Rassool, as well as former TRC committee member and scholar Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela.
More info here
Clocktower Radio presents a week-long African Series
Clocktower Radio will curate a week-long series of artists interviews and music programs exploring African and African Diasporan art, culture, and music, on air during the fair. Click here to listen
Pioneer Works Artist-in-Residence: Omar Victor Diop
Omar Victor Diop was selected for Pioneer Works’ Studio Residency Program where he is currently in residence until June 2016. Born in 1980, Diop lives and works in Dakar. His corpus of work includes fashion and advertising photography, which he often integrates with other forms, such as costume design and fashion styling. Diop reconfigures established portraiture methods introduced by resident African portraitists such as the late Malick Sidibé, through producing intelligent ‘re-castings’ of portraits of influential African subjects, alongside wider references to art history, popular culture, and cult cinema. More info here
Omar Victor Diop will be in conversation with Deborah Willis (New York University - Tisch School of the Arts) on Friday May 6, 6–7 PM. More info here
Garden Cafe by Chef Pierre Thiam, serving his delicious Senegalese-inspired menu
Chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, Pierre Thiam was raised in Dakar, Senegal. Moving to New York in the late 1980s, Thiam opened his first restaurant, Yolele, a visionary African bistro in Fort Greene, Brooklyn in 2001. His second outlet, Le Grand-Dakar Restaurant followed, opening in neighboring Clinton Hill three years later; and quickly became a culinary and cultural locus. Currently he owns Pierre Thiam Catering, which introduces a diverse New York clientele to contemporary interpretations of African cuisine. Thiam has published two books: Senegal: Modern Senegalese Recipes from the Source to the Bowl and Yolele! Recipes from the Heart of Senegal.
1:54 New York 2015 © Sasha Arutyunova
SECOND SUNDAYS
SECOND SUNDAYS is a monthly series of open studios, live music, and site-specific interventions presented by Pioneer Works the second Sunday of every month. The series showcases artists in residence along with musical performances and DJs, curated by Olivier Conan.
On Sunday, May 8, in collaboration with 1:54, SECOND SUNDAYS will feature performances by musician Osei Korankye, the captivating flag bearer of Ghana’s Seperewa tradition – an instrument that has largely faded from common usage, but lovingly revived by Korankye; and the Mandingo Ambassadors, a troupe fronted by griot-guitarist Mamady Kouyaté following the great tradition of Guinean Afro-jazz.
