Azikiwe Mohammed embraces the eclectic
One of the great pleasures and privileges of my job at Art21 are the studio visits I get to do with artists and the provocative, fun, candid conversations we have. And in many ways, I see Art21’s films as attempts to recapture and make public that sense of excitement and discovery that we got to privately experience.
Our initial Zoom meet back in Fall 2020 with Azikiwe and our former Assistant Curator, Danielle Brock, sparked just that feeling. We knew that his particularly winning mix of playfulness and ethical purpose, the nimbleness of his sensibility and practice, was something we had to share with others. Especially when we learned that Azikiwe would be running a New York City-style souvenir shop in the Seaport: a perfect opportunity to represent his unique brand of art populism and showmanship. Azikiwe, the New York small businessman, was just too irresistible to pass up.
The challenge was finding an independent filmmaker who could keep up with Azikiwe’s supple ideas and big Summer 2021 project ambitions. Fortunately, Art21 A-Team director and editor Brian Redondo was available and excited to take on the project. You, of course, are the ultimate judge, but I do believe Brian got to that quicksilver essence that so attracted us in the first place.
Nick Ravich
Series Producer; New York Close Up
March 23, 2022
In the Studio: Joiri Minaya
IMAGE: Joiri Minaya in her studio, photography by Elliot Jerome Brown Jr, March 2022.
Joiri Minaya unravels social fabrics and draws attention to patterns.
“I became interested in the materiality of spandex, the associations and relationships we have with spandex and the female gendered, feminized, body,” says the artist. “Part of the process is trying to understand these things on my own body.”
“I have experienced being objectified and associated with these images of Dominican women through my perceived identity. In Containers I make a controlled setting to confront that gaze.”
Announcement: Film Festival Acceptance
Kameelah Janan Rasheed: The Edge of Legibility has been announced as an official selection for the 25th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
The NEW DOCS lineup and Invited Program include 37 titles from 18 countries, comprising 22 feature films and 15 short films, with two world premieres, one North American premiere, and three U.S. premieres.
Event: Laylah Ali Artist Talk
Join us from anywhere on March 24, 2022 at 2:00 PM E.T. for a special presentation with artist Laylah Ali.
In celebration of the new Explore area of Art21.org, Art21 will host public programs around the themes, mediums, and narratives collected by Art21 staff. This installment draws inspiration from the artists featured in our “World Building” collection.
A Q&A will follow the presentation with Ali.
The program is free and will take place via Zoom.
Explore: (Un)Common Materials
IMAGE: Jessica Stockholder. Production still from the Art in the Twenty-First Century episode, “Play.” © Art21, Inc. 2005.
Using common, underutilized, and discarded materials, these artists seek to reimagine or reinform a public relationship to the material.
Assemble brightly colored plastic with Jessica Stockholder, construct cities from clothing with Yin Xiuzhen, and sculpt with shea butter, black soap and wax with Rashid Johnson in our (Un)Common Materials collection.
Art21 Educators: Application Open
Art21 Educators is an intensive, year-long professional development initiative and learning community. The program is designed to support K–12 educators in any subject area who are interested in bringing contemporary art, artists, and themes into classroom teaching and learning.
The application deadline for the 2022–2023 year of Art21 Educators is March 31, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Art21 is Now Hiring
Art21 is currently seeking a new Associate Producer to join our Production department and a new Associate Manager of Web & Editorial to join our Communications department.
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