Can A White Cube Museum & Conference Center In Lusanga Redress Economic Inequality In The Democratic Republic Of Congo?

/

A RENDERING OF THE WHITE CUBE IN LUSANGA (IMAGE: © OMA)

Can A White Cube Museum & Conference Center In Lusanga Redress Economic Inequality In The Democratic Republic Of Congo?

With the establishment of LIRCAEI, the iconic modernist White Cube will be recontextualized in the setting that has historically underwritten its development. In economic terms, plantations have funded not just the building of most European and American infrastructure and industries, but also that of museums and universities. On an ideological level, the violence and brutality unfolding on one side—the plantation zones—has informed and haunted the civility, taste and aesthetics championed at the other: the White Cubes. By colliding these two opposite poles of global value chains with each other, LIRCAEI aims to overcome both the monoculture of the plantation system—that exhausts people and the environment and the sterility of the White Cube—a free haven for critique, love, and singularity, that, more often than not, reaffirms class divides.

A RENDERING OF THE WHITE CUBE IN LUSANGA (IMAGE: © OMA)

Dana Schutz' Painting Of Emmett Till Creates Controversy At Whitney Biennial 2017

/

Fredrik Lerneryd Captures Beauty & Ballet Magic Of Mike Wamaya's Kibera Dance School

/

Fredrik Lerneryd Captures Beauty & Ballet Magic Of Mike Wamaya's Kibera Dance School

"The sun rose in Kibera this morning, and it rose in my world, too, with my rapture over these Fredrik Lerneryd images of ballet dancers in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi. They are my best Christmas gift.

Anne of Carversville has a long psychological, emotional and now functional relationship with Kibera. Initially, my lovefest with the largest slum in Africa was triggered by JR's famous 'Women Are Heroes' project, with Kibera being one of the four slums featured in his everyday examination of the beauty and heroic female efforts worldwide. Over time I pieced together collection of intimate and deeply personal connections to Kibera through my muse Dan Eldon.  The functional dimension of AOC's connection to Kibera is GLAMTRIBALE's support of The Kibera School for Girls, with 5% of revenues. Another 5% is earmarked for elephant conservation.

The dancers photographed by Fredrik Lerneryd learn dance through a program run by UK-based charity Anno's Africa, which provides alternative arts education to over 800 children in Kenya. "

Tony Gum Creates 'Mercurial Aesthetic' Free of Racial, Cultural Or Sexual Oppression

/

Tony Gum Creates 'Mercurial Aesthetic' Free of Racial, Cultural Or Sexual Oppression

Women artists were more obvious in this year's Art Basel in Miami, and especially at PULSE Miami Beach.

At Christopher Moller Gallery, young Capetown artist Tony Gum, born Zipho Gum, was such a smash in New York March 2016 and then Art Basel Miami December 2016, that she was just named in ArtNet's 14 Emerging Women Artists to Watch in 2017.

Vogue called Tony Gum "the coolest girl in Cape Town", based on her tightly curated Instagram feed. Her Instagram becomes a gallery to communicate with corporate brands like Coca-Cola and Adidas about issues of race, women, pop culture and art through the lens of her own penetrating, clear-eyed, articulate and sophisticated vision.

On Site: Decoding Betye Saar's Uneasy Symbolism At Milan’s Fondazione Prada

/

Writing for Hyperallergic.com, Seph Rodney surveys the work of American artist Betye Saar at Milan's Fondazione Prada. AOC wrote about Saar in advance of the exhibition opening, but Rodney's impressions put the works in an environmental context and also filtered through the writer's own personal thought universe.

My favorite work in the show is a small teal room titled “The Alpha and the Omega” (2013–16), which contains a related suite of individual works, including a suspended structure threaded with neon tubes and representing a ship. Below, a small playpen holds a collection of inflated balls, two empty chairs face each other across a board set up for an unfamiliar game, and two fancy birdcages sit quietly with entire worlds contained within them. This room is a bit more enigmatic and quietly serene. According to the gallery guide, the installation looks to represent the entire journey of a human life. “The Alpha and  the Omega” also demonstrates that Saar can do more than manipulate racist icons; she can give you a glimpse of her internal life, tell you that she is ready for tomorrow to arrive.

Related: Racist Objects: Confronting Racist Objects The New York Times

A Painful Past Still Present The New York Times

For a more detailed discussion of the art of Betye Saar, read our exhibit opening overview: Assemblage Artist Betye Saar Shows 'Uneasy Dancer' At Fondazione Prada Opening Sept 15-2016

Doutzen Kroes: An Angel For Elephants By Ruven Afanador For Bloomberg Pursuits

/

Doutzen Kroes: An Angel For Elephants By Ruven Afanador For Bloomberg Pursuits

Doutzen Kroes has been a voice for elephants and steps up again to lead the Knot On My Planet campaign. Kroes is deadly serious about the need to put an end to the ivory crisis and elephant extinction -- a passion burning inside her since she first visited Samburu, Kenya. 

Doutzen Kroes Leads Knot On My Planet, Igniting Fashion Industry For Elephant Conservation

Doutzen Kroes Leads Knot On My Planet, Igniting Fashion Industry For Elephant Conservation

/

Doutzen Kroes Leads Knot On My Planet, Igniting Fashion Industry For Elephant Conservation

Sadly, new reports suggest that we are losing ground in the battle to save elephants. The goal of the Knot on My Planet campaign is to raise $15 million for the Elephant Crisis Fund. In addition to Tiffany & Company and these models stepping up for elephants, superwomen Candice Swanepoel, Adriana Lima and Cara Delevigne are on board -- joining Miranda Kerr, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. These leaders of the campaign will incorporate a knot into their photos on social media to remind people to donate. 

Researchers Reveal Extinction of St Paul Island Woolly Mammoths

/

Researchers Reveal Extinction of St Paul Island Woolly Mammoths | Shop Woolly Mammoth Jewelry

The majority of woolly mammoths have been extinct for a minimum of 10,000-100,000 years. But new research about woolly mammoths living on a remote island off the coast of Alaska are the subject of a scientific investigation by Prof Russell Graham, from Pennsylvania State University. Graham has focused on a group of woolly mammoths that lived on St Paul Island, located in the Bering Sea, for another 4,500 years. 

Scientists have long believed that the woolly mammoths became extinct due to human hunting and environmental connections. It's hoped that some of the research conclusions will have applications to human and animal populations living in areas impacted by climate change.

As the Earth warmed up after the Ice Age, sea levels rose, much as they are today across the globe. Prof Graham believes that as ocean salt water levels rose, available land mass on St Paul Island was reduced, along with necessary for survival freshwater watering holes. 

Sweden's Angelo Vukasovic Loves Giraffe Meat As Britain Honors Slain MP Jo Cox

/

DNA Research Explains Giraffes Long Necks As Global Population Plummets 40% AOC GLAMTRIBAL

It was World Giraffe Day on Tuesday, as global activists tried to raise consciousness about the massive decline of giraffe populations worldwide. But it was Sweden -- home to all the values global progressives hold dear -- where news was made, as Angelo Vukasovic, treasurer of the Sweden Democrats Party in Nybro, who make big news. Photos of Vukasovic, treasurer of the far-right Sweden Democrats in Nybro and manager of a hunting shop. posted images of a hunting trip to South Africa, where he and friends hunted, killed and then roasted several wild animals.

Vukasovic says giraffe is far and away the tastiest meat, followed by lion.

Related: On World Lion Day One of Cecil's Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride's Protector

We're investigating Sweden's anti-immigration group of right-wing hunters on Wednesday June 22, the day before Britain votes on Brexit, their decision about whether or not England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales will remain in the European Union.

It seems that there exists a strong right-wing connection among big-game hunting,  anti-immigration views and gun control. After the terrorist, hate-crime assassinations in Orlando, the world is focused on the intersections of these important topics: a reality that affects all of us on every continent.

 

Big Game Hunting From Girafffes To Jo Cox To Orlando

Ironically, today June 22 would have been British MP's Jo Cox's 42 birthday. Cox, who was brutally assassinated last week -- most likely because of her strong progressive, political views which embraced immigration -- was eulogized by her husband Brendan Cox, sole parent of their two children.

Related: A Brilliant, Bright British Political Star Jo Cox Was Assassinated Today AOC Women's News

Cox was shot and stabbed multple times in her local Yorkshire village, by Tommy Cox, who briefly appeared in court on Saturday, saying "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain."

"She cherished every moment... I remember so much about her but most of all I will remember that she met the world with love and both love for her children, love in her family and also love for people she didn't know.

"She just approached things with a spirit, she wasn't perfect at all you know, but she just wanted to make the world a better place, to contribute, and we love her very much."

Brendan Cox ruled out seeking the Labour nomination for her Batley and Spen constituency as a way of honoring her death. But he did say that he hoped she would be replaced by a woman, sharing his hopes that it would be "a lovely symbolism' if they become Labour's 100th female MP."

Cara Delevingne Uses Her Naked Body For Launch Of 'I'm Not A Trophy' Campaign

/

Cara Delevingne Uses Her Naked Body For Launch Of 'I'm Not A Trophy' Campaign

Super talent and model Cara Delevingne poses naked in a new animal rights campaign 'I'm Not a Trophy', dedicated to raising awareness that the Earth has lost half of its wildlife in the past 40 years. Founded by artist and photographer Arno Elias -- a talent who has had significant impact on my life, moods and creative personality through his Buddha Bar recordings -- 'I'm Not a Trophy is focused not only on species decline and poaching  but also on trophy hunting. 

Delevingne is committed to saving all our endangered species, but lions are very close to Dara's heart. After Cecil the Lion was murdered last year by trophy hunger Walter Palmer, Cara auctioned off her watch to raise money for wildcru.org, Britain's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. 

DNA Research Explains Giraffes' Long Necks As Global Population Plummets 40%

/

DNA Research Explains Giraffes' Long Necks As Global Population Plummets 40%

The research team in Tazania believes that the most important take-away from the four-year study is to highlight the critical importance of giraffe conservation. It's estimated that the global giraffe population has fallen 40 percent in just 15 years. Statistically giraffes are more endangered than elephants.

If elephants are threatened by an international demand for ivory, giraffes are threatened with extinction because of the local market for 'bush meat' and demand for skins in the luxury market. Not all species of giraffes are equally threatened.

Kenya Will Burn 105 Tons Of Elephant Ivory As African Nations, Activists & Philanthropists Converge In Kenya April 29-30

/

Kenya Will Burn 105 Tons Of Elephant Ivory As African Nations, Activists & Philanthropists Converge In Kenya April 29-30

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta will once again conduct a mass burning of ivory and rhino horn, setting fire to about 105 tons of ivory and 1.35 tons of rhino horn, representing about 4000 dead elephants. . The scale of the burning towers over Kenyatta's March 2015 fire of 15 tons of elephant ivory, called the largest ever burned in Africa,  a 10-foot tall pyre that smoldered for days until the ivory was reduced to ash.

Ringling Elephants Head For Early Retirement In Florida As Key Subjects For Cancer Research

/

Ringling Elephants Head For Early Retirement In Florida As Key Subjects For Cancer Research

Studies published in October say elephant DNA holds 20 copies of p53, an important tumor-suppressing gene, compared to only one in the DNA of humans and other mammals.

PETA Launches Anti-Angora Campaign Against Free People & Urban Outfitters

/

PETA Launches Anti-Angora Campaign Against Free People & Urban Outfitters

In August 2015 PETA issued a graphic report on Argentina-based, wool-supplier farm Ovis 21. The farm was a major supplier to Patagonia and also Stella McCartney, who dropped them immediately. The title of the report: 'Lambs Skinned Alive, Throats Slit, Tails Cut Off' was confirmed by Patagonia's subsequent, at once investigation, and the company also cut its ties to Ovis 21.

PETA issued a disturbing look into Chinese angora-wool farms, undermining a worldwide view that the rabbit-based product was obtained without farming the animals. As a result dozens of retailers including H&M, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, QVC and more stopped using angora wool. Anthropologie, too, stopped using angora wool as a result of the PETA report, but sister company Free People didn't get the message

Today, PETA announced a campaign against Free People, sold at its parent company's stores Urban Outfitters.  The New York Post reports that last week all 'angora' products were removed from the company's online website.

On World Lion Day One of Cecil's Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride's Protector

/

On World Lion Day One of Cecil’s Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride’s Protector

Breaking news reports say that one of Cecil’s eight cubs has been killed by another male lion. Reports just published in the UK say:

“Lions practice infanticide – the male looking to take over and mate with the three lionesses would have crushed the cub’s skull as he looked to stake his claim.

“The lionesses fended off his advances but it is unlikely they can continue to protect the cubs for much longer.”

“Jericho has now taken over another pride and has been seen with other females,” a source at the park confirmed.

“We don’t know if Jericho would return to help the cubs if they were attacked again

Lupita Nyong'o Steps Up To Save Africa's Elephants

/

Lupita Nyong'o Steps Up To Save Africa's Elephants As WildAid Global Ambassador

AOC loved Lupita before she won an Oscar. But to open an email from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where we support orphan elephants, and read that the stellar woman Lupita was there — as evidenced in this magnificent photo — brought tears to our eyes.

In addition to joining WildAid on behalf of elephants, Lupita will be promoting women’s causes, acting and the arts in her native Kenya. She also visited Amboseli National Park and filmed public service messages for international distribution in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United States.