black designers Archive

  • michi1

    March 3: Michi, Knit Wear Fashion Design – unique style.

    Posted on March 2, 2011 | No Comments

    by Atim Annette Oton

    BDNN selects Michi, Knit Wear Fashion Design – unique style.

    Michele M. Walden brings chic to the term “knitwear.” Through her Michi knitwear designs, Walden creates sophisticated knits that are also easy to wear and easy to wash. With off-the-shoulder designs and hip-hugging evening attire, or loose and breezy, summer afternoon wear, Michi knitwear makes a unique statement for all women – tall, short, large, small and in between. Walden custom designs and fits the piece for her client, and does not call the outfit complete until the customer is satisfied. A Queens, NY native, Walden has been knitting about 30 years. Initially hand knitting all her designs, Walden’s fashion statements have included jumpsuits, bathing suits, dresses, suits, two-piece outfits, sweaters and scarves. Since completing courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Walden currently utilizes the knitting machine to create feminine and sensual wearable art pieces.

    Michele Walden, MICHI, in the middle

    Website:

    http://www.michiknitwear.com/index.html

    http://knitsbymichi.blogspot.com/

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  • pattih_Small_

    March 2, 2011: Patti Carpenter, Fashion and Product Designer, bring the best of global design to the American market

    Posted on March 1, 2011 | No Comments

    by Atim Annette Oton

    BDNN selects Patti Carpenter, Fashion and Product Designer, bringing the best of global design to the American market with an eye for color and trends.

    Fashion and housewares designer Patti Yvonne Carpenter was born on May 2, 1955 in Washington, D.C. to Vivian and Horace Carpenter. She graduated with honors from McKinley Technical Senior High School in 1973. She then continued her education at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, receiving two associate degrees in applied science in 1975 and 1976.

    In the fashion industry, Carpenter worked with Scott Barrie, Bill Blass, Oscar De La Renta, Gloria Vanderbilt, Adrienne Vittadini, Cynthia Rowley, Peter Max, The Limited Corporation, Timberland, and Ralph Lauren.

    Carpenter became disillusioned with the garment industry after twenty-five years, and turned her interests to home décor, personal accessories and gifts markets. She is a principal and creative director of Continuum Home, Inc. and Carpenter + Company, a high end line of home decor, personal accessories and gifts that sells to stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Donna Karan, ABC Carpet and Home and the VIVA TERRA catalogue. It is all hand made with artisans and master craftspeople in Guatemala, Bolivia, and South Africa. As a design, color and trend consultant and merchandiser, Carpenter works with clients such as Donna Karan, Viva Terra Catalogue, Crate & Barrel, Bloomingdale’s, the Exploris Museum, and Agexport of the Guatemala Trade Office. Carpenter also works with the Department of Trade for the Government of South Africa and Kenya.


    Carpenter also has a licensed collection of ceramics and lacquer that she designed for the Phillips Collection; it is called “Patti Carpenter for the Phillips Collection”. It is made with artisans in Nicaragua, Vietnam and Thailand. The collection can be found in numerous retailers including Donna Karen, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and J.C. Penney.

    Through her extensive work with Aid to Artisans, she has worked with the International Executive Service Corps and was awarded the Presidents Volunteer Service Award by President George W. Bush in 2005. Carpenter is co-chair of the executive board of the High School of Fashion Industries and is a guest lecturer for the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Parson School of Design and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Carpenter currently lives in New York City. (Source: http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1516&category=Stylemakers&occupation=Fashion%20%26%20Home%20Decor%20Designer&name=Patti%20Carpenter)

    Website:

    http://carpentercompany.fv2b.com/main/mainpage.php

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  • lulu-kitololo

    March 1, 2011: Lulu Kitololo, Graphic Designer using Africa and provocative images

    Posted on March 1, 2011 | No Comments

    By Atim Annette Oton

    BDNN loves Lulu Kitololo, Graphic Designer using Africa and provocative images

    Lulu Kitololo is a storyteller and ideamonger, using any medium necessary. That usually involves design and art direction but also illustration, writing, facilitating workshops, giving talks, and taking full advantage of that beautiful playground called the internet, any chance she gets! Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Lulu studied Communications Design in New York and worked as an advertising art director before moving to the UK to pursue an African Studies degree. She now lives in Manchester and collaborates with clients around the world, promoting positive social and/or environmental change. (Source: http://www.africandigitalart.com/?p=5043)

    Her sites:

    http://www.lulukitololo.com

    http://www.afri-love.com/

    http://www.weareasilia.com/team/lulu-kitololo

    Visit her work at  http://www.africandigitalart.com/?p=5043)

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  • blackwomen

    Design Objects by Black Women Designers Across the Diaspora

    Posted on February 28, 2011 | 1 Comment

    by Atim Annette Oton

    BDNN’s Design Objects by Women Designers Across the Diaspora celebrates individual design objects, projects and styles of black women designers across the world. March is women’s month and across the month women are celebrated, but imagine a month long celebration of black women. Priceless, only Black Design News Network celebrates 31 days like this in 2011. Designers selected reshape the notion of design in the black diaspora. They are established, in mid-career and emerging. Each has a distinctive voice and style. This is the time to cross boundaries and establish a cultural database of unique design voices.

    This month, we feature:


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  • Rivington_Adayje.002

    Rivington Gallery: A Must See in London

    Posted on November 4, 2010 | 1 Comment

    by Michele Washington

    Need of a diverse cultural surge in London? Rivington Place is a must see. Located in the Shoreditch section of East London, this exhilarating cultural center is one of the first newly built gallery artist spaces in London since the Hayward Gallery in 1968. It is a public two-story space housing two cultural organizations, Autograph ABP and INVIA (Institute of International Visual Arts). Autograph ABP curates photography exhibits with a focus on cultural identity and human rights while INVIA, provides much needed diverse global educational programs, and research in the visual arts.

    Rivington Place is booming with a multitude of dynamic programming from film screenings, lectures, plus the Stuart Hall Library, named after Jamaica born intellect and one of Britain’s leading cultural theorist of the 20th century. The library is a repository of unique holding of cultural and visual materials from British artist of diverse backgrounds to contemporary art from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, along with its expansive collection of monographs, exhibitions catalogs, and various art periodicals. It includes work by such prominent visual artist as filmmaker Isaac Julien, Hew Locke and Chris Ofili whose collaged Madonna piece imbued with dung created a hoopla at the Brooklyn Museum in 1999.

    Just as fascinating is the building’s sculptural form designed by Tanzanian born international architect, David Adajye in 2007, with offices in London, Berlin and New York City. Situated on the corner of Rivington Street and Rivington Place, the stoned structure seems much taller than its two stories. Adajye’s exterior facade was inspired by Sowei mask from Sierra Leone; the exterior structure is configured in symmetrical a lattice pattern of gray stone and glass allowing natural light to flow into the interior space. The Facades earthy gray tones are reflected in the lobby, and swanky cafe located in the back on the first floor that offers visitors tasty snacks.

    On view in the galleries through 27 November, 2010 at Rivington Place are two magnificent photography exhibits” Ever Young: James Barnor and The Paris Albums 1900 W.E.B Du Bois both curated by Autograph ABP.  James Barnor, a prominent Ghanaian photographer began his career in Jamestown, Accra in 1949. In the 1950s, Barnor operated Ever Young studio in Accra, and photographed for the top African lifestyle DRUM magazine.

    James Barnor’s showing of a series of lively over-scaled black and white or color photographs depicts everyday life of men; women and children, marks him as a highly skilled portraiture photographer. Barnor knows how to capture the essence of his subjects by placing them in a variety of staged studio settings or campy street scenes. His images span the spectrum from hyper-stylized street fashion photography of a woman in a mini dress standing in sea of pigeons in Trafalgar Square in London. To a hilarious parody by a group of African comedians switching up vaudevilles derogatory blackface to mocking whiteface.

    Untitled #8, 1972 captures a woman sporting an Afro hairstyle, as a perfect example of transferences borrowing from the 1960s Black Arts Movement in the United States. In another photograph a striking pose of preteen-girl leaning on an upright white wooden pedestal, creates a compelling visual narrative by the contrasting placement of a tattered ceramic mascot of a young white girl, originally designed for the family run umbrella shop James and Sons. Does this image imply the black girls achievement of power?

    Barnor’s body of work offer the viewer a unique chance to visually experience the transatlantic transferences of everyday life through portraitures of Ghanaians after they migrated to London during the 1960s and 1970s.

    The Paris Albums 1900: WEB DuBois featuring a unique historical collection of photography was previously shown at the 1900 Paris Exposition. DuBois showed his entire 363 photographs in the American Negro Exhibit section; this has only 200 photos of Negroe types from Georgia and they represent a visual construction of the New African American identity. They show an insight into the conditions of black culture at the end of the 19th century, just 35 years after the abolition of slavery.

    None of the sitters are identified. Simply posed, the sitters are stylishly dressed, the women in high collared laced Victorian dresses, and the men in dapper suits with crisp white buttoned collared shirts and thin bow ties. Look for the sitters’ Eurocentric facial traits with characteristically thinner noses and lips, and wavy or naturally straight hair texture; and the sequential arrangement of the photos mimicking the repetitive flow of filmstrip projected on a wall. While the images are impressive, it is the quotations aligning the outer walls above the photos that provide a context of the cultural significance of the Negroes lifestyle and DuBois’ political theory.

    Both shows run until 27 November 2010 at Rivington Place, located at Rivington Pace, in London.

    Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA, Tel: +44 (0)20 7749 1240, info@rivingtonplace.org, web: http://www.rivingtonplace.org/

    Autograph ABP: +44 (0)20 7729 9200, www.autograph-abp.co.uk, info@autograph-abp.co.uk

    Iniva: +44 (0)20 7729 9616; www.iniva.org; iniva@iniva.org

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  • haiti-20

    Black Design News Network (BDNN): Its evolution and how it became involved in Haiti

    Posted on October 12, 2010 | No Comments

    by Atim Annette Oton, co- Founder, BDNN

    “Architecture is Revolution. Architecture is Social Change. It is about changing the world for the better through design and action”.   – The late architect, J. Max Bond [1]

    Dateline: October 8, 2009 – St. Louis, Missouri

    A panel discussion on African Design History at the 2009 NOMA Conference with Jack Travis, Renee Kemp-Rotan and William Stanley spurred the desire for a need for a funded “institute, place, vehicle or organization” to document the work of black architects, do research and promote the work of black architects”. At that meeting, I spoke about taking that the mantle and I committed to search for funds. I also asked for a commitment of support from the three panelists and from Dr. Curtis Sartor, Dean and Professor of Art, Design and Architecture at Judson University, and the only African American Dean of an architecture school in the US, who was in the audience.

    Dateline: October 15-December 15, 2009 – Brooklyn, New York and Birmingham, Alabama

    By the end of October, and back in New York, I began conducting an extensive grant search process to create the institute which I envisioned as online news agency and distribution service. By November, I had a series of grants and zeroed in on a distinct one that could potentially seed, develop and fund the project. The Knight Ridder News Challenge Grant was the perfect vehicle to create this new venture. The grant was to “seek innovations that use new or available technology to distribute content in local communities with three rules to apply: Use digital, open-source technology; distribute news in the public interest and test your project in a local community” [2].

    Over the month, I reached out to Renee Kemp-Rotan, Jack Travis, Bill Stanley and also to Curtis Sartor for support. Renee Kemp-Rotan eargerly jumped on board to fully participate in the process as she saw the “astronomical potential” of the project while the others committed to supporting the project. The idea became Black Design News Network (BDNN) and over about a month, Renee Kemp-Rotan (based in Birmingham, Alabama) and I (based in Brooklyn, New York) diligently and creatively crafted and evolved BDNN. For the grant, we evolved that:

    “Using an interactive open-source online platform, Black Design News Network (BDNN) will create and disseminate local stories and content about our target group – black designers (African, African American and Caribbean) and underserved designers (Hispanic) in the fields of Architecture/Interiors; Industrial/ Product Design; Visual Communications/Graphics, and Fashion/Textiles.” [3]

    Since of the number of black architects was about 2000, we recognized that the community small compared to what the grant focused on and we expanded the idea to include black and underserved designers. We saw the potential of BDNN as a think-tank, a generator of projects and enterprising research institute. We envisioned it as “a creative hive, a “work-space” hub for designers to develop projects, exchange ideas and share expertise across disciplines, without regard to geographic borders” [4]. We idealized about social change and ironically, the connection to Haiti was this bold statement we wrote below:

    “This collaborative work space offers new ways to produce projects that benefit the public interest.  These might include creating possible design solutions for sheltering the homeless in New York City, constructive solutions for recovery in New Orleans and other areas where natural disasters occur on a regular basis (the Carribean, etc.) or a Sustainability Model for Lagos, Nigeria that could be investigated by a team of interdisciplinary designers.” [5]

    On December 15, we submitted the grant proposal expected a decision either way by January 15. It was clear to Renee Kemp-Rotan and I, that we had created, innovated and pioneered a extraordinary idea that needed to be a start-up in the genre of Silicon Valley ventures. Thus, we took our cue and began to look at the business as a Silicon Valley start-up and searched for grants, and venture capital funding.

    TIMELINE: Jan 12, 2010: THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE


    On January 12, as I watched the Haiti Earthquake unfold on CNN like so many others, I could not stop feeling powerless but by the next day, I realized, as a trained designer, I was not helpless. And I went back to my roots and philosophy on why I studied architecture – a belief in architecture as a social change engine – and as a student of the late architect Max Bond, a belief in something he was said to me when I was deciding to attend City College: “Architeture is Revolution. It is about changing the world for the better through design and action”. I recalled September 11 when I was watched the towers fall down from infront of Parsons School of Design and how I as a product design department associate chair – lead by the chair Anthony Whitfield, reconciled to have our students act and deal with the tragedy as designers.  Thus, when it came to Haiti, I had to take action and began by “pressing the button” and sending emails to black architects and design thinkers about the need to engage in Haiti.

    Dateline: January 13, 2010, Brooklyn, New York

    GROUND ZERO – BDNN ENGAGING AND CONNECTING THE DOTS – INITIATING NOMA

    I sent the following email to Steven Lewis, president of NOMA, Renee Kemp-Rotan and 35 others, other designers and design thinkers including 10 black architecture firm owners like William Stanley, Curtis Moody, Phil Freelon and Jack Travis.

    “Steven, I have 2 key suggestions:

    1.  I think a statement from NOMA and a press release calling black architects to consider to assist, volunteer, contribute funds to Haiti, Haitian organizations such as YELE, FOLKAI, Doctors without Borders, etc.

    2. I would like to suggest that NOMA and Black Architects consider contacting USAID to see what help and assistance can be given to Haiti – based on the earthquake.

    The first priority seems to be a need for doctors but in times of crisis, and as the country goes forward, there will be a need for reconstruction, urban planning, development and architecture. Any thoughts” [6]

    This trigger was the impetus for engaging in Haiti personally and professionally as the co-Founder of Black Design News Network (BDNN). The responses I received tell the story of how designers gather as a collective to develop strategies for social change even in crisis and are best read below:

    Re: Black Architects, NOMA and Haiti Earthquake

    From: Steven Lewis To: atim oton

    Brilliant. Can you draft something for me to use as the basis for such a statement? I have inroads at USAID, so can probably get it in front of the right folks, but am time-challenged right now. Any help would be great to expedite this important mission. thanks, Steve

    I agree with the two suggestions!      Curt Moody

    I can recommend the organization Building Goodness out of Charlottesville. They have experience in design/build community work in Haiti, and in disaster recovery after Katrina on the Gulf Coast. They do not have plans yet but will post news here:  http://www.buildinggoodness.org/index.php/news/. At some point they will be looking for volunteers.                Bryan Bell

    Those of us who have done business with USAID and its associated agency ASHA (American Hospitals and Schools Abroad) might consider co authoring a letter to both agencies offering our assistance. While it is true that planning and development efforts logically follow some time after the rescue and retrieval efforts, the centuries of neglect of that country probably warrants a mammoth rebuilding effort akin to the  Marshall Plan (or at the very least the Katrina effort). I will be in that part of the Caribbean for the next five days and will inquire of other practitioners what their plans of action might entail. Another idea is to utilize the services of our members who have specific experience with design in seismic regions.

    Thanks. Bill Stanley

    Atim, Following on the thought in Bryan Bell’s earlier email, Architects Without Borders and Architecture for Humanity are both groups that would have core initiatives to assist in this endeavor. We may even want to align ourselves with architect organizations in the Caribbean, e.g., Jamaica Institute of Architects, Barbados Society of Architects, etc. as well as organizations like OECS. Patrick Williams[7]

    Steven Lewis’ response to my initial email set off the development of a press release by Renee and I for NOMA, the creation of the program and a committee to discuss how to engage in Haiti. What was set in motion ironically is what Renee Kemp-Rotan and I had conceived – an entity like BDDN to initiate action and involve designers. Thus, BDNN became a news bureau, online magazine, digital library and ‘workspace’ hub for designers.

    The opportunity to create the press release also made us aware that Haiti was tri-lingual and we distributed in English and French – to 200 press people. We never did get it translated into Creole. We proved our thesis and the viability of BDNN as a news bureau as the press release got about 35 write-ups from Architecture Record to architecture blogs.  BDNN participated and assisted NOMA in the creation of its Service in Solidarity (SIS) Committee on Haiti (of which Renee Kemp-Rotan and I were committee members as BDNN co-founders and NOMA members) and we were on board for spearheading the donation $10k for CHF International (an organization already working in Haiti) rather than the original idea of having initial members collect and send tents to Haiti (a good idea but logistically problematic when the country was in crisis).

    Photo shows the damage after an earthquake measuring 7 plus on the Richter scale rocked Port au Prince Haiti just before 5 pm, January 12, 2010. Photo Credit: UN Photo/Logan Abassi, United Nations Development Programme

    As a think-tank, Renee and I saw BDNN’s core focus on Haiti to get designers involved – socially, ethically and responsibly and to create new ways of thinking about disasters and crisis. We activated strategic thinking as core to seeking viable and well-thought out solutions. In this vain, the strategy was to get NOMA to the table with the decision makers in Haiti and in the US.

    BDNN – The Plan and Projects: Pioneering Innovation

    For BDNN to be a think tank and location for information, an online “beta site” (blog) was launched just after the Haiti Earthquake with the goal to have a fully developed comprehensive site by December 2010.  The goals for BDNN this year include:

    • Utillize Social media as a tool for spreading the news, BDNN is on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin

    —  Focus on being an issue oriented site: We settled on on Disasters this year. And n this vain, BDNN developed DISASTER SOS: HAITI, a panel discussion at NECON in June 2010; produced an all-day Haiti Conference Post-Earthquake Haiti : Disaster + Design in the Diaspora at the NOMA Conference in October 2010, applied for grants entitled DA BRONX SOS and CITIES UNDER SIEGE: Disaster in the Diaspora is an online publication led by members of Black Design News Network (BDNN) and victims of disaster to collectively investigate the impact of natural and made-made disaster in chronically underserved communities, worldwide; and  targeting citizens of communities of color suffering ‘disaster’: The Earthquake & Port Au Prince, Haiti; Katrina, The Flood & New Orleans; Blight & The Bronx.

    • —  Develop initiatives with designers and organizations via a Partnership Strategy and model.

    As of today, we have worked with Rodney Leon supporting the Haiti Softhouse, NOMA, Lesley-ann Noel and Trinidad designers on their Big Give for Haiti, The Archive Institute on its competition, “Kay e Sante nan Ayiti”, Housing and Health in Haiti; Brooklyn Fashion Gallery on Haiti discussions. We have also partnered with Focus on Design, Designers 421, and Project Osmosis on Disaster SOS: Haiti, the Bronx Council on the Arts on several grants and their partnership with the AIA Diversity and Inclusion on sponsoring Post-Earthquake Haiti : Disaster + Design in the Diaspora in Boston.

    • BDNN has worked on a series of grant applications to help us develop the site and develop its content and perspective. We have applied for a Knight News Challenge Grant, Graham Foundation, MacArthur J-Voices, NYC Seed Start, and other grants for BDNN with projects that would expand the reach and scope of what we currently cover.
    • Support Design Research. The Haiti Culture Code is one such initiative, authored by Renee Kemp-Rotan, co-Founder of BDNN. She launched a call for papers in July.

    As early as February, BDNN lead the charge in black design to identify the key players and decision makers in Haiti and its Reconstruction. We outlined who black designers should look to: Haitian Government; Haitian people – in Haiti and across the Diaspora; United Nations (UN); World Bank; Clinton Foundation/Clinton Bush Foundation; Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Congress- in particular Yvette Clarke and Ed Towns in Brooklyn and US Government. They also included: France, Canada, South American and Caribbean Countries; UNA-HAITI – Haitian American/Haitian Diaspora Organization.

    To do this work, Renee Kemp-Rotan and I attended meetings over February 2010 until July 2010 on Haiti – and represented NOMA at some and BDNN at some. These meetings include events held by the UNA-HAITI at the UN; Haitian Cultural Exchange at the Brooklyn Museum; Brooklyn International Development Trade Center (BIDTC) at Brooklyn Borough Hall; Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and USAID event in Brooklyn; Haiti Invitational Summit organized by the American Institute of Architects/Puerto Rico (AIA/PR), and Organization of American States (OAS) Meeting of Haitian Diaspora in Preparation for International Donor Conference in DC.

    In October, BDNN unveiled its Post-Earthquake Haiti:  Disaster + Design in the Diaspora, a one-day conference to update NOMA, Boston design comnmunity, the Haitian Diaspora and others about Haiti. We presented four panels:

    • PANEL 1- Post-Earthquake Haiti as a Physical System: Rebuilding the Country: The Full Monty Update
    • PANEL 2: Post-Earthquake Haiti as a Social System: Rebuilding the Family: Women and Children at Risk
    • PANEL 3 Post-Earthquake Haiti as a Cultural System: Rebuilding Identity: The Haiti Culture Code- Architecture, Disaster + Cultural Identity
    • PANEL 4 – Post-Earthquake Haiti as an Economic System: Rebuilding the Economy: Getting Work in Haiti

    More details on this one-day conference will be online soon.

    On Haiti and at our website, www.blackdesignnews.com, BDNN has and is continually gathering information, seeking articles and content on Haiti, Design and Reconstruction. Our goal was also to become the culture experts on Haiti and the place to go to for information on Haiti. In that end, we created an online newsletter to reach our audience – black designers and to begin to create a database of subscribers.

    As we evolve, BDDN will identify black designers who ‘infuse unique identity into creative culture’ and transform ‘the aesthetics of dominant culture’, via 4 web-based components:  1.) a digital news bureau to broadcast; 2.) an online magazine to document the work; 3.) a digital design studio/workspace to collaborate; and 4.) a digital library to archive exemplary design, education, practice projects that serves to promote the worldwide contributions of designers from the African Diaspora.

    We consider BDNN as a clearing house, and have coined the slogan: BDNN is the 411 of the black design diaspora, as envision a global reach.

    __________________

    [1] This is an excerpt from my discussion and meeting with the Dean Max Bond in 1987 at City College when I was trying to decide to attend City College.

    [2] Retrieved from Knights News Challenge Website: http://www.newschallenge.org/

    [3] Oton, Atim Annette and Renee Kemp-Rotan (2009), Black Design News Network (BDNN), a proposal for the Knights News Challenge Grant, Submitted December 15, 2009.

    [4] Oton, Atim Annette and Renee Kemp-Rotan (2009), Black Design News Network (BDNN), a proposal for the Knights News Challenge Grant, Submitted December 15, 2009.

    [5] Ibid.

    [6] Oton, Atim Annette, Personal Haiti Email Archive, Discussions, January 13, 2010 – July 2, 2010.

    [7] Oton, Atim Annette, Personal and part of BDNN’s Haiti Email Archive, Discussions, January 13, 2010 – July 2, 2010.

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  • haiti-disaster-sos-610

    BDNN produces Post-Earthquake Haiti: Disaster + Design in the Diaspora at 2010 NOMA Conference

    Posted on August 4, 2010 | No Comments

    BDNN produces

    Post-Earthquake Haiti : Disaster + Design in the Diaspora

    SPONSOR:   AIA Diversity & Inclusion

    Event Location:

    Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

    Room: Fairfield

    Fees to attend: Haiti Day long Event: Yes, details to follow soon.

    THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7,  2010


    9am: Black Design News Network (BDNN) The Launch

    Exposing the World to Designers of the Diaspora: A Digital Expose

    Atim  Annette Oton                    Disaster in the Diaspora – Overview of the Last Six Months of Initiatives

    Renee Kemp-Rotan                   Overview of the Panel System/Overview of the Code

    9:10am – 10:10am

    PANEL 1- Post-Earthquake Haiti as a Physical System: Rebuilding the Country: The Full Monty Update

    Renee Kemp-Rotan, Co-Founder, Black Design News Network/Moderator

    • Ambassador Leslie Voltaire, U.N. Special Envoy/Government of Haiti
    • Jean Emile Simon, President Society of Haitian Architects

    Above: Ambassador Leslie Voltaire, U.N. Special Envoy/Government of Haiti

    Description: This Panel focuses on what is being done in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010. Through PowerPoint presentations, a Haitian Envoy and government dignitary and Haitian architect who participated in the Haitian Summit sponsored by AIA/Puerto Rico in April 2010 will update the entire NOMA membership and others on proposals and plans for Haiti’s redevelopment. Maps, Images, plans will be shown.

    10:20am – 10:30am – Break -

    10:30am – 11:30am

    PANEL 2: Post-Earthquake Haiti as a Social System: Rebuilding the Family: Women and Children at Risk

    Atim Annette Oton Co-Founder, Black Design News Network/Moderator

    Diane Jones, Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture, Morgan State University; Dowoti Desir, Founder, Durban Declaration Programme of Action Watch Group, (DDPA Watch Group); and  Ella Ayiti Turenne, Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement, Occidental College

    Description: This Panel focuses on what issues are facing women in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010. Presentations will update the entire NOMA membership and others on how women will be involved in Haiti’s redevelopment.

    11:30am – 12:30pm

    PANEL 3  Post-Earthquake Haiti as a Cultural System: Rebuilding Identity: The Haiti Culture Code- Architecture, Disaster + Cultural Identity

    Renee Kemp-Rotan, Co-Founder, BDNN/Presenter/Moderator

    Jean Emile Simon, President Society of Haitian Architects, Benjamin Vargas, FAIA, Architect and  2010 Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award Winner, Bettina Byrd Giles, Interculturalist, The Birds Nest, LLC, Erica Rioux-Gees, Architect, AIA National Board Member and Disaster Expert,  Anthony Whitfield, Associate Dean, Parsons The New School for Design; Mabel Wilson, Associate Professor of Architecture, Columbia University, Architect Rodney Leon, Rodney Leon Architects, Jenna McKnight, Architecture Record, Dale Joachim, MIT Media Lab, Haiti and Social Media, Max Beauvoir, President of International Brotherhood of Voodoo Priests,Michel DeGraffe, MIT, Linguistics Expert on Kreoyl and Atim Annette Oton/BDNN.

    Description: This panel focuses on a review of the Culture Code by Haitian Architects, African American Architects, Disaster Experts and Interculturalists. It will look at the rebuilding of post-earthquake Haiti as an opportunity to create Haiti as the new utopia for the African Diaspora. The Culture Code is a fully documented design and development kit being constructed by Renee Kemp-Rotan who will outline the Culture Code as a comprehensive framework of 100 cultural considerations advanced across the socio-economic geography of pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial and post-earthquake Haiti, in a way that informs all future design, development and resettlement. Panel and audience participation will review the usefulness of such a code during times of resettlement and rebuilding of post-disaster environments.

    12:30pm – 1:30pm

    Lunch (not provided)

    1:40 pm –

    2:40 pm

    PANEL 4 - Post-Earthquake Haiti as an Economic System: Rebuilding the Economy: Getting Work in Haiti

    Atim Annette Oton, Co-Founder, BDNN/Moderator

    Jim Paul, Director, U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Mauricio Vera, Director, OSDBU, USAID and Renee Kemp-Rotan/BDNN.

    Description: This panel focuses on ways to get work on Haiti for design professionals from the Haitian government, the US government and non-profits working in Haiti

    2:50 pm -3:50 pm

    BDNN Final Comments: Rebuilding International Relationships

    For more details, please contact Atim Annette Oton at atim@blackdesignnews.com

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  • slam-dunk-2

    Stacy Nicole, Interior Designer

    Posted on July 24, 2010 | No Comments

    by Gwen Williams

    Having experience as a therapist, is an appropriate prerequisite for becoming an interior designer.  It can be concluded that Stacy Nicole clearly thought through the process before making a decision about her career options. She is also a master at multi-tasking, juggling a combined family with 5 children.  But, Stacy cheerfully takes it all in stride as she utilizes her interior design talent as an escape to the world of all things beautiful.

    Above: Basketball slam dunk Atlanta, GA

    While attending Florida State University, where she majored in Family and Child Consumer Sciences, and Child Development, Stacy established a successful Event Planning and Design business.  She relocated to Atlanta where she met her husband and they developed a successful construction business.  She later attended Lanier Technical College, where she advanced her knowledge of interior design.

    Stacy Nicole is a self described West Indies born and American raised educator, a family therapist through training, event designer by skill, philanthropist by grace, and an interior designer by trade.   However, she is most recognized as a “sophisticated” interior designer.  Her design visions for space are both captivating and warm.  Stacy brings a fresh mix of Caribbean flavor with classic style, and an emphasis on placement of light, proper scale, and architecture. Her knowledge and sense of style has made her one of the most sought after designers in Atlanta.

    Her most recent accomplishment is the launch of e-Design Service, a division of Stacy Nicole Interiors.  e-Design takes full advantage of the latest advances in technology, by extending a service to the targeted client who may prefer a customized plan, with selections based on cost effective budget requirements.  A design plan is developed, then snail or transmitted via e-mail.

    The master of multi-tasking extends her role as therapist, but with her heart.  Stacy’s philanthropic foundation Design for Child was inspired by her daughter who asked, “why can’t all girls have Princess rooms”?   The foundation is dedicated to the design of spaces for children in emotional and physical crisis, by creating environments that encourage support and productivity.

    Stacy Nicole

    Interior Design & Furnishings, Inc.

    Exceptional Design for Exceptional People

    C:   678.773.8708

    www.stacynicole.com

    www.stacynicole.com/presskit

    http://twitter.com/StacyNicole07

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  • Chakaras

    Chakaras Johnson, RIP, Graphic Designer Extraordinaire

    Posted on July 22, 2010 | 4 Comments

    by Atim Annette Oton

    On Monday evening, I received an email from a fellow designer to announce very sad news. I was stunned. Charakas Johnson had left us. Designer Chakaras Johnson was simply one of the best people that I have met in the design industry. He was charming, funny, and serious. Most of all, Chakaras was talented. That is not an understatement.

    I met Chakaras and his brother, Chacon, when they designed Blacklines Magazine, which I ran as the executive vice president in 1999-2002. They created the magazine’s image and look -and the template which we used. It was a fun time working with them – they were extremely creative and made all of us laugh. Chakaras was the lead, the older brother, very protective of us and caring about our product. It was clear that he was having a great time with the process of dealing with three women who had just begun publishing.  He taught us a lot. And after 10 years, I am still in publishing.

    My tribute to him is simple:

    Designers may come and go – but the good ones leave a legacy. His legacy was of talent, great personality and ambition. He was driven, hardworking…and simply, he was one of the good guys.  My heart goes out to Chacon Johnson and Nicole. Time will pass but the memories last a lifetime. He left us all great ones; and as we smile and cry, we know this talented man walked among us. He gave us compassion and hope to change the world with his craft and person. We will miss him dearly.

    With respect – please visit Chakaras and Chacon’s website:

    http://www.helen-marie.com/work

    http://www.chakaras.com

    and please donate to a Memorial Fund for him:

    http://www.rodamagazine.com/Capoeira/News/Update-Please-Donate-To-The-Chakaras-Comprido-Johnson-Memorial-Fund.html?Itemid=13

    On Friday, the memorial service for Chakaras Jonson will be at:

    • Friday, July 23rd from 9-11am at Brooklyn Funeral Home at 2380 Pacific Street Brooklyn

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  • haiti-1

    The Haiti Culture Code: An International Call for Papers

    Posted on June 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

    TOWARDS A POST-EARTHQUAKE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL

    by Renee Kemp-Rotan, author of the code

    A Culture Code for Haiti: The Rebuilding of National Identity through Architecture (NIA) assumes that culturally informed architecture can help to fulfill new national ideals, through rebuilding Haiti as a utopian civilization with NIA/purpose.

    First, The Culture Code will outline a comprehensive framework of 100 cultural considerations advanced across the socio-economic geography of pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial and post-earthquake Haiti, in a way that informs all future design and development.

    Second, The Culture Code is an international call for papers to address 100 topics on Haitian culture, politics and space for:

    • cultural anthropologists
    • geographers
    • policy planners
    • urban designers
    • architects
    • developers
    • economists
    • historians
    • disaster experts

    Third, The Culture Code will meld ‘form and content’ data collected above to propose a series of design principles structured to influence all future and permanent master plan efforts in the rebuilding of post-earthquake Haiti. Thus both quantitative and qualitative design decsions can be made.

    Fourth, The Culture Code will develop specific ‘pilot prototypes’ that lead to a system of development contracts that follow best practices for town planning/settlement building/housing designs (macro and micro) that  are culturally significant, replicable, yet influenced by population capacity, location, geography, transportation, communication and resources.

    The code is authored and edited by Renee Kemp-Rotan, co-Founder of Black Design News Network.

    More details, visit http://www.haiticulturecode.com

    Full Story

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