Kehinde Wiley, whose fame skyrocketed after he painted President Obama’s White House portrait, is officially opening his residency in Dakar, Senegal; for visual artist, writers and film makers.
The resident artists who are expected to come from all over the world, are to spend one to three months at a time, in the luxury studio. According to the painter, “an artist can come here and have an experience that is at once about getting work done and about rigor.”
Mr. Kehinde’s residency isn’t just for painters like himself. He wants to host writers who will sit at a desk, overlooking the sea and be inspired by other residents’ work. Residents will live in the adjacent apartment towers. More than 700 have applied.
Mr. Kehinde’s father and mother, who are Nigerian and African-American respectively, will be at the Black Rock too.
The luxury studio was designed by Senegalese architect Abib Djenne; Aissa Dione and Fatiya Djenne helped put together the textile-rich interior. The sculpto Ousmane Gueye designed a large glass table supported by black rocks hauled by crane from the beach. There are pieces from Soly Cissé, a Senegalese artist, and a painting from Ngimbi Luve, a Congolese artist, to name a few.
Source: www.nytimes.com