Latest news with #KithandKin
The Guardian
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
2024 Venice Biennale Gold Lion winners ‘appalled' by Creative Australia decision to dump Khaled Sabsabi
The artist and curator who won the Golden Lion for Australia at the Venice Biennale last year have called for the reinstatement of Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino, saying they were 'appalled' to learn of the duo's treatment by Creative Australia. First Nations artist Archie Moore and curator Ellie Buttrose won the top award at the prestigious event in 2024 for their project Kith and Kin – the first ever Australian team to win the accolade since Australia began attending 70 years ago. In a statement, the pair condemned the Creative Australia Board's decision to rescind its contract with Sabsabi and Dagostino, saying the move came 'quickly and without transparent process' and was a 'corruption of its core principles'. The debacle triggered two staff resignations at Creative Australia, a board resignation and uproar within the art community who have warned it sets a concerning precedent for artistic freedom. 'It is distressing to see that the arms-length objectivity of the Australia Pavilion's selection process is so easily undone and that the independence of Creative Australia is so quickly compromised,' Moore and Buttrose said in a statement. 'To regain its credibility, Creative Australia must return to its founding mandate: supporting artistic practice, advocating for freedom of expression, and promoting the understanding of the arts.' Moore and Buttrose said the Board's decision would have 'unacceptable' and wide reaching implications for Australian artists, art professionals and audiences. 'While their statement did not clarify the board's reasons for their dismissal, the timing coincides with politically motivated accusations questioning the artist's integrity in the media and in Senate Question Time,' the 2024 team said. Sabsabi and Dagostino, who have had long and celebrated artistic and curatorial careers, were announced for the 2026 selection on 4 February. Creative Australia revoked their appointment days later after historical artworks by Sabsabi received negative coverage in The Australian newspaper, and were subsequently raised by Liberal senator Claire Chandler in Senate question time last Thursday. The statement from the federal arts body that evening said: 'Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art. However, the Board believes a prolonged and divisive debate about the 2026 selection outcome poses an unacceptable risk to public support for Australia's artistic community and could undermine our goal of bringing Australians together through art and creativity.' Creative Australia calls for expressions of interest from artists and curators to represent Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale, four months after the First Nations artist Archie Moore collects the Golden Lion at the 2024 event. Creative Australia announces the Lebanese-Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi will represent Australia, with Michael Dagostino, the director of the University of Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Museum, as curator. The Australian newspaper's Margin Call column criticises the choice of Sabsabi, mentioning a 2007 work by the artist called You, which depicts images of the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (killed last September). The Tasmanian Liberal senator Claire Chandler challenges the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, during question time over Creative Australia's choice of Sabsabi. Wong says she had no prior knowledge of the choice of artist but says "any glorification of the Hezbollah leader Nasrallah is inappropriate". Creative Australia's board, chaired by Robert Morgan, holds an extraordinary meeting. The board votes in favour of withdrawing Sabsabi and Dagostino as Australia's representatives. Creative Australia issues a media release announcing the decision the same evening. The investment banker and philanthropist Simon Mordant resigns as a biennale ambassador and withdraws his funding. Creative Australia's head of visual arts, Mikala Tai, and program manager Tahmina Maskinyar both resign in protest. The artist Lindy Lee announces her decision to resign from the Creative Australia board on Instagram, saying: 'I could not live the level of violation I felt against one of my core values – that the artist's voice must never be silenced." At a press conference in Canberra, the arts minister, Tony Burke, denies any political interference allegations. Creative Australia announces an independent inquiry into the selection process for the Venice Biennale. The five-member panel which selected Sabsabi releases a joint statement saying it is "deeply concerned" by the decision. Almost 3,000 artists, curators, writers and academics sign a petition calling on Creative Australia to reinstate Sabsabi and Dagostino. The federal arts minister, Tony Burke, confirmed on Monday he contacted Creative Australia's chief executive, Adrian Collette, immediately after question time. 'Normally I don't get involved in the decisions, but when something's due to be announced, I get sent up a brief with … what different issues that might be considered controversial,' Burke said. 'I rang Adrian to find out what had happened. At that point, he had already determined that they were going to have a board meeting that night. 'I was very clear. I made clear to Adrian Collette, who I have known for more than a decade, I said to him whatever you decide, I will support you and I will support Creative Australia.' On Sunday Burke said he supported the board's decision to remove Sabsabi but said it had 'been made at arm's length from me'. Moore and Buttrose's statement came just days after Creative Australia said it would launch a review into the 'selection process' that led to Sabsabi and Dagostino being chosen. On Wednesday night, the winning team pointed out that they had gone through the 'same rigorous process' as Sabsabi and Dagostino, adding that 'the merit of this arms-length selection process was proven', because they went on to take out the top prize. 'Our project, kith and kin, was selected by an esteemed independent international jury and Creative Australia, with Creative Australia reserving the final decision,' they said. 'We understand that the same rigorous process was used in the selection of the 2026 team of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino.' Simryn Gill, who represented Australia at the Venice Biennale in 2013, and is a friend of Sabsabi, told ABC's 7.30 on Wednesday night that he was 'a stunning choice'. 'Khaled has worked a long time in what he does … he's thoughtful. He's a very interesting and modest man who works deeply with anything that he takes on,' Gill told the ABC's Sarah Ferguson. 'What's happened has taken so much trust away from the process of how things are done,' Gill added. 'I don't believe there will be an artist who wants to step into shoes that have been vacated in this way. It's a very public forum, and everybody globally now in the art world knows … what has happened and how this has happened, and so it becomes, for the next edition of it, a poisoned place to take up.'
Axios
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Chef Eric Adjepong's hotly anticipated West African restaurant opening in D.C.
From sous chef to Top Chef, cookbook author to Food Network host, Eric Adjepong champions West African cuisine — and now, with the opening of his first restaurant on 14th Street, he has a new platform to share his passion. Why it matters: As West African cuisine is gaining momentum nationally, Adjepong is one of the leading chefs exploring the ingredients and techniques through a modern lens — and Elmina promises to be like nothing else in D.C. Catch up quick: The Ghanaian chef, born in the Bronx, has strong ties to D.C. He cooked at Kwame Onwuachi 's Afro-Caribbean Wharf restaurant, Kith and Kin, and ran a private chef/catering company here between TV stints. Even as his reach expanded — including a line of West African foods in Whole Foods and African-inspired dishware at Crate & Barrel — he's looked to open a restaurant here. What he's saying:"I've been thinking about a restaurant space as long as I could remember," Adjepong tells Axios. A year ago, he inked a deal for the former Seven Reasons building. The new spot opens Feb. 18. "Africa being the second biggest continent in the world but the food being relatively unknown is a travesty. There's so much technique and history and stories — I feel privileged to help bring that to the forefront." Zoom in: The richly textured, multitiered space — inspired by the meaning of Elmina, "treasure" — offers a variety of experiences under one roof, from prix-fixe to street food. On the highest end, guests can opt for five-course tasting menus ($105 per person, plus $55 optional pairing) with multiple choices within each category to encourage sharing. A series of small plates culminate in "big chops" — platters for two or more like whole grilled lobster with fisherman's stew, or crispy jollof duck rice. Many options explore the connection between West Africa and the diaspora, such as hamachi crudo with passionfruit and peri-peri (a native chili) oil. The intrigue: You don't need to spend big to get flavor. An a la carte, walk-in "chop bar" menu, available in first and second-floor bars, draws from Ghanaian street food. Look for a variety of meat or seafood kebabs, plus some fun mashups like a yassa smash burger or crispy okra fries. Most dishes fall in the low-to-mid $20s or below. Having worked in D.C., Adjepong knows "brunch is massive." Elmina will open Saturday afternoons with lots of Ghanaian riffs on American favorites like cardamom-lime cinnamon rolls, oxtail hash or eggs bennie with peri-peri hollandaise. If you go: Elmina, 2208 14th St Northwest. Tasting menu and brunch reservations via Seven Rooms.
