Remember this saying: behind every great man there is a great woman? Well in similar context, behind every great festival is a great director. Cameron Bailey has been with the Toronto International Film Festival for many years, enhancing international partnerships, innovating the annual festival and developing new programs to engage local audiences. His recent title change to Artistic Director reflects his involvement with the organization and his commitment to bring great film to the city. We had a chance to sit down with the director and talk about many things, including his journey in film, his insight into TIFF 2012, his thoughts about the Indian film industry and the evolution of the TIFF brand.
Bailey began his journey in film as a journalist, writing for Toronto’s NOW magazine and various other outlets. “[It] gave me the opportunity to analyze films and express my opinion”, he said.”I have always liked to do that and communicate with an audience.” Soon after, he joined the festival and its programming team and has remained with the organization since. ” What programming adds to [being a film critic] is the ability to advocate for films, to really say ‘this is something that I love and I hope you love it too and here it is’. So much of programming is really personal. It’s about your own personal passions, your personal taste. You find something and you feel like you have discovered it. Although filmmakers have spent months, sometimes years, making it but you feel like you have discovered it because you have seen it for the first time, sometimes before the public audience has seen it. That ability to respond to your own passion about a film and to bring it, in this case, to the Toronto International Film Festival – which is such a huge public platform – where you can present it to so many people. That’s what being a critic doesn’t give you. It’s that additional ability to present, to advocate for work that you feel is important.”
Posts published in “Arts / Style”
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/48310654 w=500&h=281] <p><a
Models.com recently listed Joan Smalls as the number one model in the world, saying: “With her innate elegance and multi-cultural beauty, Joan Smalls has become the defining face of modern luxury. Her unique blend of strength and elegance has captivated everyone from Karl Lagerfeld, Steven Meisel, and Carine Roitfeld. Her flawless bookings raise the bar for models everywhere. Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, Pop, i-D, V, W, there isn’t a cover she hasn’t conquered, nor a campaign she hasn’t landed. With the coup de grâce of an Estee Lauder contract solidifying her place as the girl of the moment, Joan moved from phenom to full-fledged powerhouse. Few models have seized their moment in such chic style.”
KlossLondon goes straight to the source to find out in this exclusive peek into the world of brand-new numero uno, Joan Smalls. Find out how she rose through the ranks to the top of the heap, and what snagging that coveted place atop Top 50 means to her. See a whole new side of the groundbreaking beauty and celebrate her victory with this MDX special.
Vlisco Designs is a fabric company that makes it its speciality to experiment with wild, new ideas for African fabrics, breaking the boundaries of the expected with these traditional fabrics. (Photo: Facebook)
Couture runways and the concrete walkways of the streets are evidence that the use of African prints is expanding in fashion, but with modern European styling and a fresh sensibility. Traditionally, African prints have been used for formal ethnic costumes with volumes of lengthy layers. Or they have made it to the mainstream in the form of political dashikis. For the younger demographic, these older styles haven’t won many fans. Indeed, the trendier set wants to show their shape, flaunt a little skin, add a few inches to their stature, and find pieces that sample from the latest runway ensembles.
Azealia Banks is cementing her place as an “It Girl” in the fashion and beauty realm at lightning speed. In fact, some feel the rapper is now more well-known for her fashion and beauty cred than her music. In the past year, she attended the 2012 MET Gala, appeared in the campaign for T by Alexander Wang and as previously reported, is slated to perform at Fashion’s Night Out at MAC Cosmetics Soho.
Far off from the public eye, the Brooklyn Navy Yard looms over the Brooklyn waterfront, quiet and unassuming as a warehouse. From its outside, you’d never guess this industrial landmass serves as a safe haven for businesspeople, photographers, media, and artists alike.
On a cool August morning, someone from the latter category stands right before the entrance. Clad in a green worksuit with blue and white splotches, Charlotta Janssen looks more like a hired house painter than a creative one. That perception changes once you enter her studio on the 8thfloor and give your head the 360 degree treatment. To your immediate left hangs pictures of a naked couple presumably after sexual intercourse, to the right, a man with a half-smile, half-scowl on his face.
The main part of the room, however, is where your eyes stay focused: A picture of young Black children at a 1920s Harlem pool lines the upper right (in tribute to Harlem Renaissance man James Van Der Zee). A side painting of Trinidadian activist Stokely Carmichael lies mere feet away. Civil rights staples Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks sit nearby with stern looks at the camera.
These three paintings make up part of Jennsen’s “Freedom Riders” exhibit. Currently on display at Philadelphia’s African-American Museum through September 30th, the collection of oil canvas mugshots of those who participated in the 20th century Freedom Bus Rides for integrated public transit is juxtaposed with ID cards, secretly handwritten notes, and any other written documents Janssen could find.
Far off from the public eye, the Brooklyn Navy Yard looms over the Brooklyn waterfront, quiet and unassuming as a warehouse. From its outside, you’d never guess this industrial landmass serves as a safe haven for businesspeople, photographers, media, and artists alike.
On a cool August morning, someone from the latter category stands right before the entrance. Clad in a green worksuit with blue and white splotches, Charlotta Janssen looks more like a hired house painter than a creative one. That perception changes once you enter her studio on the 8thfloor and give your head the 360 degree treatment. To your immediate left hangs pictures of a naked couple presumably after sexual intercourse, to the right, a man with a half-smile, half-scowl on his face.
The main part of the room, however, is where your eyes stay focused: A picture of young Black children at a 1920s Harlem pool lines the upper right (in tribute to Harlem Renaissance man James Van Der Zee). A side painting of Trinidadian activist Stokely Carmichael lies mere feet away. Civil rights staples Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks sit nearby with stern looks at the camera.
These three paintings make up part of Jennsen’s “Freedom Riders” exhibit. Currently on display at Philadelphia’s African-American Museum through September 30th, the collection of oil canvas mugshots of those who participated in the 20th century Freedom Bus Rides for integrated public transit is juxtaposed with ID cards, secretly handwritten notes, and any other written documents Janssen could find.
Augustus Washington (1820–1875)
Unidentified woman, probably a member of the Urias McGill family, daguerreotype, sixth plate, 1855, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, LZ-USZC4-3937.
article via blog.charlesguice.com
Twelve years ago, Reflections in Black became the largest exhibition ever conceived to explore the breadth and history of work by black photographers.
It is unlikely that many people would be familiar with the name Jules Lion. A free man of color, Lion established the first daguerrean studio in New Orleans and, in doing so, became somewhat of a local celebrity. Alone, his accomplishments might have been of little interest. But the fact that he did this in the early spring of 1840, soon after the announcement of the daguerreotype process, is worthy of special attention. Moreover, there is evidence that Lion may have immigrated from France with knowledge of the process. For historian Deborah Willis, Lion’s achievements mark not only the beginning of photography in the U.S., but the pioneering involvement of blacks in the medium. As a result, Lion is included in the landmark exhibition,Reflections in Black: Smithsonian African American Photography.
Solange Knowles is known as the funkier sister, compared to her glamazon sibling Beyoncé. From her DJing to her dazzling ensembles, her bohemian style has been praised by both fans and fashion industry insiders alike. Now, Solange is parlaying her unique image into her first gig headlining a fashion campaign.
Already a face for the beauty and hair care company Carol’s Daughter, Solange Knowles is now a muse for Madewell, with whom she secured her very first fashion contract. A company owned by J. Crew, Madewell is known for its more youthful approach to the colorful classics that make J.Crew a favorite brand of first lady Michelle Obama.
“Images from the 26-year-old’s first major contract with a fashion label have been released, showing the photogenic singer-songwriter in a series of rainbow-colored looks,” reports the Daily Mail about the newly released photos. Unafraid of color, Knowles also parades in contrasting patterns, an overall approach that matches her signature tastes.
Celebrity style watchers have praised the company’s selection of Solange, as a DJ and eclectic dresser, to head the campaign titled “Mix Well.” The mixing and matching of stylish combinations to produce cute outfits is seen by many as the perfect metaphor for both Madewell’s brand, and the multi-faceted “It Girl” aura Solange has cultivated.
“In what’s possibly the most appropriate slogan ever, Madewell’s newest campaign, ‘Mix Well,’ features DJ/style star/under-30 influencer Solange Knowles. (Mix. DJ. Get it?),” explains the leading fashion web site, Refinery 29. “As the face of the Madewell fall ’12 campaign, Knowles is officially the perfect choice for a collection that has already inspired us to get creative with the way we style ourselves.”
While Solange has made a unique place for herself in New York City’s style scene, this is her first attempt to capitalize on her individual fashion sense in a national campaign. Do you think her unusual image will inspire shoppers to adopt her mix-and-sometimes-mismatch approach to fashion?
by Alexis Garrett Stodghill via Solange makes debut as the face for Madewell fashion line | theGrio.
When the developer Bruce Ratner set out to buy the New Jersey Nets and build an arena for them in Brooklyn, he recruited Jay-Z, the hip-hop superstar who grew up in public housing a couple of miles from the site, to join his group of investors.
Mr. Ratner may have thought he was getting little more than a limited partner with a boldface name and a youthful following that could prove useful someday. But Jay-Z’s contributions have dwarfed the $1 million he invested nine years ago. His influence on the project has been wildly disproportionate to his ownership stake — a scant one-fifteenth of one percent of the team. And so is the money he stands to make from it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2ZjVDMyfv4]
Singer Janelle Monáe is the latest addition to the gorgeous legacy of Cover Girl spokeswomen. She is joining fellow music artists Pink, Queen Latifah, and Taylor Swift to become the new face of the cosmetic line. Her first Cover Girl campaign is set to launch in next month’s Vogue.
Monáe has a unique hip-hop and soul sound. The Bad Boy artist, known for wearing only black and white, was nominated for a Grammy for her debut EP. Monae is more than a singer and songwriter, she is on a unique mission to encourage women to use all their artistic powers to play, change, and transform. Her website reports that she is excited to open up a new platform to inspire women.
via Janelle Monáe named the new face of Cover Girl | theGrio.