Eda Soylu 13 PT Constructing the House Anew, a solo show of Eda’s work in which visitors participate in the deconstruction of the work as they immerse themselves in it, continues through January 13 at Galeri Khas in Istanbul, where she lives. Her installation Floral Gas Capsules from the project I Feared was selected as a finalist in the Sovereign Middle East and North Africa Art (MENA) Prize, which aims to benefit mid-career artists while raising funds for START, a nonprofit that offers art therapy-based workshops for refugees and children with special needs across the MENA region.
LATINA LIFE + LITERATURA In Juana & Lucas, a delightful new book released last September, author/illustrator Juana Medina 10 GD invites young readers into the trials, tribulations and true joy of growing up in Colombia. “The world has many cities, but Bogotá is where I am. And where school is… and where Mami and my abuelos and Lucas are,” writes the very likable little protagonist, Juana (who is quick to let readers know that her name is pronounced hoo-WAN-nah). “Bogotá, Colombia, in South America, is the city that’s closest to my heart.” As the book for 5 – 8-year-olds unfolds over the next 88 pages, Medina makes it clear just why she and the character she named after herself are so pleased and proud of their language, culture and heritage. These days the real Juana lives in Washington, DC, where she teaches at George Washington University’s Corcoran School of Art and Design and remains actively engaged in speaking out about issues of equity and justice. In one of many ebullient reviews of Juana & Lucas, School Library Journal applauds Medina’s creative use of typography and sums up her book as “an essential selection that creates multicultural awareness, has distinguished and appealing design elements and a text that is the stuff of true literature.”
2012 continued For the Boston-based episode of the popular Ukranian TV series Oryol I Reshka, Russian celebrity Maria Ivakova wore the most recent dress Ryan Jude Novelline IL has made from recycled comic and manga book pages. Ivakova also showed off a custom-made crown by the designer in an Instagram video. Ryan lives in Lexington, MA. Cooper O’Brien GL (North Aurora, IL) exhibited glass works in Pilchuck EAiRs, a group show that ran for a month last fall at Schack Art Center in Everett, WA. Knitwear designer Kristine Rodriguez GD (San Diego), who launched Responsive Textiles in 2014, found her first show at New York Fashion Week in September to be “a learning experience”—much like her transition from graphic design to apparel several years ago. She describes her work as “very polished and clean”
with a focus on silhouettes and experimental shapes. “My goal as a designer is to create pieces that are as wearable as they are beautiful.” Liesl Schubel GL (Stanwood, WA) and Tina Aufiero 81 SC/ GL exhibited Flock the Optic, an installation on view at King Street Station in Seattle for one week last October. Jillian Wiedenmayer BArch and Matthew Martin, cofounders of the interdisciplinary design studio In House, are using their backgrounds in architecture to build community in and around Boston, the city where they live and work. Through their new project Urban Folds, dedicated to “transforming vacant places into thriving places,” they’re working to transform the decaying Franklin Pedestrian Bridge—a conduit for pedestrians and cyclists in the city’s Allston neighborhood— into an interactive architectural installation.
Jacqueline Lung 16 JM Jacqueline has already begun to attract attention with her Archytas handmade stainless steel sunglasses and a growing line of eyewear available through her site (jacquelinelung.com). Designed as part of her senior degree project, they’re inspired by the nature of the material itself.
Juana Medina 10 IL
read from her new book as part of RISD Weekend’s RISD Reads presentation in October.
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For more go to juanamedina.com.
2013 Providence-based textiles artist and designer Eliza Squibb TX earned DESIGNxRI’s Emerging Designer Award for her work in West Africa with the GAIA Vaccine Foundation. The award was presented in September as part of the annual Design Week RI celebration.
2014 In November Matthew Lawrence CR participated in Fantasy, a group exhibition at Metropolitan Gallery 250 in Philadelphia. He lives in Exeter, NH.
2015 Grace Bevilacqua CEC recently joined the Providencebased branding and communications firm (add)ventures, where she is manager of design and branding.
2016 Abigail Best FAV and Eloise Sherrid FAV were pleased that their films Spark and Arachne, respectively, were selected for screening as part of the Student Shorts Package at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August.