Robin Hood’s L!braries

I’ve had libraries on the brain recently–both the invisible kind and the visually enhanced kind, like this one Maira Kalman designed for PS 47 in the Bronx for Robin Hood’s L!brary Initiative.  The L!brary Initiative transforms elementary school libraries in high poverty areas into bright, beautiful temples of learning that inspire creativity and academic achievement.  Artists like Kalman are brought in to reimagine the space, while publishers Scholastic and HarperCollins have donated over a million books in an unprecedented effort to improve the state of education in NYC’s neediest neighborhoods.  What a marvelous program!  Art & literature make wonderful bedfellows.  Also check out the awesome PS 96 library that illustrator Yuko Shimizu and designer Stefan Sagmeister collaborated on here.

PS 96 Library Mural by Yuko Shimizu

 

AI/AP Party

Great party last Thursday to celebrate the publication of American Illustration 28 & American Photography 25 at the Angel Oresanz Foundation in the Lower East Side. Fabulous art, people and venue.  The annually published AI and AP are the go-to directories for illustration and photography talent across all creative industries.  A mammoth tome, it also makes a classy doorstop or murder weapon.  Perfect gift for the holidays!

American Illustration 28

American Illustration 28
From the pages of AI28
Angel Oresanz Foundation
Angel Oresanz Foundation

Awesome work by Yuko Shimizu, Adam Kidder, Melinda Beck and a hundred other talented people. Briefly met Felix Sockwell, who by random coincidence is the guy who illustrated my friend Hua Hsu’s cover story for the Atantic a few months back.  New York is full of surprises.  Thanks to June Kim for the gatecrashing tip!