Beneath the roof of a former perfumery alongside Atlanta’s Westside Beltline, adidas gathered a whole lot of artists, athletes, musicians, writers, designers and leaders for the ultimate act of its Honoring Black Excellence (HBE) capstone – an ode to the cultural architects on the helm Black creativity, innovation and brilliance. The enduring three stripes have lengthy understood the transformative energy of teamwork and sportsmanship, and has taken its steadfast dedication to neighborhood and social affect off the pitch and into the broader cultural bloodstream.
Launched in 2019, HBE initiative is a pivotal platform for the model, honoring Black voices shaping at the moment’s artistic and social landscapes. A cross between expertise and exhibition, this 12 months’s version unfolded as an embodiment of reminiscence and momentum. Centered across the theme of “Pathways & Pipelines,” the occasion spotlighted those that not solely protect legacy, however voices who’re pave the way in which ahead. To curate the occasion, adidas tapped Rog & Bee Walker, the duo behind Paper Monday, to rework the sprawling, industrial house with their chic visible language, bringing their love for narrative and storytelling into a brand new, experiential dimension.
The night time featured a young quick movie directed by the Walkers, alongside a collection of immersive installations — a mosaic of the honorees’s iridescent worlds: A willow shades over the belles of Gee’s Bend Quilters, the Alabama-based collective whose quilted odes to Black Southern life ship a flare from the guts of American artwork historical past; testimonials from moms who’ve been impacted by Jaycina Almond‘s Tender Basis, a grassroots group rewriting narratives round single Black motherhoods, sing from the comfortable, nook nursery. Elsewhere, framed jerseys from Sekou Thornell’s label Kitboys Membership sits beside a stack of lockers. Fueled by his love for the sport, Thornell blends streetwear and soccer to empower the brand new wave of Black creatives, each on and off the sphere.
Peppered all through the house are portraits taken by the Walker’s — tender captures screen-printed on sheer veils of material, catching the sunshine as if exhaling with the room itself. The pictures function a visible throughline, threading every set up with a dignity that doesn’t simply captures its topics, however holds them tight. Forward of the HBE Capstone Expertise, we caught up with Rog & Bee to debate their observe and the imaginative and prescient that introduced all of it collectively.
