Albers/Albers at the École National Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris

In mid-September, education director Fritz Horstman led a week-long workshop for first-years students at L'École des Arts Décoratifs on the occasion of Anni and Josef Albers: Art and Life at the Musée d'Art Moderne. Working with Pierre Mabille and Aurélie Mathigot, Horstman led students through workshops in color, textile, paper folding, and drawing. Students responded to works by Anni and Josef Albers in the exhibition, extending these ideas into their own art and cardboard structures that filled the halls and courtyard of the school.

A symposium on September 17 was the capstone to the week, featuring Lucille Encrevé, Ida Soulard, Clara Solomon, and Juri-Apollo Drews in the morning session, and Fritz Horstman, Andrew Seguin, Matthias Persson, and Louis Valentin in the afternoon. Recordings of the symposium are available via Vimeo:

Morning session (in French)

Afternoon session (in French and English)

New Book "Anni et Josef Albers. L'art et la vie"

For readers of French, the catalogue for the exhibition Anni et Josef Albers. L'art et la vie is stunning, featuring new scholarship and perspectives by curators and historians. Anni and Josef Albers's work is considered both within the context of their unique relationship over fifty years and through their influence among other artists and educators. Not only did they create an oeuvre now considered the basis of modernism, they also passed on their educational values to a whole new generation. The beautifully illustrated volume is available from the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris.

"Anni and Josef Albers: Art and Life, from Germany to the United States," a conversation between Nicholas Fox Weber and Fabrice Hergott, June 15, 12:00 pm EDT [recording available]

On the occasion of the upcoming exhibition Anni and Josef Albers: Art and Life at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Nicholas Fox Weber speaks with Fabrice Hergott, director of the museum. Moderated by Édouard Détaille, the conversation considers the dialogue between Josef and Anni Albers as revealed in their abundant artistic production, as well as their travels and experience moving from Berlin to North Carolina.

The conversation, hosted by the Franco-American association France États-Unis, is in French; a recording is available at vimeo.com/566169039.

Anni Albers Wall Hanging, 1925/2021

Anni Albers is the latest designer to be showcased by the British retailer Twenty Twenty One's celebratory series of limited editions, created in collaboration with Christopher Farr, Salt Fabrics, and the Albers Foundation. The new edition is based on Anni Albers's original 1925 weaving, which she made at the Bauhaus.

Lucy Swift Weber says, "Anni Albers avoided defining herself in narrow terms and was constantly innovating and exploring new avenues for creating art. It is wonderful to see her legacy of work continue into new objects such as the creation of this beautiful limited-edition Anni Albers wall hanging ...."

For more information and to purchase, please visit twentytwentyone.com.

Manuel Herz and Iwan Baan unveil "The Many Lives of Tambacounda" at the Venice Biennale of Architecture

Opening this weekend in Venice at the Biennale Architettura, Manuel Herz and Iwan Baan present "The Many Lives of Tambacounda," an installation showcasing Tambacounda Hospital's wide-reaching impact within Senegal, and exploring the multiple narratives and lives embedded within the community. Herz designed the new Maternity and Pediatric wing at Tambacounda Hospital, supported by the Albers Foundation and Le Korsa. For more information, please visit aflk.org.

Albers x Vestige introduces customizable tee inspired by Homage to the Square

In collaboration with the Albers Foundation, the clothing brand Vestige has introduced a new customizable tee based on Josef Albers's Homage to the Square which allows users to experiment and play with color and create a variety of interesting and unique combinations. The tee, along with other designs inspired by Josef Albers, is available at vestigebrand.com.

New Book "Anni and Josef Albers" by Lake Verea

In this beautiful tribute to creative collaboration, the Mexican photography duo Lake Verea discover the material and intellectual traces of the Alberses' creative influence through their archival ephemera, including correspondence with Bauhaus colleagues, tubes of paint, and fabric. The personal context of Anni and Josef's creative life together emerges from these objects, conversations, and associations.

The book features 300 full-color illustrations with essays by Lake Verea and Brenda Danilowitz. Anni and Josef Albers by Lake Verea is available through our online bookstore or D.A.P. in North America, and through Hatje Cantz.

Maternity and Pediatric hospital in Tambacounda, Senegal, opens in May 2021

In May 2021 the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and Le Korsa will unveil the new and redesigned Maternity and Pediatric units at Tambacounda Hospital in Tambacounda, Senegal, a transformative expansion designed pro bono by acclaimed architect Manuel Herz.

The Tambacounda Maternity and Pediatric redesign builds upon 15 years of extraordinary work in rural eastern Senegal by the Albers Foundation and Le Korsa. Echoing Josef and Anni Alberses' shared ethos and belief in the use of "minimal means for maximum effect," this project goes far beyond a single architectural structure, embedding itself within the local community, economy and landscape. It was in this spirit that in 2005 Nicholas Fox Weber, the Director of the Foundation, established Le Korsa to encompass the philanthropic initiatives of the Foundation in the region.

In the field of health, Tambacounda Hospital—the only major hospital in the region—is a vital resource servicing around 20,000 patients per year from the surrounding area, stretching across the border into Mali. The doctors had previously been working under extremely difficult conditions, with the original design leaving the communal spaces severely overcrowded. The design of the new Maternity and Pediatric units brings a sense of coherence and greatly improves the comfort of patients and their visiting families. Herz's structure comprises a two-story building in a curvilinear form which brings two clinics—pediatrics and maternity—together under the same roof and offers approximately 150 hospital beds. The extensive length of the building allows for the smooth circulation of staff and patients and accommodates multiple communal spaces both between the rooms and in the courtyards formed by the bends of the S-curve, turning it into the truly social spine of the hospital.

Herz has collaborated at all stages with local leader and builder Dr. Magueye Ba and depended upon the expertise of the community, working almost exclusively with craftsmen and engineers from Tambacounda and the surrounding villages, and thereby helping to provide employment and support for the rural economy. Following the completion of the Maternity and Pediatric units, Herz will build staff quarters to help attract more doctors from the city, in a design inspired by a print by Anni Albers.

At the Venice Biennale of Architecture in May 2021 Manuel Herz will present "The Many Lives of Tambacounda," an installation exploring the multiple narratives and lives that the Tambacounda hospital is embedded within.

For more information and to donate, please visit Le Korsa at aflk.org. You can also read more about the project at Dezeen, ArtNews, The Art Newspaper, and Financial Times.

New Book "Josef Albers: Poems and Drawings"

While Josef Albers is recognized as one of the most important artists and educators of the twentieth century, few are aware of his poetry. Josef Albers: Poems and Drawings was originally published in an edition of 500 copies in 1958, with a second edition in 1961. Albers worked closely on the format and design with now legendary graphic designer Norman Ives. Yale art historian George Heard Hamilton was the publisher under the imprint of his own venture, The Readymade Press.

This special fourth edition reproduces the unique design of these early editions, featuring a transparent slipcover over silkscreen, yet it expands upon its predecessors in important ways. New French translations of Albers's original poems, originally written in German or English, are included and laid out in the spirit of the drawings. An appendix presents a selection of additional poems by Albers—some of them published for the first time—and a critical commentary by poet Andrew Seguin that contextualizes Josef Albers: Poems and Drawings as a unique literary and artistic work among Albers's wide-ranging output.

The book features an afterword by Nicholas Fox Weber, executive director of the Albers Foundation, and an essay by Andrew Seguin. Josef Albers: Poems and Drawings is available from our online bookstore or through Éditions Unes.

In Conversation: Brenda Danilowitz and Caitlin Murray [recording available]

Brenda Danilowitz and Caitlin Murray, director of archives and programs at the Judd Foundation, discuss aspects of Donald Judd's writing practice as it developed in the 1990s, with a focus on a close reading of Judd's 1991 essay "Josef Albers."

The talk is part of an ongoing series of conversations that examine Donald Judd's writings. Conversations with writers, artists, and art historians explore the context of his committed writing practice, while focusing on close readings of specific essays.

A recording of the conversation is available at: juddfoundation.org/programs.

The Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop in Germany has a new address: Anni-Albers-Platz 1

The city of Bottrop has renamed the beautiful open space in front of the Josef Albers Museum in honor of Anni Albers, one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. With Anni's support and generosity, including a large donation of her husband's artistic estate, the museum opened in 1979 in Josef's hometown. Anni's foundational gift and commitment to the life and work of Josef Albers have been key to the museum's great success. The Alberses shared a special love for art as a universal means of expression.

For more information about the Josef Albers Museum, please visit quadrat.bottrop.de.

Cooking and Conversation with Pierre Thiam and Nicholas Fox Weber, April 18, 11:00 am EST

Pierre Thiam is a Senegal-raised, New York City-based chef, author, restaurateur, social entrepreneur and culinary ambassador. On April 18, he welcomes you to his table for a virtual cook along with Nicholas Fox Weber, cultural historian and director of the Albers Foundation. Together, they will prepare fonio, a delicious and nutritious grain local to Senegal, while discussing the current state of affairs in Senegal and the work of Le Korsa. Questions and comments from the audience will be welcome.

Funds raised will support Keur Djiguene Yi, the Women's Health Center in Dakar, which provides free healthcare to low-income women in Dakar.

The online event takes place on Sunday, April 18, at 11:00 am EST. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cooking-and-conversation-with-pierre-thiam-and-nicholas-fox-weber-tickets-143751284963

New Book "Josef Albers: Messico 1935/1956"

Josef and Anni Albers began their travels to Mexico in 1935, drawn to a country very unlike the United States. They were not in search of the exotic but rather of the traces of ancient pre-Columbian civilizations (the Mayans and the Aztecs) and testimonies of the everyday lives of the people.

Albers was a non-professional photographer with the gaze of an architect. Many of these photographs have never previously been published, and contribute to an understanding of one of the greatest innovators of twentieth-century art and culture, whose lessons about vision are never exhausted. The volume also features an introduction by Brenda Danilowitz, chief curator of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, as well as an essay by Luca Galofaro, professor (LSGMA) and curator (CAMPO, Rome).

Josef Albers: Messico 1935/1956 is available from our online bookstore or at Humboldt Books.

Fundraising auction to aid the new Maternity and Pediatric Hospital Unit in Tambacounda, Senegal

The Albers Foundation and Le Korsa, together with Daniel Humm, celebrated chef and owner of Eleven Madison Park in New York, are excited to announce a fundraising auction to aid the new Maternity and Pediatric Hospital Unit in Tambacounda, Senegal. The auction runs online for seven days, from March 24 to March 31.

The auction features works of art and exclusive food experiences as well as other donation options in support of this groundbreaking project, which will vastly improve healthcare for mothers and children in a rural and impoverished region.

The new maternity and pediatric units will be opening in the coming two months and we need your support. Please join us at: https://e.givesmart.com/events/l1g

Introducing "The Regina Tierney Fund for Visiting Artists"

In honor of friend and colleague Regina Tierney, the Albers Foundation has created "The Regina Tierney Fund for Visiting Artists." The fund will support artists participating in residency programs at the Albers Foundation, Thread Senegal, and Carraig-na-gcat, Ireland.

Regina Tierney was a dedicated painter, head of the NY Feminist Art Institute; Associate Professor at the NY Institute of Technology; founder and president of the advertising agency, Outer Circle; designer and pioneer in 3D animation, videographer, graphic designer, and, forever, a student and teacher of art who broke barriers with her vision, power and inventiveness.

You can make donations online through the Foundation's 501(c)(3) sibling organization Le Korsa, which works to improve lives in Senegal: secure.donationpay.org/aflk.

Albers Foundation partners with Le Korsa on Maternity and Pediatric Hospital in Senegal

The Albers Foundation is proud to partner with Le Korsa on a new 150-bed maternity and pediatric hospital in the rural Tambacounda region of eastern Senegal. The hospital, designed pro-bono by world-renowned architect Manuel Herz, opens in April and features an advanced passive-building design built by local craftsmen and engineers.

Nicholas Fox Weber spoke with Claire Wrathall for the Financial Times about the process; the full article "The philanthropic genius of Josef and Anni Albers" is available online at ft.com.

For more information on Le Korsa, and to donate to the project, please visit aflk.org.

Meet the Writers, Monocle Reads: Nicholas Fox Weber [recording available]

Nicholas Fox Weber speaks with Georgina Godwin about his new, acclaimed book, Anni and Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal. Weber considers the Alberses' lives, their teaching, and their art.

A recording of the conversation is available at: https://monocle.com/radio/shows/meet-the-writers/monocle-reads-89/

An interview with Nicholas Fox Weber on Inquiry, WICN Public Radio [recording available]

Nicholas Fox Weber speaks about his new book Anni and Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal with Mark Lynch for Inquiry, WICN Public Radio (January 4, 2021). In this conversation, Weber considers the Alberses' many years at Black Mountain College in North Carolina.

A recording of the conversation is available at: https://www.wicn.org/podcast/nicholas-fox-weber