ArtColLab's second project was a collaboration between Italian fashion designer Stella Jean and British/Kenyan artist Michael Armitage, launched in October 2020. The first drop of the collection was exclusively launched on YOOX platform. The collection comprises of two 100% wool limited-edition sweaters, with 300 female and 150 male pieces. All proceeds from the sale of the pieces benefit FSRR as well as NCAI, Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute. 
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About the Artist.
Michael Armitage is a Kenyan born artist currently living between London and Nairobi. He received his BA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, London (2007) and has a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Academy Schools, London (2010). Solo exhibitions include: Haus der Kunst, Munich (2020), The Norval Foundation, Cape Town (2020), Projects 110, Studio Museum in collaboration and at MoMA, New York, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney (2019), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo,Turin (2019) South London Gallery (2017); Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK (2017). The artist’s work engages with sociopolitical concerns that are facing our contemporary global society. The visual iconography and the narrative history of East Africa lies at the heart of his practice. Undermining his rich colour palette and dream-like imagery, however, is a quiet exposition of East Africa’s sometimes harsh reality: its politics, social and economic inequalities and the fragility of human life. By weaving multiple narratives, drawn from diverse media and his native country's mythologies, Armitage strives to emphasise the universal social problems that many choose to deny. Through his captivating figurative style, he compels the viewer to take a deeper look at the content his art addresses.

"This time, more than ever, calls for collaboration and mutual support. It has been a joy to work through ArtColLab with Stella Jean, whose distinct and socially minded creative vision embodies this ethos of collaboration and support and whose insight has been an education. We are delighted to create these sweaters together in support of NCAI and FSRR." Michael Armitage.

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About the Designer.

Stella Jean is an award winning Italian designer living and working in Rome, Italy and recognized as the first Black Italian designer. The basis of Jean's work is multiculturalism applied to ethical fashion, resulting in a cultural fusion of her own métisse identity. Her work often merges classical Italian tailoring with stylistic features of varying cultures. Stella Jean created the business model and sustainable development platform: "Laboratorio delle Nazioni". Through missions on the field, each SJ collection is the result of the construction of a cultural bridge between Italian design and women artisans of a developing country during each different season. An international cooperation between Jean’s aesthetic and the artisans of developing countries is an ever present staple of her designs, which aim to promote cultural heritage as an enabler and a driver of sustainable development.

About NCAI.

Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI) is a non-profit visual art space dedicated to the growth and preservation of contemporary art in East Africa. Established in 2020, NCAI builds on a rich legacy of art projects and institutions in the region. The organisation seeks to tell the stories of the artists and projects that have come to shape the region's contemporary art scene. Through exhibitions, the development of an East African art archive, an extensive public program of talks and a multidisciplinary educational program, NCAI serves as a hub and a resource for the thriving East African art community and an inspiring cultural space for our audiences.