Reel Artists Film Festival (RAFF) Opening Party & Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace Premiere

The Canadian Art Foundation‘s Reel Artists Film Festival (RAFF), held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, kicked off its 11th year with an opening night celebration featuring the world premiere of “Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace“.

(photo by Tanya, scroll down for full gallery)

The film documents artist Kehinde Wiley as he puts together his series of paintings featuring African American women as his subjects, whom he cast from walking around the streets of New York City. This is a huge departure for Kehinde who previously had only painted African American men. Wiley‘s style of painting is homage to the Old Masters with a modern twist. His models are outfitted in custom gowns designed by the head of Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci. In the film we were able to see Wiley‘s artistic process and follow him on his journeys from Paris to China and then back to New York for the grand reveal. It is a fascinating film and no doubt his models have had the experience of a lifetime.
After the screening, Suzanne Boyd of Zoomer Magazine interviewed Kehinde Wiley, producer Jessica Chermayeff and editor Ana Veselic about the making of the film.

At the reception, we had our fill of O&B‘s comfort food including, grilled cheese, french fries, lemon squares, butter tarts, opera cake and chocolate truffles. Among the guests were Raymond Perkins, Director of PR for Roots, Dr. Sara Diamond, President of OCAD University, and designer Rahsaan Gandy.

Suzanne Boyd, Kehinde Wiley

(photos by Tanya)

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RAFF 2014 – Reel Artists Film Festival opening party photos & screening of Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace