Under the roof of a former perfumery along Atlanta’s Westside Beltline, adidas gathered hundreds of artists, athletes, musicians, writers, designers and leaders for the final act of its Honoring Black Excellence (HBE) capstone – an ode to the cultural architects at the helm Black creativity, innovation and brilliance. The iconic three stripes have long understood the transformative power of teamwork and sportsmanship, and has taken its steadfast commitment to community and social impact off the pitch and into the wider cultural bloodstream.
Launched in 2019, HBE initiative is a pivotal platform for the brand, honoring Black voices shaping today’s creative and social landscapes. A cross between experience and exhibition, this year’s edition unfolded as an embodiment of memory and momentum. Centered around the theme of “Pathways & Pipelines,” the event spotlighted those who not only preserve legacy, but voices who are pave the way forward. To curate the event, adidas tapped Rog & Bee Walker, the duo behind Paper Monday, to transform the sprawling, industrial space with their sublime visual language, bringing their love for narrative and storytelling into a new, experiential dimension.
The night featured a tender short film directed by the Walkers, alongside a series 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 send a flare from the heart of American art history; testimonials from mothers who have been impacted by Jaycina Almond‘s Tender Foundation, a grassroots organization rewriting narratives around single Black motherhoods, sing from the cozy, corner nursery. Elsewhere, framed jerseys from Sekou Thornell’s label Kitboys Club sits beside a stack of lockers. Fueled by his love for the game, Thornell blends streetwear and soccer to empower the new wave of Black creatives, both on and off the field.
Peppered throughout the space are portraits taken by the Walker’s — tender captures screen-printed on sheer veils of fabric, catching the light as if exhaling with the room itself. The images serve as a visual throughline, threading each installation with a dignity that doesn’t just captures its subjects, but holds them tight. Ahead of the HBE Capstone Experience, we caught up with Rog & Bee to discuss their practice and the vision that brought it all together.
