David Adjaye picks Mariam Kamara as 2018-19 Rolex Arts Initiative protégée

At a recent public ceremony in Berlin, Rolex announced the 2018-19 mentors and their selected protégés for the prestigious Rolex Arts Initiative, which pairs talented artists early in their careers with recognized leaders in their respective fields for a year or more of open-ended creative collaboration. According to the program's new alternating schedule, this year's mentorships will address architecture, dance, literature, and music. 

In architecture, Mariam Kamara from Niger will get to work alongside David Adjaye, who was appointed as this year's architecture mentor.

Based in Rhode Island, 38-year-old Mariam Kamara is the principal of atelier masōmī and teaches Urban Studies at Brown University. Her work is dedicated to designing spaces and buildings that respond to the needs of people in her homeland of Niger and throughout Africa. She also explores adaptations to local techniques in her projects.

The other mentorship pairings are: Indian musician Zakir Hussain with Marcus Gilmore, 31, United States (music); Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite with Khoudia Touré, 31, Senegal (dance); and New York-based Irish writer Colm Toíbín with Colin Barrett, 35, Ireland (literature).

The 2020-2021 mentorships will focus on film, theater, visual arts, and a new variable, multi-disciplinary mentorship, which will be officially announced in 2020.