Illustrating the theme "Emergence", the first edition of what is intended to be an annual festival featuring the work of veteran and upcoming Grand Bahamian artists was held March 23 to 26, with events at three venues over the four days.

ArtLucaya opened Thursday evening in the Gloria Banks Art Gallery at the Rand Nature Centre with colorful, powerful pieces, depicting various aspects of life, telling the artists' stories of emerging from the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

ArtLucaya Chairman Fatima-Zahra Kaboub explained that opening night was for the veteran artists: Chantal E.Y. Bethel, Claudette Dean, Benjamin Ferguson Jr., Del Foxton, Sheldon Saint and Matthew Wildgoose.

"It was to gather art lovers, collectors, buyers, giving them a first-hand look at the pieces and an opportunity to support the artists," Kaboub said.

She said while the opening was a ticketed event, the remainder of the weekend's activities were free of charge.

"This weekend is important because we tried to put the focus on our artists' community," Kaboub said.

"Being an artist is not an easy life; you live off what you sell and if you don't sell, you have to get a second job.

"So, it's really important that we feature our artists and they get the support. The entire weekend, we highlight them, and also our art students, who would not have the opportunity to participate in an event like this nor attend these kinds of showings.

"So, this is historic, in many ways."

Thursday's event attracted a number of special guests, including former Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes; Minister of Social Service and member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama Obie Wilchcombe; Ambassador-at-Large for Cultural Affairs Jamal Rolle and former President of the Senate Katherine Forbes-Smith.

Wilchcombe congratulated the artists and described the pieces on display as an inspiration that speaks to the country's emergence.

Jacki Boss revealed her sculpted manta rays and corals, created out of metal wiring and cement, which are serve as a reminder of the beauty of the sea and our need to conserve the Bahamian environment.

"It is something that all of us in Grand Bahama had to deal with ... emerging from Dorian, from the pandemic and other tragedies. So, it speaks to a people celebrating. It is a celebration of life."

He added, "And when you associate it with our country celebrating its 50th anniversary, we as a people had to emerge from colonialism to self-determination ... so, art in and of itself speaks to who we are.

"When the artists put images on canvas, it's a reflection of who they are and they are able to cause us to feel our own emotions, to emerge."

An established artist himself, Rolle said he was delighted and impressed by what he saw.

"I was encouraged, inspired and indeed proud to see the level of art that is in the gallery on display this evening," he said.

"It shows an eclectic range of style, subjects and you could feel the passion of the artists in those pieces."

Rolle said that as a child armed with paper and pencil, he had a dream to one day have an impact and live a decent lifestyle as an artist.

"And here I am today, a celebrated artist in my own country, and I've transcended that to now becoming ambassador-at-large for cultural affairs. I hope that artists in the community and the youth can take my story and see that if it is possible for me, then it is possible for them," he said.

Ambassador-at-Large for Cultural Affairs Jamal Rolle (left) presented Vice Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) Sarah St. George (third right) with a portrait of herself at the opening night of ArtLucaya. Also pictured are former Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes and his wife Joan Lady Foulkes; Minister of Social Services and Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama Obie Wilchcombe (second right) and ArtLucaya Chairman Fatima-Zahra Kaboub (right).

President of the Grand Bahama Artists Association Benjamin Ferguson Jr. said it was nothing short of amazing for Grand Bahama to have an art festival of its own.

"New Providence has been enjoying art, the art culture, being sponsored and supported by a lot of people in the art community like collectors and buyers," Ferguson said.

"But here in Grand Bahama, this is a highlight for us. It's something we can call our own, an inspiration, an encouragement as well as something for us to have fun, and be around like-minded people."

Ferguson commended the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) for its sponsorship of the festival and ensuring that each site was set up not only for the artists to display their work to potential buyers, but so the community could enjoy the exhibitions free of charge following the ticketed gala events.

On Friday, the works of up-and-coming artists were showcased at the Port Lucaya Marketplace.

On Saturday, the artists returned to Rand Nature Centre for An Artists' Conversation for a panel discussion about how art can be an agent of community, healing and growth.

Later that evening, the artists and guests attended ArtLucaya Glow Beach Party at the Stoned Crab Restaurant.

The weekend closed out on Sunday with art students from across the island showing their work at Sir Charles Hayward Yacht Club while the public was also invited to watch artists in action: a sculpture installation by Jacki Boss at the Pioneer's Way roundabout.

Multi-media artist, Dwight Ferguson, unveiled the first public installation in Elizabeth Estates Park on Saturday, January28 to huge public acclaim during a three hour event that was attended by members of the community ranging in age from as young as 5 years to as old as grandparents.

Inspired by his Art Exhibition held at Doongalik Studios in 2018, ‘Tar Pillows’ is a continuation of Ferguson’s ‘Circle ofHope’ installation from that show which highlighted the unfortunate demise of several young men who had lost their liveson the road. The recent increase in gun violence in the country re-ignited Ferguson’s creativity as an artist to garnergreater public awareness about social violence, specifically in the community of Elizabeth Estates where he also functionsas the Senior Pastor at the Church of God of Prophecy.

A tangled ball of yellow hangs from the six foot tall installation which sits on the grass at the centre of a large circlecomprised of pairs of shoes sitting on chunks of tar atop yellow boxes that are marked with the name of the deceasedabove a simple dash representing the totality of their lifespan. This ‘Circle of Hope 2’ recognizes the lives of those 30persons of varying ages from the Elizabeth Estates community - mostly males, along with 2 females - 95% of whom diedon the road from gun shots, and several of whom Ferguson acted as the officiant at their funeral.

Ferguson researched and struggled long and hard to understand the back stories of the victims’ lives by pouring overfuneral programmes and newspaper articles, and speaking with family, as well as community members in order to createand design the various pieces of the installation for the greatest impact.

As an artist, Ferguson recognizes that his goal is to be that critical ‘seeing eye’ to mirror society and to produce art thatcan awaken the emotions of the public and inspire them to think, to question, and to act. His evocative artist’s statementthat “every day, young Bahamian men lie their head down on a tar pillow, exhaling their final breath on hot tar, whilsttheir cold blood runs red along the street,” sums up the heartache that he wishes to share with the public through his art;whilst at the same time in his role as a pastor, he also desires to advocate for what is right, and provide a moral compasswith an essential glimmer of hope as a necessary balance in the midst of such a seemingly hopeless situation.

“Our modern social media-inundated society has glamorized violence to such an extent that we have become numbtowards the actual harmful impact it has on our physical, mental, and social state, allowing its commonality, and the griefand fear it generates, to paralyze our reaction,” states Ferguson. “Instead of righteous indignation, outrage, and theaccompanying action to mitigate its scourge, we are accepting of its presence without question, and to our detriment. Theunacceptable degree of anger in our country is like a bomb that cannot be defused. It is constantly exploding, taking livesunceremoniously with it.

“Unfortunately our country nowadays lacks solid family values, kindness, and compassion, and as a result so many of ouryoung and older citizens lack self esteem and self value. There is no value for life, and certainly there are not enough rolemodels to look up to, to provide direction, and to simply care. Where is the love?”

Ferguson’s “Tar Pillows” installation, though dealing such with an emotional topic, is not meant to be morbid, but ratherto act as a catalyst to the public to denounce the violence. It is also a call to action for the public to question the negativesocial implications of violence in whatever form, and to work together as a community and a country to find the necessaryimprovements to this destructive way of life.

“I was extremely pleased with the community’s response to the event,” stated Ferguson. “It brought the communitytogether to a place of connection where they were engaged with the art and with each other. The mood shifted from beingsomber and solemn - with tears even being shed openly by some – to a transitional awakening towards exhaling andhealing. Various members of the community expressed their appreciation to me for placing the art installation in theirmidst, and for highlighting the victims. They even acknowledged their sense of community ownership of it, and pledgedtheir commitment to work together to keep the circle of violence from expanding. These are all positive indications of thepower of art to comfort and connect.”

The installation is family friendly, and the artist will hold a “Walk & Talk” on Sunday, February 5 from 3-5pm. Thepublic is invited to attend.

 

Multi-media artist, Dwight Ferguson, unveiled the first public installation in Elizabeth Estates Park on Saturday, January 28 to huge public acclaim during a three hour event that was attended by members of the community ranging in age from as young as 5 years to as old as grandparents. Inspired by his Art Exhibition held at Doongalik Studios in 2018, ‘Tar Pillows’ is a continuation of Ferguson’s ‘Circle of Hope’ installation from that show which highlighted the unfortunate demise of several young men who had lost their lives on the road. The recent increase in gun violence in the country re-ignited Ferguson’s creativity as an artist to garner greater public awareness about social violence, specifically in the community of Elizabeth Estates where he also functions as the Senior Pastor at the Church of God of Prophecy. A tangled ball of yellow hangs from the six foot tall installation which sits on the grass at the centre of a large circle comprised of pairs of shoes sitting on chunks of tar atop yellow boxes that are marked with the name of the deceased above a simple dash representing the totality of their lifespan. This ‘Circle of Hope 2’ recognizes the lives of those 30 persons of varying ages from the Elizabeth Estates community - mostly males, along with 2 females - 95% of whom died on the road from gun shots, and several of whom Ferguson acted as the officiant at their funeral. Ferguson researched and struggled long and hard to understand the back stories of the victims’ lives by pouring over funeral programmes and newspaper articles, and speaking with family, as well as community members in order to create and design the various pieces of the installation for the greatest impact. As an artist, Ferguson recognizes that his goal is to be that critical ‘seeing eye’ to mirror society and to produce art that can awaken the emotions of the public and inspire them to think, to question, and to act. His evocative artist’s statement that “every day, young Bahamian men lie their head down on a tar pillow, exhaling their final breath on hot tar, whilst their cold blood runs red along the street,” sums up the heartache that he wishes to share with the public through his art; whilst at the same time in his role as a pastor, he also desires to advocate for what is right, and provide a moral compass with an essential glimmer of hope as a necessary balance in the midst of such a seemingly hopeless situation. “Our modern social media-inundated society has glamorized violence to such an extent that we have become numb towards the actual harmful impact it has on our physical, mental, and social state, allowing its commonality, and the grief and fear it generates, to paralyze our reaction,” states Ferguson. “Instead of righteous indignation, outrage, and the accompanying action to mitigate its scourge, we are accepting of its presence without question, and to our detriment. The unacceptable degree of anger in our country is like a bomb that cannot be defused. It is constantly exploding, taking lives unceremoniously with it. “Unfortunately our country nowadays lacks solid family values, kindness, and compassion, and as a result so many of our young and older citizens lack self esteem and self value. There is no value for life, and certainly there are not enough role models to look up to, to provide direction, and to simply care. Where is the love?” Ferguson’s “Tar Pillows” installation, though dealing such with an emotional topic, is not meant to be morbid, but rather to act as a catalyst to the public to denounce the violence. It is also a call to action for the public to question the negative social implications of violence in whatever form, and to work together as a community and a country to find the necessary improvements to this destructive way of life. “I was extremely pleased with the community’s response to the event,” stated Ferguson. “It brought the community together to a place of connection where they were engaged with the art and with each other. The mood shifted from being somber and solemn - with tears even being shed openly by some – to a transitional awakening towards exhaling and healing. Various members of the community expressed their appreciation to me for placing the art installation in their midst, and for highlighting the victims. They even acknowledged their sense of community ownership of it, and pledged their commitment to work together to keep the circle of violence from expanding. These are all positive indications of the power of art to comfort and connect.” The installation is family friendly, and the artist will hold a “Walk & Talk” on Sunday, February 5 from 3-5pm. The public is invited to attend.

The popular annual Caribbean Fine Art Fair, (CaFA), now in its 12th year, returns virtually and in person to Barbados this March, with a spotlight on the works of over 40 Caribbean contemporary artists and a focus also on the hot topic of NFTs.

Art fans from across the world will be able to join CaFA 2022 at the NORMAN CENTRE, Broad Street in Bridgetown, Barbados, and without leaving their homes at caribbean.global/, from March 9th-23rd.

“This year's CaFA Fair Barbados presents a balanced selection of emerging and internationally known artists representing 14 Caribbean nations, Brazil, Ghana, the USA and the UK,” said CAFA executive director Anderson M. Pilgrim. “We are excited about our programming featuring an array of regional experts and talent.”

“With the incredible growth and interest in Caribbean Fine Art, the opportunity to present a broader vision of the cultural creativity from the region grows as well,” added Daniel Hort, the Executive Director of Onomatopoeia Art and a co-producer of the event. “This year’s presentation of costume designs by the renowned Barbadian artist Winston Jordan, offers a glimpse into the career of a national icon while providing the chance work with major pageant and fashion outlets to present the colors, style and artistry of carnival.”

This year’s fine art show will feature contemporary artists such as the renowned US-based Neo-African abstract expressionist painter, Danny Simmons, the older brother of hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons and rapper Joseph Simmons; as well as renowned Jamaican artist Bernard Stanley Hoyes and Barbadian Winston Jordan.

Jordan’s historical carnival costume design, constructed by Mahogany Bird and DHP, was recently part of New York Fashion Week on Feb. 13th at the Cosplay Runway produced by COSMODA at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, NYC. The costume is slated for CaFA this March and represents the first time in over 20 years that the work of this renowned artist has been seen.

Other Caribbean artists showcasing their works at CaFA 2022 are: Ademola Olugebefola and Cheryl D. Miller of the US Virgin Islands; Carl F. Anderson of Guyana; Earl Darius Etienne of Dominica; Diogenes Ballester of Puerto Rico; Gilberto Wilson of Aruba Marlene; Millon Desvignes of Imat’s Creationsof Martinique; Patricia Brintle and Gina Samson of Haiti; Narciso Polanco, Palen Obesa and Rene de los Santos of Coronado Print Studio of the Dominican Republic; Joachim McMillan of Grenada; Ras Ilix Heartman, Alfred Weekes, Arlette St. Hill, Cher Antoinette Corbin, Hedy Klineman, Nicole Metzger, Steve Reid, Sylvester Adelabu Clarke and Tariq Bailey of Barbados. In addition, Central American artists Norma Lithgow of Costa Rica and Denae Howard of Panama will also showcase their work.

US artists participating, apart from Simmons, will be Brian Cannady, S. Ross Browne, Sadikisha Sandra Collier, Shenna Vaughn and Ebony Art, representing: Ernani Silva and Vernon McCauley. UK artists will be David Emmanuel Noel and Josh Kidd, while representing Ghana and the continent of Africa, will be TAFA.

In addition, the Fine Art Fair will feature 8 non-traditional artists - Alex Gibson, Délyt (Deandra Daniel), Donné Haynes, John Alleyne, Malique Shorey and Sydney McConney of Barbados, as well Sasha-Kay Nicole and Bonito “Don Dada” Thompson of Jamaica. It will be curated by Zoe Osborne of Mahogany Culture and presented at the Norman Centre simultaneously with the virtual platform caribbean.global/

CaFA 2022 will also include conversations and panel discussion around topics of international interest for the Caribbean, Black and global art communities, including a segment on NFTs by Osborne, one of the early adopters of NFTs in Barbados and the Caribbean. She will dedicate a portion of her panel discussion to explore NFTs and clarify facts around the new digital option for artists, for the uninitiated.

Other panels will include ‘Printmaking as an Art Form: Opportunities for beginning collectors by Pepe Coronado, Participating Printmakers and AMP on March 13th; a conversation with Occhi Arts and Cheryl D. Miller, a pioneer black graphic artist and visual artist from the USVI on March 16th; a fashion presentation by Imat’s Creations of Martinique and FW Brooklyn, NY on March 18th, and ‘Politics of Art: Contemporary Black Art in the Mainstream,’ featuring Danny Simmons, Ademola Olugebefola, David Emmanuel Noel, Dr. Daniela Fifi and Dr. Loris Crawford on March 20th.

CaFA 2022 will also feature the 3rd Bridgetown International Arts Festival, featuring musical, spoken word and theatrical performances on March 19th.

CaFA was founded in 2011 and has established itself as the premier art event in the Caribbean. For more visit https://www.caribbean.global/ today.

Victoria Josey was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award for her commitment to dance education and over 33 years of teaching at Government High School, and Georgia Storr-Taylor, of Georgia’s School of Dance in Grand Bahama, was honored with the Shirley Hall Bass Legacy Award for her exceptional interdisciplinary practice and cultural exchange programming during the 3rd Annual Shirley Bass Hall Dance Educators Virtual Forum and Awards Program.

During the program – named for the well-known dancer, dance educator, choreographer, and producer Shirley Hall Bass –  the establishment of a foundation in Bass’ name that would support tertiary scholarships for dance education beginning in 2022 was announced.

The theme of this year’s forum, convened virtually via Zoom and Facebook Live, explored developing a national program for dance education. It was moderated by Bahamian cultural advocate Pamela Burnside, and ArtSea founder and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Company dancer Courtney Celeste Spears. Over 100 dancers, dance teachers, and non-dancers participated in the two-hour, multi-media event that showcased a performance of “Stand Up” by Georgia’s School of Dance and Bahamas Dance Theatre students, choreographed by 17-year-old Mischa Moxey. The program can be viewed on Facebook or YouTube at: https://www.facebook.com/cristin.carole/videos/580189809786648 or https://youtu.be/wLW2ZOD14yc.

The panel featured cultural scholar and dance innovator Dr. Nicholeen DeGrasseJohnson from Kingston, Jamaica, and Columbia University doctoral scholar and Arthur Zankel Urban Fellow Michelle “Chell” Parkins. The panelists discussed considerations and prerequisites for the development of a comprehensive dance education program in The Bahamas.

With a focus on best practices for kindergarten through Grade 12 and tertiary programming, DeGrasse Johnson and Parkins emphasized the need for a culturally relevant, research-based and student-centered curriculum. Both shared perspectives on the importance of understanding the history and significance of dance as an essential aspect of culture. According to Johnson, there needs to be provisions for new voices and new cultural images to emerge because the processes of cultural development and cultural translations are continuous.

Presently, The Bahamas has neither national standards, nor curriculum for dance education in public schools. While there is discussion about the development of a tertiary degree program for performing arts at the University of The Bahamas (UB), the lack of available scholarships to study performing arts education abroad and the closure of the National Dance School are central concerns in helping to bring the nation “in step”.