Some may say the true test of an individual is getting them to step outside comfort zones, to be able to see life and its beautiful nuances from a perspective not of their own. However, if that individual happens to label themselves as an “artist”, the expectation and pressure to conceptualize and create works unfamiliar to them increases. The Current: Baha Mar Gallery & Art Center sought to do just that in setting the bar a little higher, a little bigger…or perhaps one can say smaller, than ever before.

“Small Works”, a collective exhibition put on by the curatorial team of the creative space located at Baha Mar, challenged participating artists to make work on size restrictions of only 12 x 12 inches, hoping to prove to creators and viewers that size matters after all, as no piece is “too small” to be admired.

The Villa Doyle, the grand and stately home of old that the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) currently resides in, is a surprisingly tough space to work in. It is undeniably beautiful, but the beauty of its architecture is also marred with the knowledge of the difficult time of its construction. Built in 1862 (with an expansion to include a ballroom in the 1920s), the villa was first the home of the then Chief Justice of The Bahamas, Sir William Doyle – the building being his namesake. There are a few old photographs and a couple of artworks knocking around the National Collection of this peculiar and stunning space we now call home, and one such work is by Sterling Miller.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has told Carnival band owners to clean up after themselves when future Road Fever parades have ended.

While the clean up effort for the 2019 parade cost taxpayers just under $10,000, Dr Minnis said moving forward, “We will save our money for something else.”

“Of course, many of the vendors who benefited from the PLP Carnival were well-connected special interests,” Dr Minnis told Parliament on Wednesday. “If private citizens want to have a carnival, that is their right. But the government should not be paying for such a party. So, this government stopped spending the people’s money on the PLP Carnival.”

A man walks along a row of houses with a crowbar in one hand, a piece of wood in the other; he is speaking to someone – a friend, an acquaintance, a family member, a neighbour perhaps? The houses are neat, patched up with care – no doubt due to the stresses of time and hurricanes alike, there’s only so much this old clapboard can take. The street is neat, orderly; a pubescent boy leans against a tree in the shade, and things feel calm, serene in the row of homes. This is not what people think of when they think of the current state of Over-the-Hill (OTH). Bain and Grants Town are woefully underserved communities, that much is certain, but they are also demonized for circumstances largely beyond their control in a cold, classist manner of stereotyping.