The Bahamas National Trust (BNT), in partnership with Commonwealth Brewery Limited (CBL), is thrilled to announce the return of the prestigious Wine & Art Festival. The annual event, now in its 31st year, will take place on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday October 15 at The Retreat Garden on Village Road. A BNT members-only night will be held on Friday, October 13.

The Wine & Art Festival is a one-of-a-kind event, combining culture, creativity, and conservation. This year's festival will feature over 40 artists and vendors, selling original art pieces, creative crafts, and local products. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample over 60 wines, courtesy of CBL and 700 Wines and Spirits, and enjoy diverse culinary delights from food vendors and celebrity chefs from The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, all while enjoying live musical performances.

Additionally, the event will feature an exclusive Moët and Chandon Champagne Lounge serving glasses of cold, luxury champagne and unlimited champagne cocktails from 5pm to 7pm; and a Heineken Beer Garden Afterparty with unlimited Heineken and select local beers, mixed drinks, and a live DJ from 7pm until.

One of several annual events hosted by the BNT, Wine & Art is a celebration of The Bahamas’ natural and cultural heritage and an important fundraiser for the organisation. All proceeds from the event directly support the management of Bahamian national parks - of which there are currently 33, covering more than two million acres of land and sea.

In addition to supporting the environment, Wine & Art also supports the creative community and local small businesses. The event provides a platform for young and upcoming artists, as well as experienced artists to showcase and sell their work and reach new audiences.

Kimberly Knowles, BNT Events Coordinator, said: “Wine & Art is more than a festival - it’s a celebration of art, culture, wine, and food. It’s also a vital part of the BNT’s conservation efforts and showcases our commitment to the community. Each ticket sold, and each glass raised contributes to our mission to protect our beautiful national parks, ensuring that our natural wonders can be enjoyed for generations to come.

“Over three decades Wine & Art has grown to be a highly anticipated annual event, attracting local and international attendees and providing a platform for Bahamian talent. People look forward to exploring the creativity of local artists and vendors; savoring the variety of wines, champagnes, and culinary delights; and experiencing a truly unique festival in support of the environment.”

Wine & Art 2023 is sponsored by Commonwealth Brewery Limited; The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism; Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty; Aliv;; Auto Mall; Sand Dollar; CBS; The Current Art Gallery; Atlantis; Nassau Paradise Island Promotional Board; Caribbean Bottling Company; Bahamas Waste; Bahamia Rental; Expressions Entertainment; Suncash; AML Foods; and Bahamas Ferries.

To learn more about Wine & Art 2023 and for ticket information, visit the official event website at bntevents.com.

To learn more about the role the BNT plays in managing terrestrial and marine national parks, conserving wildlife, and informing environmental policy, please visit its website: www.bnt.bs and follow/subscribe to its various social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

The Bahamas National Trust (BNT), in partnership with Commonwealth Brewery Limited (CBL), is thrilled to announce the return of the prestigious Wine & Art Festival. The annual event, now in its 31st year, will take place on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday October 15 at The Retreat Garden on Village Road. A BNT members-only night will be held on Friday, October 13. The Wine & Art Festival is a one-of-a-kind event, combining culture, creativity, and conservation. This year's festival will feature over 40 artists and vendors, selling original art pieces, creative crafts, and local products. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample over 60 wines, courtesy of CBL and 700 Wines and Spirits, and enjoy diverse culinary delights from food vendors and celebrity chefs from The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, all while enjoying live musical performances. Additionally, the event will feature an exclusive Moët and Chandon Champagne Lounge serving glasses of cold, luxury champagne and unlimited champagne cocktails from 5pm to 7pm; and a Heineken Beer Garden Afterparty with unlimited Heineken and select local beers, mixed drinks, and a live DJ from 7pm until. One of several annual events hosted by the BNT, Wine & Art is a celebration of The Bahamas’ natural and cultural heritage and an important fundraiser for the organisation. All proceeds from the event directly support the management of Bahamian national parks - of which there are currently 33, covering more than two million acres of land and sea. In addition to supporting the environment, Wine & Art also supports the creative community and local small businesses. The event provides a platform for young and upcoming artists, as well as experienced artists to showcase and sell their work and reach new audiences. Kimberly Knowles, BNT Events Coordinator, said: “Wine & Art is more than a festival - it’s a celebration of art, culture, wine, and food. It’s also a vital part of the BNT’s conservation efforts and showcases our commitment to the community. Each ticket sold, and each glass raised contributes to our mission to protect our beautiful national parks, ensuring that our natural wonders can be enjoyed for generations to come. “Over three decades Wine & Art has grown to be a highly anticipated annual event, attracting local and international attendees and providing a platform for Bahamian talent. People look forward to exploring the creativity of local artists and vendors; savoring the variety of wines, champagnes, and culinary delights; and experiencing a truly unique festival in support of the environment.” Wine & Art 2023 is sponsored by Commonwealth Brewery Limited; The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism; Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty; Aliv;; Auto Mall; Sand Dollar; CBS; The Current Art Gallery; Atlantis; Nassau Paradise Island Promotional Board; Caribbean Bottling Company; Bahamas Waste; Bahamia Rental; Expressions Entertainment; Suncash; AML Foods; and Bahamas Ferries. To learn more about Wine & Art 2023 and for ticket information, visit the official event website at bntevents.com. To learn more about the role the BNT plays in managing terrestrial and marine national parks, conserving wildlife, and informing environmental policy, please visit its website: www.bnt.bs and follow/subscribe to its various social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

 

John Cox's original "Love" piece, a conceptual, text-based artwork that he started in 2005, and of which has seen many iterations, has made its way to Marcus at Baha Mar.

The words "this is how much I love you" have taken over the stairwell space and literally wrap the space from the ground floor up to the observatory at the restaurant with its declaration for about three and a half stories.

Stencils about 12 feet wide with the entire phrase on it were spray painted one phrase at a time onto the wall. The way the esthetic works is that it continues to move, so it's never stacked on top of itself.

It's always overlapping.

It's always changing.

Some of the letters don't come out clear. Sometimes they're perfectly clear. Sometimes they're crooked.

There's kind of a chaos in it.

It's an epic installation of Cox's "Love" piece, which is like trying to create endless love, and love in the most real, kind of gritty way - any way a person can imagine the love that they need, whether it's self-love, self-care, support, confidence, or perseverance.

When you start climbing the stairs to the top of the tower, the climber will likely find themselves breathless before they get to the top.

You will be like, "It doesn't stop!"

The words swirl around you on all three sides and in all different colors.

The concept for the installation was presented to Baha Mar President Graeme Davis over a year ago, as well as to chef Marcus Samuelsson and his team.

Cox, Baha Mar's creative arts director, did a detailed rendering of what it would look like and gave them a history of the artwork. They ran with it, but they had to line up the logistics to execute what would be an arduous task, and they wanted to have University of The Bahamas (UB) art students involved in the execution which began in early spring.

The installation also entailed more work than what went into the original piece that was done at Cox's Popop Studios in 2005 – a 15-foot scroll, printed double-sided and presented in the middle of the gallery for a group exhibition (with Heino Schmid, Blue Curry, Michael Edwards, and Jason Bennett) called "Love".

"The concept was this idea of love and printing these words out over and over again becomes quite arduous, so, to me, the truest love is the dedicated love. I know that people quickly like to make it a romantic thing and that's certainly not excluded from it, but, really, what it is, is that the more you do it, you're like: Wow, this is taking long! Wow, this is hard to do! I just want to give up on this thing. I don't want to continue doing it. And you keep going and it starts to give back to you," said Cox.

"When I made the first one, and it damn near killed me. In the exhibition, people were like, is that all, I can see the end of it, there must be more than that."

In its many iterations since 2005, every time Cox worked on a "Love" piece, he tried to make it longer, and longer, and longer. His pieces have been exhibited in a lot of different places and countries. The longest version, pre-stairwell at Marcus, was in a scroll form, and was about 1,000 feet long.

"With this one, the power of suggestion in art is in everything, so you don't need to be literal to get it. When you get into the tower and start walking, you will run out of breath before you get to the top of the tower and you will be like it doesn't stop. And that's the feeling you get that it's beyond your capacity to imagine. I'm super psyched to be able to do it, and to be able to collaborate in this way."

Cox reached out to Schmid, a lecturer at UB, in search of art students to work with The Current Art Gallery employees for execution of the installation.

Shanise Poitier, an employee at The Current, said working on the mural allowed her to check off one of her bucket list items.

"It was tiring and hot. I really wish we had some airflow in there, but it was really fun ... that is how much we love this work," she said tongue-in-cheek.

Malia Kinger, who also works at The Current, said it was an honor for her to work on Cox's art with him.

Like Cox and Poitier, she said it was hard work and that it wasn't just her arms getting tired as she worked, but eyes burning from the mist which sometimes got through her mask which meant breathing was hard to do at times, but she said she loved it all.

As for what the installation meant to her, she said when she was in the moment working, it was hard to really think about it what it meant to her because she was just doing it, but when she stepped away from it, she felt it more.

"You're like: Oh, wow! I did that. We worked at it. In the moment, it's hard to think about what it means," said Kinger.

Keishelle Saunders, a UB student, said she found working on the mural fascinating.

"Usually, I would hand paint on a wall or on canvas, but to actually use airbrush paint, and to use stencils to create the mural, it was a fun experience."

Daisha Douglas, who is also a student at UB and a Baha Mar team member, said she was excited to have gotten the experience which was also different.

"This means a lot because of the fact that the words mean a lot and to be able to put them on a wall inside of a stairwell for everyone to see is amazing," said Douglas.

Samuelsson said the installation is great.

"You can get 11 people and 11 different things, but I think the love really reflects, for us, my family's love for The Bahamas. But also, if you're local from the islands, you can say this is our place, but also warmth, aspiration and inclusion, that's really what this product means, showing inclusion."

He said the emotional aspect of the installation cannot be forgotten.

"John Cox and The Current is true inspiration to us," said Samuelsson. "John was one of the first people I met six years ago when we started the project [Marcus] and going to his store, the gallery, was really what inspired us as to what's possible. It's hard to know where the local talents and the culture are, and John really brought it to us and we always said we have to integrate the gallery into the restaurant. When he got a little bit of downtime, he got his team together to do it, we talked about the piece, but on top of the fact, the school is involved, one thing I took a lot of pride in."

Samuelsson is big on mentoring.

"We have to set platforms for young people to be involved in - we do it in hospitality, and of course John wants to do the same with the arts," said Samuelsson.

"One of the things that came from Marcus, and also me, was to kind of reach into the community and empower people through the process of making art and also being associated with kind of historical moments. This is a key moment for that work, a key moment for the Marcus restaurant at Baha Mar, it's a key moment for me, it's a key moment for [the students and guests] to all be a part of this creative cultural ecosystem, so that's really what it's about. So, we're excited and hoping that the energy of the mural spills into the restaurant."

The "Love" series has gone from Popop to the Baha Mar resort.

"It's a conceptual work for me that I'm excited about the adaptability of it," said Cox. "I'm super excited that it's here because I'm into collaborations. To collaborate with Marcus is phenomenal. I think there's a lot of potential that the piece itself will reach people in ways that it could not have before. I think Marcus could benefit from it. I will certainly benefit from the affiliation with Marcus, but, most importantly, the artists that executed."

Cox said his involvement was minimal at best and pegged it at around one percent.

With the manpower hours estimated at 100 hours, with the student artists working six to seven hours a day to complete the mural, visitors to Marcus now have an amazing installation to incorporate into photographs.

"Everyone wants to Instagram themselves into the work," said Cox. "We have a small version of 'this is how much I love you' at The Current, and the amount of people who take selfies in front of it, or have their picture taken with it ... we have had people rent that thing out for their wedding - so because it's so immersive, we think that people can completely have pictures taken in. We have taken pretty dynamic shots of it; how they do it, I think that's up to people to bring their own creativity to it. It can literally envelop you."

Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Cornelius A. Smith attended a reception at the National Art Gallery, West Hill Street, to honour Mr. Herbert Styles, Sr., May 12, 2023.  The Governor General is pictured, right, standing next to Mr. Styles, and admiring his work.

Grand Bahama artist Laurie Tuchel greets Nassau-based fellow artist Antonius Roberts at the opening of the art show titled One Goat and Three Birds at The Current, Baha Mar April 14. The traveling show sponsored by solar company, Inti Corporation, features the work of three women artists, each impacted in a different way by Hurricane Dorian and all agreeing to work on pieces to form an art show based on those experiences. The exhibit with emotionally touching and disturbing reminders of the powerful storm is open to the public until May 25 and will close with a talk by experts on climate change.  (Photo Diane Phillips)

(Right) Guests who gathered at the opening night of the art show One Goat and Three Birds in Grand Bahama were asked to pen post-it notes following the viewing of paintings, video and sculptures based on the deadly storm Dorian that ravaged Grand Bahama and Abaco in September 2019. Artists Chantal Bethel, Jo Marasco and Laurie Tuchel later mounted the post-it afterthoughts on splattered canvas representing the ongoing upheaval and disruption the hurricane left in its wake. The collected notes became a collective masterpiece on its own in the show sponsored by solar pioneer, Inti Corporation Ltd. The public is invited to the exhibit that remains open at The Current, Baha Mar, through May 25. (Photo Diane Phillips) 

 

Grand Bahama artist Laurie Tuchel greets Nassau-based fellow artist Antonius Roberts at the opening of the art show titled One Goat and Three Birds at The Current, Baha Mar April 14. The traveling show sponsored by solar company, Inti Corporation, features the work of three women artists, each impacted in a different way by Hurricane Dorian and all agreeing to work on pieces to form an art show based on those experiences. The exhibit with emotionally touching and disturbing reminders of the powerful storm is open to the public until May 25 and will close with a talk by experts on climate change.  (Photo Diane Phillips) (Right) Guests who gathered at the opening night of the art show One Goat and Three Birds in Grand Bahama were asked to pen post-it notes following the viewing of paintings, video and sculptures based on the deadly storm Dorian that ravaged Grand Bahama and Abaco in September 2019. Artists Chantal Bethel, Jo Marasco and Laurie Tuchel later mounted the post-it afterthoughts on splattered canvas representing the ongoing upheaval and disruption the hurricane left in its wake. The collected notes became a collective masterpiece on its own in the show sponsored by solar pioneer, Inti Corporation Ltd. The public is invited to the exhibit that remains open at The Current, Baha Mar, through May 25. (Photo Diane Phillips)