As athletes get ready to showcase their skills on the track at The IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017 in a few days, the country will be showcased as well in the decorative elements and collateral surrounding the event.

The pageantry—or the elements that bring the color and festivity to the games—is being coordinated by Joylen Smith, who says The Bahamas is reflected in every piece promoting the championships and at the event.

Organizers gave Smith free expression to pull from Bahamian culture for the banners and decorations for the Relays. What he came up with is a mixture of national symbols woven through Junkanoo expression.

“They knew they wanted to keep the spirit of Junkanoo in the sense of the brilliance and color and energy that is Junkanoo,” he said. 

The more he started to explore that concept the more he became nationalistic with an artistic twist.

“I approached this project using the mindset of a Junkanoo artist,” Smith said. “Each image to me represented a Junkanoo costume and that’s how I addressed them,” Smith said.

Smith, though, is quick to point out that one shouldn’t expect to see the national images—blue marlin, flamingo, the Yellow Elder tree—in the traditional sense.

“You can identify them as what they are but the departure is that I am not true to the naturalistic color of them,” he said. “I took the liberty to Junkanoo-fy them. If you look at Junkaoo, a pink flamingo isn’t always pink it could be blue but you still have the naturalistic form of the flamingo.”

Smith also invigorates the pageantry with vibrant colours such as red and oranges. So you may see black and white photos of athletes contrasted by a vibrant border.

“This year we speak to us as a nation and what makes us unique and what makes us beautiful. That’s the type of iconography that I try to tap into to bring us all together in oneness.”

So when you are taking in the pageantry of the athletes, don’t forget to take in the pageantry that is all Bahamas.

ABOUT: The IAAF World Relays is a biennial event concentrating solely on relays. The event coincides with the odd year schedule of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and serves as a qualifier for that event as well. The United States has dominated the event winning 16 gold medals over the first two competitions. The event has only been staged at The Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.

The 2017 program for the IAAF World Relays includes heats and finals for the 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, and the 4x800m for both men and women over the two days of competition. Runners will also contest a mixed 4x400m event. The 2017 Relays are also included in the IAAF World Athletics Series of events.

The single session tickets prices for general admission is 15 dollars, silver is 40 dollars, bronze is 50 dollars and the gold section is priced at 70 dollars. Tickets are available for the relays online, at the box office at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, Galleria Cinema, Mall at Marathon and BTC in the Southwest Plaza. T-shirts are also available for sale at the same locations.

J.Sawyer and Associates