This week’s “Blank Canvas” looks the artistic future of The Bahamas through three local young prize-winning artists.
Nassau-born Jordanna Kelly (far right), recently won the Central Bank Open Category Art Prize (2016) for her sculptural piece “Preserved.” The piece questions decisions made regarding Bahamian-owned businesses over the last 20 years which eventually and inevitably lead to the closure, in August 2016, of the Centreville canning industry of Paul W. Albury & Sons.
Her fellow artists, Navarro Newton (middle left) and Keith Thompson (far left) are 2 of the 3 Popop Junior Residency Prize winners for 2016-2017, which endows them with a study trip to New York as well as year-long residence safe in the artist colony of PopopStudios International Center of Visual Art in Chippingham. Both artists discuss how being part of this community has helped them advance their practice, in clarifying their thought processes and how that is reflected in their process, output and development.
All three artists speak to their views of how art can reflect upon and shape society. Finally, we speak about their upcoming events: Keith and Navarro are part of an art and music night at John Watling’s this Friday, November 18; Navarro and Jordanna will both be exhibiting in the next major upcoming exhibition at the NAGB—the National Exhibition (NE8)—opening on December 15th; and both Popop Prize Winners will have upcoming solos exhibitions as a result of their residencies, scheduled in December 2016 for Navarro and January 2017 for Keith.
NAGB’s Blank Canvas airs Wednesdays at 6:30 pm on Guardian Talk Radio, 96.9FM.
Live stream at www.guardiantalkradiocom.
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