admin, Author at National Art Gallery of The Bahamas

“Prayer in a Dark Place” (2013) by Jace McKinney: Hope in spite of sinking feelings

7 February 2018 Articles

By Natalie Willis. “Each night before you go to bed, my baby, Whisper a little prayer for me, my baby. Because it’s hard for me, my baby, And the darkest hour is just before dawn.” The Mamas & The Papas crooned about the sort of hope and prayer; the battle of light and dark and hard times that we all encounter, but we are used to hearing things a bit more succinctly in these parts. “I ga pray for you.” It’s something we all hear growing up in this place because regardless of what your personal beliefs might be, someone, somewhere in these 700 isles will be there to pray for you in hard times. Jace McKinney’s “Prayer in a Dark Place” (2013) is a visual representation for many of us of the vulnerability we can be made to feel in life, as we attempt to navigate this very particular space we inhabit. It’s by and large a part of being human for most, but especially for this complicated pocket of the world we live in with our rich and dark history.

William Sweeting’s “Two Natives at the Gate” (1971): As seen by our youth.

5 February 2018 Rewind

By Nakoa McKenzie, Student at C.R. Walker Secondary High School. Introduction: The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas prides itself on having a healthy and robust community outreach programme with high schools, especially those in our community. Every semester we work with schools to find students to partner with, especially those who have an interest in the arts and cultural initiatives. This extends to work-study opportunities, building and reinforcing how relevant research and data management is with regards to development and strategy. We give students the opportunity to thoroughly integrate with the NAGB team for a week or two – the time remains flexible- and during the first two days of observation, they have an idea of a more significant way in which they’d like to contribute.

Blank Canvas: Tru-Tru Bahamian Festival

31 January 2018 Podcasts

It’s all about being “Tru-Tru” on this week’s “Blank Canvas.” In the studio with Amanda are (left) Suzanne Pattusch, the Executive Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) and (right) Angelique McKay, Founder and CEO of the Junkanoo Commandoes, talking about the upcoming “Tru-Tru Bahamian Festival” that takes place at John Watlings Distillery on Delancy Street, Saturday and Sunday, February 3rd and 4th, 2018.

From the Collection: “Untitled (Balcony House on Market Street)” (ca 1920) by James Osborne “Doc” Sands

31 January 2018 Articles

By Natalie Willis. There is this assumed romanticism of the past for many, especially when looking the quaint images of Nassau-from-yesteryear. But here, we find it is often laced with a pain of looking at where we were as a nation, those issues we faced then and the echoes of this past that we deal with now. “Untitled (Balcony House on Market Street)” (ca. 1920) by James Osborne “Doc” Sands shows us a Bahamas that is still reeling and reconfiguring after the abolishment of slavery, and post-apprenticeship, even in 1920. The legacy of racial power structures inherited by The Bahamas, and by the wider Caribbean region, was very much present and felt. The tiering of whites, mixed-race, and Black Bahamians is still something we feel today, even with all the work done to dismantle this hegemony.

The NAGB hosts Portfolio Workshop for Teens: Workshop gives students a memorable experience

29 January 2018 Highlights

By Katrina Cartwright. On Saturday, January 20th, 2018, thirteen students from public, private and home schools attended the NAGB’s free portfolio workshop. Formulated for students in senior high school or in their freshman year at The University of The Bahamas, who are looking to transition into a tertiary art programme at an international school in 2018/2019, this workshop is one of two that will be held by the Gallery in 2018. It is hoped that this experience will give students the tools to successfully apply to any art programme of their choice.

Blank Canvas with Tamika Galanis

25 January 2018 Podcasts

On this evening’s “ Blank Canvas,” your host Amanda Coulson (NAGB Director) is joined by Tamika Galanis, a documentarian and multimedia visual artist. A Bahamian native, Tamika’s work examines the complexities of living in a place shrouded in tourism’s ideal during the age of climate concerns. Emphasizing the importance of Bahamian cultural identity for cultural preservation, Tamika documents aspects of Bahamian life not curated for tourist consumption, to intervene in the historical archive.

This has all been said before: Art, Racism and the words of representation

24 January 2018 Articles

By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett.I borrow words from Haitian writer and activist Edwidge Danticat to start this piece “Nou Led, Nou La,” “We are ugly but we are here,” to express the sentiment against the “shithole countries” that have been accused for their suffering by powers that created it. And here we find ourselves again, in the ugliness of a non-racist, historical depiction of people and countries, even while some may be continents, that have been set a light by a history of gun-boat and dollar diplomacy, and representation that shows them to be nothing other than shithole countries with monkeys in the jungle.

NAGB hosts Portfolio Workshop for Teens

23 January 2018 Highlights

On Saturday, January 20th, 2018, thirteen students from public, private and home schools attended the NAGB’s free portfolio workshop. Formulated for students in senior high school or in their freshman year at The University of The Bahamas, who are looking to transition into a tertiary art programme at an international school in 2018/2019, this workshop is one of two that will be held by the NAGB in 2018. It is hoped that this experience will give students the tools to successfully apply to an art programme of their choice.

Open call for works featuring your Potcakes

23 January 2018 Opportunities

The NAGB is celebrating the Chinese year of the Dog with a call for Potcakes. Would you like to share your experience of observing, owning or knowing a potcake? Bahamian artists are welcome to submit works in any medium: painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, photography, video, textile, installation and mixed media.

Gaia Reimagined: “Mother Earth” (1992) by Clive Stuart

23 January 2018 Articles

By Natalie Willis. Clive Stuart’s “Mother Earth” (1992; acrylic on plywood) is a serene and unapologetic celebration of both womanhood and Blackness. Born on Cat Island, Stuart imbues “Mother Earth” with the spirituality, magic, and mysticism of his birthplace. With an unapologetic Black woman standing front and centre as subject, the work celebrates just that – Black womanhood and all that it comes with.