So much of our lives is defined by our relationship with space and indeed with water, or a space that is not a space, but is actively always churning and redefining itself and its boundaries. We engage at a new level now as boundaries mean little, except for the new and ever-increasing global boundaries that allow capital flow but insist on barring the flow of people. We live in a time of shifting and yet unchanging spaces.
Returning to “Blank Canvas” are two young Bahamian artists who, until now, have been known as ceramicists. Averia Wright, completed her BFA in Ceramics at the University of Tampa, returned home to work at the NAGB for 4 years as an Assistant Curator, and is now completing her masters (MFA) in “Expanded Practice” at Ohio University. Spurgeonique Morley received a BA in Art Education from UB and was one of the first year of graduates under the newly-formed university. As a practicing artist she has presented at the NAGB, in Transforming Spaces and at Hillside House, among other locations.
By Malika N. Pryor.‘They’ say that art imitates life. However, sometimes, art does more. It reflects, as a full and truly inspired representation of its surroundings, both pulling from and aspiring to the beauty that nature—flora, fauna and even human beings—bring to our world.
By Natalie Willis.Regional engagement is key to developing the arts ecology in The Bahamas. This historic hurricane season has shown us that the Caribbean is far stronger united than apart, and that we must look to our archipelagic family of island-nations to support us when the rest of the world might not quite feel so compelled. The Double Dutch series of exhibitions is our way of extending that notion of camaraderie and union, the coming together of different artists to show how we are a Caribbean full of places that, while similar given the history, still hold very unique practices and cultures and ideas of self. This newest iteration of the playful, two-person show brings Dede Brown into the fold as our Bahamian contingent, known for her vivid and beautiful material explorations in space (think: the aluminium flamingos at the airport), and paired with her is Dominican-American artist Joiri Minaya and her intriguing explorations into identity and Otherness.
By Dr. Ian Bethel Bennett. Where is our empathy? Empathy is our ability to understand other people’s experiences and to provide some support, either from afar or from nearby. We understand, or so we claim, that Black Lives Matter; we get the idea that Black and Latino youth have different experiences in the United States than most white children.
Tonight’s “Blank Canvas” sees Bahamian artist, Dede Brown (left), in conversation with Dominican-American artist, Joiri Minaya (right), her collaborator on the next NAGB exhibition, “Double Dutch: Re : Encounter.” The NAGB’s Double Dutch series was conceived as a way to bridge our regional divides, by bringing artists from the region and diaspora together to produce provocative bodies of work through collaboration and exchange.
By Dr Ian Bethell Bennett This is our time, the occasion for thinking and being different, not bound by an antiquated, out-dated design and building model, or for that matter a tourism model that focuses almost exclusively on resort style entertainment at the expense of locally-fashioned rustic flavoured spots that draw in tourists with their uniqueness.
By Natalie Willis. Maxwell Taylor’s woodcut prints are truly a thing of beauty in more ways than the obvious. The stark contrast and drama of a black and white printed image is something to behold in itself, but the way that he incorporates black bodies and the struggles they go through adds a poignant beauty of a different kind. He doesn’t make the struggle pretty, he shows people with the nobility they deserve, migrants included. Using the traditional practice of woodcut printmaking, Taylor’s “The Immigrants No.3” (c.1990) holds just as much meaning now as it did when it was first shown
On Thursday, September 28th, the traveling exhibition “Max/Amos: A Tale of Two Paradises” landed on Exuma soil and journeyed to Wenshua Art Gallery in Georgetown to be installed, in preparation for the opening reception and a week of programming including a mural project, which is a part of The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas’ (NAGB) Mural Programme.
“Blank Canvas” hosts Bahamian filmmaker Kareem Mortimer, who is premiering his new full-length feature “Cargo” in The Bahamas, at a red carpet event at Atlantis on October 19th.