admin, Author at National Art Gallery of The Bahamas

Studio Visit: Lavar Munroe. Finding New Meaning to a Familiar Space

24 July 2017 Interviews

By Keisha Oliver. Interdisciplinary artist Lavar Munroe grew up in the Grants Town community of Nassau, The Bahamas, and has lived and worked in the United States for over thirteen years. Munroe’s work exists as a reflection of the environment of his upbringing and presents an ongoing critique on contemporary society and its relationships between the people of the ghetto and the ‘Others.’ He maps and celebrates his personal journey of survival and fortitude from the heart of the ‘Over-the-Hill,’ community whilst confronting broader issues concerning social stereotypes

From the Collection: “Built on Sand” (2003) by Dionne Benjamin-Smith

19 July 2017 Articles

By Natalie Willis.“Built on Sand,” (2003) by Dionne Benjamin-Smith, is in some ways the sister work to “Bishops, bishops everywhere and not a drop to drink,” (2003). Both works are of the same dimensions, which instantly makes us as viewers try to compare them and view them in the same plane when they are placed near each other, but, it is the critique and use of religion as their subject that makes them read like chapters in a book, feeding into each other and helping to inform a greater whole.

Blank Canvas with Leasho Johnson and Edrin Symonette

19 July 2017 Podcasts

On Wednesday evening’s “Blank Canvas,” as part of the NAGB’s continuing series of “Double Dutch,” your host Amanda Coulson (NAGB Director, middle) is visited in the studio by Bahamian artist Edrin Symonette (right) and Jamaican artist Leasho Johnson (left), who speak to their individual artistic practices and their collaborative exhibition, opening on Friday night at 7 p.m. “Of Skin and Sand.”

What’s On at the NAGB: Resuscitating the land, reclaiming lost spaces

18 July 2017 Events

By Malika N. Pryor-Martin. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas opened on July 7, 2003, just three days before the country would celebrate its 30th year of independence from the British. Nearly a decade in the making, the NAGB was mandated with the task of preserving and propelling Bahamian culture through the visual arts.

Art Documenting History: Intersecting complex histories with art

17 July 2017 Articles

By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett. Art is a well-known document of history. All types of creative expression chronicle the moment they depict. Portraits, much like those on display in Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid are examples of this, especially the Goyas, for example. This column chooses to focus on the interlocking of art and history: “Art History,” its learning and teaching. So much happens in this somewhat fraught intersection between art and history, especially in a country like ours, where scant attention is paid to culture, except for its commodification and consumption.

From The Collection: Amos Ferguson’s “Junkanoo Cow Face”

12 July 2017 Articles

By Natascha Vazquez.

Bahamian artist and icon, Amos Ferguson radiantly portrays the spirit of Junkanoo through an energetic array of repeated imagery and texture in Junkanoo Cow Face – Match Me If You Can, an iconic piece in the Gallery’s National Collection. His interest in flattening the picture plane and depicting a graphic quality to the work is evident in this work, nodding to the style that he became widely known for. Ferguson used colour and repetition of form for impact and clarity. Arrangements of patterns flood his paintings, a visual language closely related to that of Bahamian culture, and in particular Junkanoo.

From the Collection: ‘Bishops, bishops everywhere and not a drop to drink’ (2003) by Dionne Benjamin-Smith

10 July 2017 Articles

By Natalie Willis.Works dealing with the divine, with Christianity, with the spiritual, are very much rooted in what we consider to be part of our representation of Bahamianness. In looking to the work of Dionne Benjamin-Smith, an artist and graphic designer known for her pithy and no-holds-barred practice – and very informative and inclusive newsletter designed and created by herself and her partner – we can see a proudly proclaimed Bahamian woman who identifies with her Christianity taking acute aim at problems with the way we view religion in our country.

Mixed Media Summer Art Camp: Igniting creativity

5 July 2017 Highlights

By Malika. N Pryor-Martin. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas’ (NAGB) Mixed Media Summer Art Camp (MMSAC), is a program designed with creativity, discovery, and fun in mind – every day. A blend of art exploration and classic camp activity, the MMSAC serves as a space where young people are learning without even knowing it. From the very youngest to the most senior participant, the goal of the camp is to encourage our campers to express the full range of their creative ideas.

World Oceans Day Mural: Protecting our seas and supporting public artworks

4 July 2017 Highlights

By Natalie Willis.A national institution of art coming together with one of the biggest hotel corporations doesn’t sound like your usual pairing – but public artwork has no prejudices, no bounds, and as such, the most unlikely collaborations can often be the most fruitful. The NAGB, along with Sandals Royal Bahamian and the Sandals Foundation have teamed up to bring forth a lighthearted public project with a serious message. For World Oceans Day, established visual artists in the community were commissioned to produce a vibrant wall mural with the idea of drawing attention to the need to not just protect our waters, but to truly care for them as they are such a strong part of what makes our country the place it is – in geography, in culture and especially in our history.

From the Collection: Lynn Parotti’s “The Blastocyst’s Ball: A Journey Through the Drug Induced stages of IVF”

3 July 2017 Articles

By Natascha Vazques. Lynn Parotti is a Bahamian artist exploring themes of natural and biological landscape, those surrounding us and within us. In “The Blastocyst’s Ball,” Parotti displays a triptych of non-objective form and colour, alluding to something that may exist within biology or perhaps, more specifically, in our bodies. Each piece shows a unique arrangement but commonly shared hues and rigid texture created through repetition generate a strong sense of unity between them.