Natalie Willis, Author at National Art Gallery of The Bahamas

Mixed Media Summer Art Campers Shine at August Opening: The Joy of Fostering Creativity

9 August 2017 Natalie Willis

By Malika M Pryor. The air was filled with anticipation, impatient little legs swinging from the laps of their parents, who were awaiting the brief remarks and activity ahead. Younger siblings toddled through the centre aisle while teens, hovering in the back rows, eyed the assortment of fruits and cakes little more than an arm’s length away. The scene described would seem more fitting for a wedding but, in fact, it was the opening reception for the NAGB’s Mixed Media Summer Art Camp’s (MMSAC) 2017 Exhibition, A Journey Through Time: Telling Our Story. Taking centre stage in the cube-shaped gallery within a gallery, or Project Space (The PS), campers’ art transformed the room into a fantastic burst of colour, light and joy on Tuesday, August 1st.

Gendered norms and deconstruction: The body, the image and the ability to speak out for self.

2 August 2017 Natalie Willis

By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett.As The Bahamas moves into a new administration, 50 years of Majority Rule and over 40 years of independence have done little to remove the boundaries around free expression and positive self-imaging. Basking in its Victorian properness, as long as it is useful, the tourist destination boasts a particular image of Caribbeanness that is acceptable and palatable to the population because they have been taught to accept it.

Reporting From Rome: The Care in Curating

1 August 2017 Natalie Willis

By Natalie Willis. Three weeks of Italian summer and being surrounded by art professionals sounds like a dream, and in many ways, of course, it is. From the “shallow” things—like eating gelato for breakfast (which, I’ll have you know, is entirely civilised)—to the deeper stuff, of discussing intense readings around the purpose and history of curatorial practice and being able to view Caravaggio paintings in resplendent old buildings, the Goldsmiths ‘Curating The Contemporary’ summer art intensive, hosted at the British School at Rome, was an education, and in ways I had not anticipated. I was supported by the Charitable Arts Foundation as well as The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas to embark on this journey of professional development that would prove to also be one of intense personal development

Studio Visit: Jessica Colebrooke “Crafting a Sustainable Future for Ceramics”

31 July 2017 Natalie Willis

By Keisha Oliver. Five days a week, you’ll find Bahamian ceramicist Jessica Colebrooke in her Nassau studio, which is tucked away behind her home in the Gleniston Park community. 19 years ago, Colebrooke started out in a 10 x 10ft room with a sheet of plywood on two crates and a small kiln. Today she owns and manages “Jessica’s Tileworks Studio,” one of the leading ceramics and tile manufacturers in The Bahamas. As a mother, wife, educator, artist and entrepreneur, Colebrooke has committed her life and work to supporting and nurturing a culture of creativity.

Gender and the Dream: Confronting Stereotypes in Black masculinity.

25 July 2017 Natalie Willis

By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett

The dream sold is of young men being told that they are prosperous, only to realise that they are imprisoned in a tangled web of failure or underachievement. Young men from the inner city, once the thriving home of Blacks–forced by segregation and reduced circumstances to live in particular parts of town–is cast as the worst place in the country, a place that only produces criminals.

From the Collection: “Let Us Prey” (1984-86) by Dave Smith

24 July 2017 Natalie Willis

By Natalie Willis. The title is undoubtedly provocative given the Bahamian bent toward Christianity, but “Let Us Prey” (1984-86) is, quite literally, a gift. Donated by Dave Smith in 2007, the work is at once an act of good faith, while simultaneously critical of bad. It’s another painting from the National Collection that we have given some gentle care to and put on display for the current Permanent Exhibition, “Revisiting An Eye For The Tropics,” and fits into the theme of the Bahamian Everyday that works within this exhibition.

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

24 July 2017 Natalie Willis

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 Natalie Willis

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.

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

18 July 2017 Natalie Willis

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 Natalie Willis

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.