As the lushness of the island disappears in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, it is important to note the significance of imaging who we are and where we live. As Bahamians, we inhabit a geographic space that has beauty beyond words along with limitless possibility, and we must embrace our reality and step outside of the constructed, constricted reality being imposed on us.
Winslow Homer’s ‘Hurricane’ captures howling winds of the storm in The Bahamas, however, the image, though teaming with meaning and feeling, does not capture the magnitude of today’s super storms. These so-called superstorms bring with them devastation and trauma of epic proportions. The visual produced in Homer’s painting remains haunting and provides an interesting couple for the Gulfstream painting, and After the Hurricane, Bahamas as it shows a man shipwrecked on a desolate island.
From Earnest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea to his less-well-known Islands in the Stream, Bimini stars as an island full of adventure, liquor and raucous living, a man’s island, where fishing and drinking go hand-in- hand. Bimini has changed little since these books were written. Cultural integrity is essential for such a world-class tiny island. It is still a place of booze and boating.
We often ask what makes art Bahamian? Is it about living in The Bahamas? Is it about the colour of the sea, the sky, the play of light? Is it the way we capture images of people in their daily lives that is unlike anywhere else, but also similar to other places? Can Bahamian art be transcultural and also Bahamian?
The Harvey B Gannt Centre for African-American Arts+Culture shares: ‘Quilts and Social Fabric: Heritage and Improvisation’, an upcoming exhibition at the centre in North Carolina featuring the work of Bahamian artist Lillian Blades. ‘Quilts and Social Fabric’ runs from July 16, 2016 – January 16, 2017. The Harvey B Gannt Centre for African-American Arts+Culture shares: ‘Quilts and Social Fabric: Heritage and Improvisation’, an upcoming exhibition at the centre in North Carolina featuring the work of Bahamian artist Lillian Blades. ‘Quilts and Social Fabric’ runs from July 16, 2016 – January 16, 2017.
On the evening of Thursday, April 28, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) hosted the opening of three new exhibitions. On the evening, music played and drums beat out, as talented boys and girls from Rhythm N’ Youth, who are often missing in the real national debate, performed to welcome the souls and soles of the living and the dead. The drums reverberated beyond so many of the other instruments.
This summer, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas wishes two of its most valued employees farewell as they prepare to take the next leap in professional development.
One of the much-talked about highlights of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) Mixed Media Art Summer Camp has been the new mural – or, rather, murals – adorning the public wall spaces at the NAGB. As living, collaborative works, the murals have been completed by groups of campers and individual artists, all of whom joined the NAGB for some time during its summer camp, led by Education and Curatorial Support Associate Abby Smith.