Currently browsing: Highlights

There are several ways of finding yourself: Reporting from Tilting Axis 5

25 June 2019 Highlights

By Letitia Pratt, The D’Aguilar Art Foundation. On a late Monday at the end of May, I sluggishly – by fault of a sleepless travel day –  made my way through the airport arrivals in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, unaware of the new ways in which experiencing Tilting Axis 5 (TA5) would change my perspective on many things – on art, the institution, and on my own practice; and how, despite all the harrowing setbacks that I have endured, that it is important to do work in and about the Caribbean.   

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Unplugged Sessions at Fiona’s Theatre

24 June 2019 Highlights

By Kevanté Cash, NAGB Correspondent. Rashad Leamount and Chase Fernander curate the first of many soul sessions to be held at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. Bodies sway, hands raised and heads bop from left to right; feet resist the urge to get up and shake, while mouths formulate to ad lib the words to songs hearts may know. There is magic in the air at Fiona’s Theatre, where an eclectic group of musical artists are performing. They are setting the mood for what to make of the rest of the year with events held here, as this appears to be the start of something new. “Unplugged” a part of A Season at Fiona’s, curated by Rashad Leamount and Chase Fernander, marries the two art worlds, inviting one into its backyard.

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“Rafiki– more than just friends” Honouring and fighting for love.

12 April 2019 Highlights

By Kevanté A.C. Cash, NAGB Correspondent. I am reminded of the challenges of life, even in moments of sheer bliss, reminded of the ways we cannot be, even in moments we are. I am reminded of the complexities of living in love a as Black,  queer, artist, teacher, mother, sister, lover, friend, because it is all of these that comprise the human experience, yet none of these at all. I am reminded of themes of tried and proven love – over and over again in films such as Rafiki which in Swahili means “friend”. I would argue that the title itself was an act of intentionality and irony, as African culture, at a minimum, does not acknowledge the simple existence of queer love, in such coding lovers in terms such as “friend”. Above all of these though, I am reminded of just how boundlessly love can flow if given the space to manifest into something beautiful. Rafiki reminds me of the ways and trying times of love.

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Saucy Expressions presents ‘Riddim n Tingum’ for the National Exhibition 9

3 April 2019 Highlights

By Kevanté A.C. Cash, NAGB Correspondent . Artists Princess Pratt and Christine Wilson curate a night of poetic cultural expression to align with the theme of “The Fruit and The Seed” . Just when you thought the Ninth National Exhibition could not get any saucier—with artworks of daring themes brought forth to challenge the norms of a Bahamian society— poetic duo Saucy Expressions, represented by Princess Pratt and Christine Wilson, curates an evening of “Riddim n Tingum,” featuring rebellious words from Bahamian poets, musicians and writers, for a literary take on NE9’s “The Fruit and The Seed.”  One of the two event organisers and performance poet, Princess Pratt, says her interest in wanting to organise an event like this stemmed from the fact that she had never seen a National Exhibition that featured performance poetry before. She wanted it to be an apparatus that bridged the gap between these seemingly separate worlds of artistry. So when the call came out, she and her creative business partner, Christine Wilson, conceived and presented a proposal to utilise the NAGB’s amphitheatre—Fiona’s Theatre—as a space for what would be called “Riddim n Tingum” for the NE9.

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The NAGB takes the ITE to Grand Bahama

1 April 2019 Highlights

By Katrina Cartwright. The Inter-Island Travelling Exhibition brings an intense week of activities to the second city. On April 2nd, 2019 the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas’ Inter-Island Travelling Exhibition (ITE) lands in Freeport, Grand Bahama, bringing with it an extensive community outreach agenda inclusive of our public mural programme, free workshops, a curator’s talk, school visits (primary and secondary) and donations of museum literature for art teachers, schools and public libraries. The NAGB was last in Grand Bahama in 2016 with “Max/Amos”, which was showcased at the Charles Hayward Library. Now in its fourth year, with a new exhibition, “Trans: A Migration of Identity”, the NAGB team is taking the travelling exhibition to our second city, where it will be on display at the Rand Nature Centre from April 5th – 26th, 2019.  

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NE9 Talks and Thoughts: Artists share their thoughts on NE9

24 December 2018 Highlights

By Katrina Cartwright. The opening of the NAGB’s “NE9: The Fruit and The Seed” was so dynamic, well supported and memorable, we invited the participating artists to share their experiences and thoughts on that evening and also on this National Exhibition (NE) in general. Here are the amazing, generous responses we received from several of these incredibly talented individuals! 

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