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!
On Saturday night, December 1st, 2018, the Honourable Lanisha Rolle, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, stood in the stunning Fiona’s Theatre at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) and declared Culture Month officially open by reading a proclamation issued by the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Right Honourable Dr Hubert Minnis.
By Natalie Willis. Oh my Andros! Da Big Yard, the wild and wonderful island full of love vine, graceful-yet-sinister buzzards, and full to the brim with people showing spirit as big as they come and then some. This October, the NAGB extended itself into the open arms of this vast island (by our standards anyway!). The Inter-Island Travelling Exhibition (ITE) is a cause near and dear to our hearts here at the NAGB, and for one very simple reason: the “N” in the NAGB stands for National, not Nassau. And with this in mind, the National Collection should follow this same line of thinking. Most recently, the current iteration of the ITE, “TRANS: A Migration of Identity”, made its way to the most gracious and welcoming of hosts in Central Andros at Brigadiers Restaurant in Davis Creek. Workshops, the construction of a mural, exhibition installation, and personal visits to schools all took place over a hectic fortnight, but as always the work we do to bring art to you is the most important. Who needs sleep right?
By Katrina Cartwright. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas is bringing a busy 2018 to a close with an amazing line up of activities and events that will appeal to holiday recreation seekers of all ages. Beginning on December 7th with a free live Willis and The Illest concert and ending with musical sweetness of Jazz Etc. on December 21st, the NAGB is giving residents and visitors alike a selection of options to engage and access the museum in ways that are comfortable and interesting to them.
By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett, The University of The Bahamas. The 2018 Creative Time Summit under the theme “On Archipelagos and Other imaginaries: Collective Strategies to Inhabit the World” was livestreamed at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) and coupled with key local academics, including Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, Dr Allana Thomas and Joey Gaskins and other creatives discussing our present-day national realities. The day provided much fodder for digestion and provoked upset, and it was a necessary light bulb that came on or an explosion that went boom in the night. Also, we all know how those booms go. We wake up startled and unable to get back to sleep. The many conversations were alive and inspiring; it also caused great unease because of the themes explored: spatial injustice, erasure of black and brown bodies and the real threat of climate change and sea level rise along with the erosion of democracy. It is always interesting for me that Miami, often such a conservative space, can produce such edgy and cutting cultural expression and creative experimentation.
By Kevanté A. C. Cash. A laid-back woman comes from the behind the building to greet me upon hearing the call of her name. She is stationed on the benches of the National Art Gallery’s back porch overlooking the Sculpture Garden – just above the newly opened Amphitheatre named “Fiona’s Theatre” – that opens to Hospital Lane. Sporting a cool summer dress in the middle of Bahamian fall, she says she was “soaking up the sun and catching up on messages” while waiting for my arrival. She is Sasha Dees, a Dutch independent curator, festival and theatre producer and arts writer, currently doing research across the Caribbean. “The research that I’m doing is actually not a part of anything. It’s really in my interest. So, what happens is there’s a mid-career grant – the governmental visual art fund – that’s there for artists but also people working within the arts like curators, writers and so on to take some time off to do something they always wanted to do but never found the time or had the money to do. “So, often it was more so museum workers giving themselves a chance to take a sabbatical to maybe write a book or do more research on a subject that’s within the museum. It’s very rare for people like me to get the grant because I’ve always worked independently but when I thought again, I figured – ‘There still might be a possibility.’”
By Katrina Cartwright. This October, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) brings a little spookiness and a lot of fun with a special Halloween-themed Friday Night Live! (FNL!) on Friday, October 26, starting at 6:00 p.m. Powered by ALIV, the third iteration of FNL! gives us a “Night at the Museum” where there will be art, food, lots of mystery and tricks and treats—all to be enjoyed in the course of just one night.
By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett, The University of The Bahamas. This week, a team from the University of The Bahamas schools of Communications and Creative Arts, English and Social Sciences partnered with members of organisations for Responsible Governance, Hands for Hunger, and the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) to put on “The Future of Democracy” Conference that focused on Participatory Democracy or the importance of people being active and engaged in their democratic process. The idea behind the conference was to explore the interstitial space between people participation, cultural engagement and design for resilience. So, really underscoring the need for people to participate in the design of their lives and living spaces, otherwise, their homes become spaces where they are no longer culturally, economically or politically welcome.