With just three weeks left to prepare for this year’s Mixed Media Art Summer Camp (MMASC), the NAGB team is kicking into high gear to get everything ready for the 100 campers who will be engaging in six weeks of fun creativity between June 25th and August 3rd. The NAGB Mixed Media Art Summer Camp, revamped in 2015, serves as an access point for all kids, ages 5 to 17, to art and its history.
For the second year, Tilting Axis has facilitated, administered and designed an open call for our Curatorial Fellowship. In a strong partnership with the University of Texas at Austin Art Galleries at Black Studies we issued an open call to find and seek out a curator living and working in the Caribbean who would rise to the occasion to use the resources, collections and moment at hand to advance their practice in a nuanced and sensitive way.
By Katrina Cartwright. For the second year, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas has partnered with the Department of Culture to adjudicate Arts and Crafts entries for the E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival. Between February and May 2018 Katrina Cartwright, NAGB Education Officer, and Abby Smith, NAGB Community Outreach Officer traveled with the organizing committee of the National Arts Festival to schools in the north, south and central Bahamas, where the best of Bahamian talent was showcased by talented hopefuls, seeking to win in their respective categories.
By Abby Smith
Rich in history and eye-catching in its beauty, the island of Eleuthera became the backdrop for a creative explosion of young aspiring artists from all around the island. Continuing to make an impact on the islands visited courtesy of our travelling exhibition, the NAGB’s Mural Programme descended upon this tranquil isle with a challenge in tow: Telling the story of Eleuthera. Rising to the challenge was, Harbour Island All Age School under the directorship of Kevin Rolle, Art Teacher, North Eleuthera High School with Alfred Williams, Art Teacher, Central Eleuthera High School with Genele Williams, Art Teacher, Rock Sound Primary School and Tarpum Bay Primary School with Itinerant Art Teacher, Janice Hall and Preston Albury High School with Will Simmons, Art Teacher.
By Malika Pryor Martin. The very first Friday Night Live! took place at the NAGB on April 27th and proved to be a hit with our New Providence community in spite of the rain. Activities and events included a drop-in workshop, special tours, drawing in the galleries, a special on memberships, delicious food provided by POW and Cassava Grille, and although unfulfilled (thank you, bad weather), a live performance by Willis and the Illest.
By Malika Pryor-Martin. The NAGB travelling exhibition programme, which began in 2015 has just completed its fifth trip overall and has concluded the premiere of its second exhibition, “TRANS: A Migration of Identity”. With partner One Eleuthera Foundation, the NAGB presented the show for over four weeks at the South Eleuthera Mission in Rock Sound, closing on April 13th.
By Malika Pryor Martin. Thanks to the support and partnership of the Central Bank of The Bahamas, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) is pleased to announce limited free bus service for primary and secondary school tours! At this time, the offer is available to all government schools in New Providence. “The Magic School Bus” Initiative, as it is affectionately titled, will facilitate the visitation of more than 800 students to The Bahamas’ preeminent arts institution.
By Malika N Pryor. At the NAGB, we’d like to think that every special event we hold is one-of-a-kind. However, Friday April 6th, 2018 was particularly spectacular as it marked the naming ceremony and formal opening of Fiona’s Theatre. The only amphitheatre in New Providence, the bowl shaped auditorium is a part of a long and storied history that ties its earliest recorded use to its current purpose.
By Katrina Cartwright. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) is excited to announce the opening of early registration for its Mixed Media Art Summer Camp (MMASC). Now in its fourth year, the camp was started in response to the need for an arts focused camp after the FINCO Summer Art Workshop was discontinued. MMASC has been popular since its inception and has impacted the lives of over 300 students since 2014. The camp takes place between June 25th and August 3rd and is divided into two, three week sessions.
By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett, The University of The Bahamas. Our culture is as much about how we build, live and die, as how we speak, dress and eat, and George Cox, for me, embodied one of those shapers of Bahamian vernacular culture, simultaneously impacting high culture. How we live is as important as what we do and both influence the legacies we leave.