This month’s selected artwork is a woodcut print on paper entitled “Pulling Nr. 1,” (1982) by Maxwell Taylor—a painter, printmaker, sculptor, ceramicist and draughtsman. The work is currently on show alongside other Taylor drawings and prints, as well as many other artists, in the exhibition “From Columbus to Junkanoo” curated by Jodi Minnis and Averia Wright.
Creative industries are a ‘new’ fixture in the discussions among government development folks. They want to expand the reach of the creative industries and link these with tourism. Creative industries are about celebrating all that is creative and allowing these creative areas to generate new streams of income for the country. Music and dance comprise the creative industries.
Nowé Harris-Smith, an emerging Bahamian artist, shows us her foray into reconciling the tension between two battling mediums; tensions between reality and the imagined, between the ideas of bodies as symbols of our individuality but also as unifying vessels of the universality of our human experience.
New Economies of Culture We often talk about the importance of cultural tourism, but perhaps few of us understand what that means or even why it could benefit us as a country. Cultural tourism has become one of the largest drivers in tourism mobilisation over the last decade.
Film programmer and invited curator of the NAGB summer film series, Francis Litzinger, shares his love for film; from growing up in Toronto to his foray into the industry. This year, through a unique partnership, Litzinger lends his expertise to develop programming riffing off of the NAGB’s exhibitions. Through the end of August, we host five films, which delve into the backbone of classic and contemporary filmmaking.
Scraped up from the beds. Uprooted. Carefully picked and collected. Transported by boat. Beaten. Sun-dried. Clipped and polished. Sold to the highest bidder. The sponge industry of the colonial Bahamas as represented in Jacob F. Coonley’s ‘The Sponge Yard’, an albumen print circa 1870, shows neat rows of sponges laid out to dry, to be clipped, to have the animal remains eroded away by hours in the sun
all into close engagement with one another. Gun Boys Rhapsody begins with what in Shakespeare’s day would have been a loaded soliloquy, foreshadowing the devastation that lay ahead. As the actor tells the audience his life is about to end, we are far from prepared for the heart-tugging roller coaster escapade into which we have ventured.
Over the last weekend, the Sculpture Garden at the NAGB began to take shape, thanks to the involvement of the wider local community and a group of passionate volunteers. Read the report from NAGB Director, Amanda Coulson here.
The NAGB was welcomed to Nettica “Nettie” Symonette’s resort and cultural centre, Nettie’s Place of Casuarina, recently to appreciate Symonette’s efforts at sustainability and cultural preservation. Symonette is also one of the country’s most dedicated and prolific self-taught artists. She began painting intuitively in 2009, and she continues to make work at her studio on the Cable Beach property.
Nettie’s Place is a multifaceted operation, boasting a restaurant, hotel, farm and many other marvels. It is Symonette’s hope that the entire site will document the country’s evolution and cultural heritage.
Thanks so much for the hardworking team at Tru Bahamian Food Tours for remembering our Mixed Media Store! It means so much to us that there are proud Bahamians who are keen and passionate on promoting authentic and culturally rich experiences to both locals and visitors! See the feature on their website here: http://trubahamianfoodtours.com/best-nassau/bahamian-made-souvenirs/