Virtual ITE 2021 – From Time: Water Has A Perfect Memory

Virtual ITE 2021
“From Time: Water Has A Perfect Memory”

The Inter-Island Traveling Exhibition (ITE) comes to you – virtually! 

We are happy to bring our Inter-Island Traveling Exhibition (ITE) “From Time: Water Has A Perfect Memory” to you in a virtual format. This exhibition in many ways, functions as a time capsule. Using historical knowledge and visual interpretations to engage with The Bahamas’ past and present, we are able to envision a more hopeful future. With colonial works from the 1800s to the post-independence contemporary practice of the last few decades, “From Time” opens up conversations on slavery and colonialism to examine how that era’s gross accumulation of wealth and the booming industrial era it generated, served as the catalyst for the climate injustice we are now witnessing.

The curators dissect our national identity as it exists now and as it has evolved through time. They also direct your gaze forward to ask how we can envision a better, more hopeful future. “From Time” draws on works from the National Collection to prompt our thoughts on pressing issues of sustainability, environment and evolution. It also focuses on the movement of people and future-building in our beloved Bahamian and Caribbean space. We are challenged to begin to consider the meaning of history and archives on our own terms and dare to imagine an abundant and inclusive afro-future.

The Inter-Island Traveling Exhibition was designed to actively engage and include Family Island residents in the museum’s programming and increase access to the National Collection. In a time where we are safer physically distanced, art has the power to bring our hearts together in hope, reflection and celebration. This programme is an amalgamation of ongoing community outreach that the NAGB has coordinated in New Providence. The virtual format includes student workshops and tours open to students and community groups across the country. These programmes act as an accompaniment to the exhibition of artworks from the National Collection and the Curator’s Talk. These initiatives are comprehensively designed and executed to engage people from varying demographics. It must be noted that these events will all be virtual, free and open to the public.

Please take this time to engage with the virtual exhibition and prerecorded Curator’s talk here. And, for more information on the virtual events contact Community Outreach Officer, Zearier Munroe-Wilkinson, at [email protected].

Have you watched this In Conversation ? Each Inter-Island Travelling Exhibition (ITE) is accompanied by an In Conversation, where the curators of the show engage in conversation with community leaders and artists about the exhibition and its themes.  

This prerecorded In Conversation panel features Natalie Willis, Exhibition Curator; Candis Marshall, Environmental Craft Artist; Mallory Raphael, Research and Environmental Education Officer at BREEF; and Nikita Shiel-Rolle, Founder of the Young Marine Explorers and Principal Research Scientist at The Cat Island Conservation Institute.

The talk is a lively discussion and an examination of the exhibition’s themes and the implications of climate justice, preservation and sustainability.  The panelists also dissect the role art and institutions can play in perpetuating or solving issues. 

The In Conversation will be available for viewing at the NAGB’s website until January 23, 2022. For more information contact our Community Outreach Officer at [email protected].

The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas’ team is pleased to offer free virtual art workshops in association with our virtual ITE “From Time: Water Has A Perfect Memory”. This immersive art activity is open to students in grades 4-12 and will focus on Bahamian artists and popular art styles and techniques. 

These workshops are open to all student groups within the country and will be facilitated virtually by the NAGB staff. While exploring Bahamian art and art techniques, students will learn more about the NAGB and engage in discussions on the current climate of art culture in the country, art as a career and opportunities for further education. The NAGB will provide and ship the relevant art supplies needed to participate at no cost to the attendees.

Workshops are available through January 22, 2022. To sign up or for more information contact our Community Outreach Officer at [email protected].

Sign up today for a guided tour of the exhibition “From Time: Water Has A Perfect Memory”. Tours are a memorable experience for everyone involved and are hosted under three guided themes: sustainability, archival history and art techniques. This experience is ideal for school and community groups. Participants will be led on a fun, informative tour of the virtual exhibition “From Time” and explore techniques utilised by artists in the creation of their work. They will also connect written literary skills with visual narratives in artworks to analyse and discuss concepts and ideas present in the works. 

Tours are offered free of charge for students and teachers and provide a truly comprehensive experience that goes beyond their virtual visit to the museum. They are designed to stimulate curiosity, reinforce and augment curriculum-based learning, engage students in critical dialogue about the works they see and bridge subjects so that students can experience artwork in its entirety – as a visual expression of historical, mythical, political, social, spiritual, literary and personal narratives.

Sign up today to add an exciting element to your virtual visitor experience. Tours are available  Mondays to Fridays 10:00 a.m, – 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., through January 23rd, 2022. To book a tour or for more information, please contact our Community Outreach Officer – Zearier Munroe-Wilkinson – at [email protected]