“How does ringplay serve to define us as girls and boys, as males and females? What kinds of play are appropriate or typical of Bahamian girls or Bahamian boys? What are the rules we establish? What are the values we hold up? What are the expectations we set for our children?”
— Ian Strachan
The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas announces the Open Call for the 12th National Exhibition under the theme “Ringplay”.
Inspired by scholar, playwright, and poet Dr Ian Strachan’s documentary Show Me Your Motion: The Ringplay Games of The Bahamas, NE12 seeks proposals that use irony, play, and humour to critique the state of children within Bahamian society.
Show Me Your Motion examines how respectability politics reshaped the way Bahamian children engaged with traditional cultural expressions like ringplay, and how that suppression of play has since influenced how we navigate community, freedom, and self-expression.
NE12 calls for works centring collaboration and community engagement. For the first time in the National Exhibition’s history, the call is open to artists aged 12 and over. We welcome proposals from visual artists, musicians, playwrights, poets, and all other creative practices.
Submission guidelines
Proposals should be submitted as a single PDF to submissions@nagb.org.bs ↗ and must include:
- CV or résumé
- Bio (150 words maximum)
- Artist statement (200 words maximum)
A brief statement describing your artistic practice and the ideas informing the proposed submission. - Project outline
A clear description of the proposed work, including concept, scope, and presentation details. Please include technical specifications, sketches or diagrams (if applicable), and any in-progress images. If a full body of related work is available online, include a link.
Jury
Works will be reviewed by a selection jury comprising industry professionals and international voices, alongside the curatorial team. Following studio visits, a final selection will be made by Jodi Minnis-Rolle, Curatorial Director, and Letitia Pratt, Associate Curator. Jurors will be announced at a later date.
Key dates & programming
The following dates include submission milestones and programming designed to support you through the proposal process.
- 20 March 2026: CV & Proposal Writing Workshop — Sonia Farmer
- 8 June 2026: Submission deadline
- 1 July 2026: Notification of selection
- 20 July 2026: Announcement of participating artists
- January 2027: Delivery of works
- March 2027: Opening
Questions?
If you have additional questions, contact curatorial@nagb.org.bs ↗.