Inspired by a recent series of political soundbites, reportage and utterances of a number of Trinidad and Tobago’s ‘alleged’ government representatives circa 2010 -2015, the installation by Richard Mark Rawlins titled #didyouhearyuhself seeks to present, record, and investigate the notions of accountability, behaviour, disregard and contempt for the populace held by public officials in the course of their duties while in elected office, as well as the role of the media in said reportage
Already well known in Jamaica and the Caribbean, the eleven participating artists featured in Jamaican Routes are young artists whose careers are on the rise internationally. The works in the exhibition address a wide range of topics, including the social, cultural and political implications of Jamaican music as well as themes that relate to Jamaican cultural and identity issues in more general terms. Although not a strictly thematic exhibition, the intricacies of Jamaican music, and dancehall in particular, provide a powerful undertone for many of the works featured in Jamaican Routes. Participating artists: Camille Chedda, Andrea Chung, Marlon James, Leasho Johnson, Matthew McCarthy, Olivia McGilchrist, Oneika Russell, Ebony G. Patterson, Storm Saulter, Cosmo Whyte and Andre Woolery.
To celebrate the role that artists play in the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean region, the World Bank Art Program conceived About Change, a program of exhibitions of contemporary visual arts organized in collaboration with the Cultural Center of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Art Museum of the Americas, Organization of American States (OAS). The exhibitions include artworks selected during an open Call for Entries (January- April 2010) as well as a small selection from the permanent collections of the partners. Works chosen during the open Call for Entries are by contemporary visual artists from all member states in the region. The exhibitions provide a comprehensive overview of current artistic spheres and specialties.
The categories of visual art for About Change are the following: ne arts (painting, sculpture, drawing, video, printmaking, photography, mixed media, video art, experimental lm and digital animation); decorative arts, including design (product design, graphic design, textile and fashion design); and folk art (popular art, indigenous art and craft).
The range of artistic ideas included in Rockstone & Bootheel is a vital and vivid reminder of the hybrid nature of culture and the con ngent nature of taste. Curators Yona Backer and Kristina Newman-Scott joined forces to communicate something of what it is to be creating in a moment when questions are far more compelling than answers. Rockstone does not strive for acceptance; it does demand engagement.
ALTHOUGH EACH OF THE ARTISTS IN THE EXHIBITION HAS A PARTICULAR VIEW OF THE CARIBBEAN RELATED TO HER OWN LIFE EXPERIENCE, THEY SHARE A COMMON SUSPICION OF OVERARCHING NARRATIVES, AN EMBRACE OF HETEROGENEITY, AND AN ATTITUDE OF DEFIANCE TOWARDS CONVENTIONS THAT WOULD SEEK TO CONTAIN THEM.- Tatiana Flores
‘Kibri a kulturu’ or ‘preserve the culture’. This theme is the heart and soul of the work of the
Surinamese visual artist Marcel Pinas (Pelgrimkondre, Marowijne District, 1971). The cultural heritage of the Surinamese Maroon community of the N’dyuka, also known as the Aucaners, is Marcel Pinas’ source of inspira on as well as his mo ve in all endeavors he undertakes. ‘Kibii wi koni’ or ‘preserve our wisdom’ takes this theme one step further. One layer deeper.
As a child, I became curious about the meaning of my Christian name and though I searched and searched, I could never find it anywhere. It was my mother who was responsible for christening me ‘O’Neil,’ she absolutely loved the name when she rst heard it but – as circumstance would have it – so did quite a few other new mothers the same year I was born. Rather than have her son be lost amongst the sea of variations: Oneal, Oniel and of course the most popular Oneil, she decided to use the spelling usually associated with the surname. Because of this I never did nd my name in any of the baby name books but I did nd Neil which means ‘champion’ and the ‘O’ with an apos- trophe, I also found out, means ‘son of’ so by default my name means Son of a Champion.
“Town to Town” is about the busy urban life style and experience of Bridgetown and Cape Town. There are similarities and also contrasts between these two towns. I believe what makes this exhibition interesting, is that in most of the art works, you cannot really distinguish which stores, shopping windows or streets belong to which town.
Available At All Leading Stores has been exhibited in collaboration with the following curators: Andrea Fatona: Reading the Image, Poetics of the Black Diaspora, Canada Marianne de Tolentino, 1st ACP Group Cultural Festival in the Dominican Republic. Raul Moarquech Ferrera-Balanquet: Arte Nuevo InteractivA ’07, Mexico. Julieta González: 2nd Trienal Poli/Grá ca de San Juan: América Latina y el Caribe, Puerto Rico.
After the success of the first ‘big River’ workshop in 1999, CCA was asked to initiate and co-ordinate workshops in the Caribbean and Latin American regions in partnership with the Triangle Arts Trust a UK based, international organisation that has initiated workshops in over 23 countries worldwide, with over 2,500 participating artists. Our joint primary objective is to initiate and facilitate the exchange of ideas and practice between an exten- sive network of artists around the world. The big River 3 International Artists’ Workshop occurred between the 23rd of February and the 10th March, which closed with The Final Show at The Little Carib Theatre on Sunday the 12th March 2006.