TONIGHT: Robert Surcouf (1773-1827) – The King of the Corsairs Conference

Thursday, March 21, 2013
At 7:00pm
Ocean Place, Cable Beach

Alliance Francaise des Bahamas has been hosting a series of events during the week of March 18-22, 2013 to celebrate "La Francophonie" (French speaking countries). Countries featured will be France, Canada, Haiti, Belgium and the Congo.

Tonight's conference will be hosted by Erick Surcouf, great-great-grand nephew of the infamous Robert Surcouf, the "King of Corsairs" of Napoleon the 1st and is author of numerous books on his illustrious ancestor and treasure hunter.

At the age of 3 , Erick left a successful career in advertising and decided to become the first French underwater archeological treasure hunter.

For the past 35 years, he has organised numerous expeditions and has found wrecks of all sorts. He is a member of the Explorers Club de New York, the Nautical Archaeology Society of London, the French Commission on maritime history of Paris, and the Association of descendants of corsair captains of Saint-Malo. He is presently in The Bahamas to seek authorisation from the Government to hunt for archeological treasures.

The Bahamas National Committee (BNC) of United World College (UWC) is launching its first formal fundraising campaign in aid of their Scholar-Ambassador’s Scholarship Fund as they approach the close of their 40th year of service to students of The Bahamas. Entitled “The Spirit of The Bahamas” this unique fundraising event, which will be held under the distinguished patronage of the Governor General, Sir Arthur Foulkes and Lady Foulkes, will be officially launched on Friday, the 22nd of March at 6:30 pm at Doongalik Studios on historic Village Road.

The public is invited to join the UWC National Committee along with UWC alumni, their parents and supporters for an evening of ‘Fun for the Fund’! Patrons are encouraged to come casually dressed, prepared to be delightfully entertained by Bahamian bands, singers, and entertainers, scrumptiously fed with delicious Bahamian cuisine, and to participate in an evening of activities, games, dancing, prizes and surprises in true ‘down home’ Bahamian fashion, because the evening promises to be a lively one!

CLICK HERE for full article in The Guardian.

2 Points of View Exhibition Opening

Friday, March 22, 2013 at 6pm
Popopstudios, Chippingham

Being a collective of artist studios, exhibitions and workshops, it is no surprise that Popopstudios International Center for the Visual Arts often inspires collaborations.

None however are more fascinating and serendipitous than the creative exchange between Popop resident and Bahamian abstract expressionist Kendal Hanna and artist Eleanor Whitely, whose pieces in “Two Points of View” in the Popop gallery will pay homage to their longstanding creative commitment.

The pair met at a drawing class at Popopstudios three years ago. Once the class finished, Eleanor proposed that she and Kendal keep going on their own, and for every week since, the two have sketched and painted live models together at Popopstudios. "During the Transforming Spaces Art Tour, viewers will be able to examine their different artistic approaches and styles as they’re displayed side-by-side in the gallery," says curator Jay Koment.

“Eleanor’s work is much more deliberate while Kendal’s work has a feeling of spontaneity,” he says. “Their approaches are certainly different even though they draw the same figure.”

The true beauty of the exhibition, however, lies not in aesthetic but in the very collaborative heart of the show. The exhibition does not mark a closing for the pair who will continue to enjoy a creative exchange every week.

“This show is a tribute to time, that slow growing and changing process that comes about when two people work together,” says Koment. “It’s more than just the art on the wall—it’s also about this friendship that was created, this long-term constant that means a lot to them. So this goes beyond the show—they will keep meeting and creating together.”

CLICK HERE to view Popop's website.

Eleuthera...
All That Jazz

OPENS TOMORROW:
Friday, March 22–Sunday, March 24, 2013

A magical jazz weekend will take place on the beautiful family island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas. The concerts will take place over three days in the Governor’s Harbour area during the 22nd to 24th March 2013. International artists performing include Antoinette Montague, Samuel Parker, Don Bouchat and Jesse Engle. Bahamian musicians include Peanuts Taylor, Vice Versa featuring Clinton Crawford and Naomi Taylor, Adrian D'Aguilar and Ralph Munnings.

All profits from the event will be donated directly to Eleuthera’s wonderful Haynes Library. In these times of cataclysmic change in the world of books, when many libraries in the US and UK are closing down, our very own Haynes Library has become a beacon for the community and could very well serve as a model library for other islands in The Bahamas, as well as other countries around the world. It cannot be stressed enough how important this beautiful little library is to Central Eleuthera.

CLICK HERE to view All that Jazz event website.

COB Concert Choir performs in NYC

The Bahamian American Cultural Society, Inc. reports from New York City on the wonderful performance of the College of The Bahamas Concert Choir. The 30-member Choir under the direction of Professor Audrey Dean-Wright masterfully presented a two-part programme of classical and Bahamian folk lyrics to a diverse audience at the Church of The Intercession on 155th Street. In attendance were a wide range of Bahamian-Americans in the metropolitan area, well-wishers, and a notable representation of some of New York’s finest vocal musicologists and choreographers. The leadership of The Bahamian American Culture Society, Inc. was very pleased and thankful to planners, directors, and students of The Choir for their fine performance. Jasmine Thomas, a young and stardom-bound Bahamian-American soprano, sang the United States and The Bahamas national anthems.

20 Questions with Grand Bahama artist Chantal Bethel

1. What’s been your most inspirational moment in the last five years?
I have come to understand the healing power of art for me.

2. What’s your least favorite piece of artwork?I cannot really say.

3. What’s your favorite period of art history?
I like this period we are in now.

4. What are your top 5 movies of all time?
Ghost, The Godfather, Mystic River, The Other Side of Midnight and Papillon. Those are the ones I remember [...]

CLICK HERE to read full interview in the Guardian.

20 Questions with artist Holly Parotti

1. What’s been your most inspirational moment in the last five years?
In 2011, I was named one of the Royal Over Seas League’s Visual Arts Scholars. I spent five weeks in Arbroath, Scotland and London. Having the opportunity to focus entirely on my work with no interference was invigorating. Strangely, inspiration came when I was leaving to return to The Bahamas. I felt a sense of accomplishment and validation knowing that that body of work was the beginning of much more to come.

2. What’s your least favorite piece of artwork?
This would probably be any attempt I have made at creating a three dimensional object. The only exceptions to this rule are my books. Any other concept involving height by width by depth is a bad idea from inception.

3. What’s your favorite period of art history?
Postmodernism. But standing in front of something from the Impressionists or Post-Impressionists isn’t all that bad either [...]

CLICK HERE to read full interview in The Guardian.

Bahamian writer shortlisted for Caribbean Writers Prize

Fourteen writers from seven countries have been named as finalists for the inaugural Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize including Bahamian-Trinidadian Lelawatee Manoo-Rahming.

Announced by the judges on 10 March, 2013, the finalists include emerging writers from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of the Prize will be announced on 27 April, during the third annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain.

FINALISTS:
Lisa Allen-Agostini (Trinidad and Tobago)
Katherine Atkinson (St. Lucia)
Angela Barry (Bermuda)
Vashti Bowlah (Trinidad and Tobago)
Brenda Lee Brown (Antigua and Barbuda)
Lenworth Burke (Jamaica)
Barbara Jenkins (Trinidad and Tobago)
Ilsa Lopez-Valles (Puerto Rico)
Ira Mathur (Trinidad and Tobago)
Sharon Millar (Trinidad and Tobago)
Amanda Choo Quan (Trinidad and Tobago)
Lelawatee Manoo-Rahming (The Bahamas/Trinidad and Tobago)
Ann Second (Trinidad and Tobago)
Hazel Simmonds-McDonald (St. Lucia)

The Prize, worth US$15,000, will offer the winning Caribbean-based writer time to advance a work in progress. It includes a year’s mentoring by an established author, and travel to the United Kingdom to attend a one-week intensive Arvon Foundation creative writing course of their choice. The winning writer will also have three days in London to network with literary professionals, hosted by Arvon, the UK’s leading creative writing organisation, in association with Free Word Centre and literary agents Rogers, Coleridge & White. The winner will also receive a cash award of £3,000 (US$4,500).

“We were very pleased with the quality of entries and the range of new writers coming up in the region,” says Funso Aiyejina, chair of the judging panel, who also remarked on the fact that only one of the finalists is male. A total of 65 writers writing in English, from thirteen Caribbean countries, submitted entries for the Prize.

Marina Salandy-Brown, co-founder of the Prize and Director of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, says the Prize is guaranteed for three years, thanks to the Hollick Family Charitable Trust in London. “This is a rare and valuable opportunity for our writers, who largely lack access to those who can help advance their work. One person will take home the Prize, but nobody loses by putting their work out there. You never know what might happen as a result.”

Ana Elisa Wassitsch

Photographer

Ana Elisa Wassitsch was born in 1973 in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil and moved to The Bahamas in 1993 where she met her husband Peter-Bruce. They live in Nassau with their two children.

Ana's interest for photography started at an early age, and after many years of pursuing it as a hobby, in 2011 she decided to devote 100% of her time to this artistic form. Initially, she worked with events but quickly added commercial photography, as well as children and family portraits – always experimenting with nature and lifestyles.

In December 2012, Ana was published for the first time in newspapers & magazine publications. Transforming Spaces 2013 was her first art exhibition.

"For the Transforming Spaces exhibition, I chose seven pieces from my existing portfolio, all somehow related to StingRae Gallery's theme, "The Sea." All images were printed on watercolour paper and were framed in dark wood.

Out of the seven images, five portray the Bahamian ocean, fauna & flora and are very fluid and soothing (Night Shark, Sand Waves, Banana Leaf, Float and Five Seagulls). Two of the pieces, which I personally consider the strongest ones, Sea of Death 1 and Sea of Death 2, portray the grimmer aspect of the theme—the human exploitation of sea life, which is the complete opposite of the calm tranquility depicted in the former. I purposely chose this ambiguity, not only because I believe all aspects of life are ambiguous, multifaceted, but also because these aspects, good and bad together, are intrinsic to human nature and life."

To contact the artist, you may call her at (242) 424-9050 or email at anawphoto@me.com.