Free Adult Pottery Class

Saturday, January 25th
10am-1pm
The Killarney Constituency Office, West Bay Street

A free adult Pottery Class will be held this Saturday, January 25th, 10am-1pm at The Killarney Constituency Office, teaching skills in pottery and sculpture to adults only.

The bowls you create, will be donated to the 6th Annual Fundraiser Empty Bowls Bahamas Charity, to feed the hungry.

The programme will teach the skills of creating ceramic bowls. The class will be taught by Bahamian artist Joann Behagg of JB Pottery and Sculpture who holds a Post Graduate degree in Art Education and a Master’s degree in Ceramics.

The class will be limited, so if you are interested, please indicate by responding to this email with your name, home phone & cell phone contact.

To sign up, please email fnmkillarney@gmail.com ASAP with your name, home phone and cell phone contact.

NAGB presents:

Holly Parotti's 'Undercurrents'

Saturday, January 25th, 2014
At 1 pm
The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, West Hill Street

On Saturday, January 25th at 1 p.m., the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas will host an Artist's Talk with Holly Parotti, whose video installation "Undercurrents" is currently on show in the Project Space @ the NAGB.

In 2011, Parotti was invited by the Royal Overseas League to participate in a 5-week long residency in the UK and Scotland, where she conceived 5 bodies of artwork that examine the everyday understanding of "Bahamian-ness". The artist will discuss the experience of the residency and how it has now informed her portfolio. Guests will view the video installation prior to the artist's presentation. The event is free and open to the public.

To RSVP, please contact the Gallery at 328-5800/1.

‘Sammy the Snail’ Book Signing

Thursday, January 30th, 2014
3:30-4:30pm
McDonald’s, Marlborough Street

Family therapist Allie MacPhail will autograph her just-released work, a children’s book titled Sammy the Snail, during McHappy Hour at McDonald’s on Marlborough Street this Thursday, January 30 from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.

“McDonald’s is proud to make this book-signing event possible as part of our ongoing commitment to children, but even more importantly, we want to get the book into as many hands as possible,” said Earla Bethel, President of DanBrad Ltd., franchisee for the popular restaurants in New Providence. “We know that there are a lot of kids who are hurting – kids and kids at heart. Rather than confront our fears, we hide them. Often, those unresolved fears become unraveled in behaviours that either hurt ourselves or hurt others. It is our hope that this book will launch a paradigm shift in how we begin to change our society for the better, forever.”

Sammy the Snail is the story of a life-like talking snail who, following a tragedy, begins to hide his emotions in his shell, making it harder and harder for him to get around. When a new snail moves to town, Sammy learns a different way to better handle the emotions that are literally and figuratively weighing him down. Slowly, he comes to see the beauty in his own story. Unburdened, he is lighthearted and life is good once again.

“We were so taken by the moral of the story and its beautiful illustrations that we wanted to create an opportunity to make the book widely available,” said Mrs. Bethel.

MacPhail, a marriage and family therapist at Caribbean Centre for Child Development in Nassau, said inspiration for the story grew out of a 15-year career watching young patients rediscover the happiness hiding deep within when they opened up about their emotions. But, she said, the breakthrough that children make when they open up cannot fall on deaf ears. It’s equally important for parents to listen to what the child is revealing. Sammy the Snail is illustrated by Allie Rutland.

Every child McHappily packed into a booth from 3:30 to 4:30 pm at the downtown McDonald’s across from the British Colonial Hilton will receive a signed copy at the McHappy Hour. McDonald’s hosts McHappy Hours every Thursday, alternating between locations at Palmdale, Oakes Field and downtown. Last month, a McHappy Hour on Marlborough Street featured a book signing by artist Jessica Colebrooke whose hand-painted tile art lends a distinctive Bahamian flair to the fast food restaurants that serve up Happy meals and hearty smiles on a regular basis.

Eleuthera
All That Jazz Festival

March 26 to 30, 2014

We have all heard of the infamous jazz festivals of New Orleans, Montreal, Litchfield and Paris, but now The Bahamas its own – The ‘Eleuthera All That Jazz Festival’ to be held from March 26-30, 2014.

With a wonderful line up of singers – back by popular demand – Antoinette Montague, backed up by the Sam Parker Trio and from Nassau, Naomi Taylor backed by Vice Versa’s Clinton Crawford on keyboard, Dion Turnquest, tenor sax and Kevin Dean on drums. The performers are impressive including many of last year's musicians such as Bahamians Tino Richardson and the world-famous Peanuts Taylor. In addition, we have Giveton Gelin, Clement Penn, Rodney Simpson and the talented young Taylor brothers. Don Bouchat and Johnny Schutten will be guest artists, as well as the young up-­coming King Solomon Hicks with his energetic guitar playing. From Canada, we welcome the well-known saxophone player Walle Larsson. Our headliner will be Bobby Sanabria with Quarteto Ache which will give a latin flavour to the rhythm.

Throughout the five-day event there are various activities held all over the island from jammin’ sessions with talented Bahamian and international musicians to music master classes for children and adults as well as the key concerts.

CLICK HERE for full information including tickets, schedule. Or email us on eleutheraallthatjazz@gmail.com.

Bahamian writer publishes poetry CD

Poetry Bookshop Online released this week a poetry archive CD of Bahamian writer Christian Campbell reading poetry from his award-winning book Running the Dusk.

Christian Campbell’s debut collection, Running the Dusk, was published to international critical acclaim in 2010. It was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Cave Canem Prize and the Guyana Prize for Literature, won a Lannan Residency Fellowship and received the Aldeburgh Prize for Best First Collection. The latter is further notable for the fact that it made him not only the first Caribbean poet, but also the first poet of colour, to be presented with the long-running award.

Describing himself as ‘a nomad that comes from nomads’, Campbell has lived in the Caribbean, the US, UK and Canada; his background and itinerant lifestyle have had a powerful influence on his work. Asked about his voice in Running the Dusk, in an interview with the Caribbean Review of Books, Campbell responded, ‘Perhaps I’m something of a Protean poet, a shape-shifter (in this book about shape-shifting). “Wonder” is a word I love. By “wonder” I mean both the quality of astonishment and that of uncertainty. A kind of (ir)reverent questioning. “Wander” is a word I love...’.

An academic as well as a poet, Campbell studied at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, gaining an MPhil in Modern British Literature, and completed his PhD at Duke University. He is currently Assistant Professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he taught the university’s very first Introduction to Caribbean Literature course. In 2010 he invited Derek Walcott to the University of Toronto (where the Nobel Laureate’s papers are housed) for a televised public conversation, a landmark event.

Campbell’s poems combine linguistic influences from across a wide spectrum, from modernist poetry to soul music, resulting in a kind of precise musicality beautifully conveyed here through his measured, almost hypnotic delivery. His themes are diverse, taking in the body, identity, race, language, insider/outsider perspectives, and much else. Yusef Komunyakaa said of the book, ‘If you’re holding Running the Dusk in your hands, you are lucky to be facing the gutsy work of a long-distance runner who possesses the wit and endurance, the staying power of authentic genius. This first collection is controlled beauty and strength, and the exhilaration of images and music encountered are necessary and believable. There’s great celebration here.’

CLICK HERE to purchase Campbell's audio recording of his poetry.

Promoting Creativity

The Bahamas needs to concentrate on promoting and building the country and its people from the “inside out” by showcasing its rich arts and cultural heritage, said Pamela Burnside, manger of Doongalik Studios and wife of the late cultural icon Jackson Burnside.

Burnside said the spotlight needs to shine on the “better” parts of what is going on in The Bahamas, “instead of giving prime news coverage to the criminals.”

“We just need to be ourselves, ‘be who you is and not who you ain’t, cos if you ain’t who you is, you is who you ain’t’,” she told business leaders at the annual Bahamas Business Outlook conference.

“For far too long we have taken our creative expressions for granted, ignored their importance and their value, and relied on an ‘outside in’ concept to sustain our development, when we only need to drop our bucket where we stand - ‘tell story’ - look inside for our own ‘true, true’ resources, good old Bahamian art, culture and heritage.”

One of the ways Burnside hopes to spotlight and nurture what The Bahamas has to offer is through the Creative Nassau venture.

Creative Nassau was formed in 2008 by Jackson Burnside after he and Pam attended a UNESCO Creative Cities Conference on Creative Tourism in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Creative Cities Network is structured around the seven specific fields of literature, cinema, music, design, craft and folk art, media arts and gastronomy. It seeks to develop international cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development, in the frame work of partnerships including the public and private sectors, professional organizations, communities, civil society and cultural institutions. The network also facilitates the sharing of experiences, knowledge and resources among the member cities as a means to promote the development of local creative industries and to foster worldwide cooperation for sustainable urban development [...]

CLICK HERE to read full article by Erica Wells of The Guardian.com.

According to...

Pamela Burnside

Pamela Burnside is the owner and operator of Doongalik Art Gallery and is an outspoken advocate of Bahamian art, culture and community. This writing was delivered at Bahamas Business Outlook on January 13, 2014.

• • • • •

Development From Inside Out:
A Vision For Creative Nassau

By Pamela Burnside

Creative Nassau was formed in 2008 by my late husband Jackson Burnside III after we attended a UNESCO Creative Cities Conference on Creative Tourism in Santa Fe which resonated so clearly with our Doongalik Studios’ vision statement that by the year 2020 more persons will travel to The Bahamas because of its art, culture and heritage rather than merely for its sun, sand, and sea.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is structured around the seven specific fields of Literature, Cinema, Music, Design, Crafts and Folk Art, Media Arts and Gastronomy.

The Creative Cities Network seeks to develop international cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development, in the frame work of partnerships including the public and private sectors, professional organisations, communities, civil society, and cultural institutions. The Network facilitates the sharing of experiences, knowledge and resources among the member cities as a means to promote the development of local creative industries and to foster worldwide cooperation for sustainable urban development.

The Creative Cities Network aims to: Strengthen the creation, production, distribution and enjoyment of cultural goods and services at the local level; Promote creativity and creative expressions especially among vulnerable groups, including women and youth; Enhance access to and participation in cultural life as well as enjoyment of cultural goods; and Integrate cultural and creative industries into local development plans.

Recognising the benefits of becoming a part of this Network, on our return from Santa Fe we invited a group of committed Bahamians to join us in working towards applying for membership as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art. We are the first small island state to do so and are presently in the process of preparing the application for submission focusing on the two unique Bahamian elements of our straw culture and our junkanoo tradition [...]

CLICK HERE to read full presentation at The Tribune online.

According to...

Patrick Rahming

Patrick Anthony Rahming is a Bahamian architect, poet, musician, dramatist and storyteller. Trained in Montreal, Canada in the 1960s, he has spent forty years performing and writing throughout the American East Coast and the Caribbean. He has won awards as an architect (Governor General’s Awards), actor (DANSA), musician (Timothy Award) and a number of national awards for his contribution to Bahamian society in the literary and performing arts. His poetry has been published throughout the region and his recent work in fiction has continued his reputation as a storyteller. Pat Rahming lives in Nassau, Bahamas with his wife Marilyn.

• • • •

By the Seat of Our Pants

by Patrick A. Rahming

Every year, the week after the so-called “National Average” is announced, there is national hysteria, as the populace laments the disastrous grade average reported. Governments apologize and promise better results next time. Citizen’s groups demand the revamping of the education system. Politicians distance themselves from the decisions that produced the poor results. Clearly, the need for improved academic results is important to the Bahamian community.

For such a community, then, focused on the importance of academic results, it is surprising that neither theory nor research is important when developing public policies and formulating national strategies. Instead of demanding adherence to theoretical models or the results of real research, we prefer to assume that the conclusions of other jurisdictions when facing similar issues are sufficient, and adopt their solutions, usually encouraged by the same “consultants”.

Here are a few examples.

Our form of government is assumed to be a Parliamentary Democracy, but we are the only people inheriting the form from the British who have neglected to implement the third part of the system – a local level of government. In fact, we are the only country on earth (except perhaps the Vatican) with a single level of government – the Federal level. This omission not only denies us effective local administration, but it denies us the opportunity to develop national and political leaders.

No one would question the importance of Junkanoo to the Bahamian community. Yet there has been no significant research into its origins and (more importantly) its meanings. In fact, there has been no effort to advance the work of E. Clement Bethel, produced over a quarter century ago. Yet we have “evolved” a nocturnal community gathering into a winner-take-all beauty contest, held mostly during the day [...]

CLICK HERE to read full article at Mr Rahming's blog.