Participating Artists (2022)
CaFA Fair Barbados 2022 - PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
A Virtual Fair: March 9-23, 2022
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Ademola Olugebefola – US Virgin Islands
Dr. Ademola Olugebefola began his professional career as a bassist, playing with several small ensembles throughout the New York metropolitan area during the late 50s and early 60s. In the late 60’s he turned his creative energies to the visual arts and frequently incorporates musical ideas and theories in his extensive body of work. Over the past five decades, Olugebefola’s works have been included in hundreds of exhibitions at major American museums, universities and cultural institutions internationally. Born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he has lectured and participated in forums at universities, museums and cultural institutions in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. He is a highly respected cultural activist and renowned Harlem artist whose art and career papers are in the permanent collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Hatch Billops Archives, Howard University, and scores of other well-respected American institutions.
Alfred Weekes – Barbados
Alfred Weekes has been creating wire sculptures since the 1970s and his work has been exhibited widely throughout the Caribbean and North America. In 1993 Mr. Weekes was judged BEST IN SHOW at the 1993 Manchester Art Association show in Manchester, Connecticut. In August 1998, Mr. Weekes' first one-man exhibition, “In Person", consisting entirely of colorful relief sculptures, received critical acclaim at Brooklyn Moon Café in New York City. His technique has continued to evolve, and his sculpture has become almost painterly in rendition. Mr. Weekes’ work is held in private collections throughout the Caribbean, Europe, and the U.S.
Arlette St. Hill - Barbados
Arlette St. Hill was born in Barbados and is a graduate of the Barbados Community College, Erdiston Teacher’s College, The Jamaica School of Art, and the Teachers’ Technical Training Institute, Madras - India. Arlette has a degree in Art education, diploma in Curriculum Design and the Development of Instructional Materials and certificates in Multimedia Production and Educational Text Book Publishing. Her artwork explores a variety of mediums and techniques which include acrylics, oil pastel, markers, pen and ink, print making and collage. Arlette exhibits frequently in Barbados, and has also exhibited in Kingston, Jamaica; Boston, Washington, New York, North Carolina and Miami, USA; London, England and Paris, France.
Bernard Stanley Hoyes - Jamaica
Bernard Hoyes lives and works in Palm Springs, California. However, his career in art began at an early age in Kingston, Jamaica when he enrolled at The Institute of Jamaica, Junior Art Center. At fifteen years old he moved to New York City to continue his academic and artistic endeavors. Classes at the Art Students League introduced him to the art scene in N.Y.C. He continued his studies at Vermont Academy, in Saxton River, VT and in 1974, he received a B.F.A. in Painting from California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Hoyes is particularly known for a body of work that recalls his Afro-Caribbean roots, specifically the rituals of African Spirituality and Christianity. This body of work has earned him multiple awards of excellence internationally. Hoyes has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the globe. He has created murals in the inner city of Los Angeles, CA, has curated exhibitions and served on the board of the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles. His works have been featured in numerous television and film productions, as well as collected internationally.
Carl F. Anderson - Guyana
Carl Anderson received his early art education at the Burrowes School of the Arts in Guyana. He later immersed himself in the Latin American art milieu by living for 13 years in Venezuela. Known internationally for his bold geometric “Ribbon Series” as well as striking photo realistic paintings, Carl’s work has been exhibited widely in Europe, North and South America, including produced a sensational series of works tackling the controversial subject of domestic violence. His work was recently selected to represent the Americas at the 8th Beijing Art Biennale, 2019, China.
Cher Antoinette Corbin – Barbados
This Barbadian daughter is a mother of two, a forensic scientist and is a multiple silver and bronze award winner at the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA). An Honors Graduate in Chemistry from UWI Cave Hill Campus, in 1989 Cher gained the position of being the first Forensic Scientist in Barbados having achieved her Master of Forensic Science from Kings College, University of London. She has since had a long and rewarding career in the field and is presently the Director of the Forensic Sciences Centre, Office of the Attorney General. An accomplished visual artist and author, Cher’s works have been published in St. Somewhere Online Literary Journal, Blackberry: The Magazine, and in four anthologies – Bamboo Press – ‘She Sex’, The National Cultural Foundation’s – ‘Winning Words’, “She Speaks – Woman’s Journal” and ‘Senseisha’ – An Anthology on the sensuality of the Barbadian Woman. In December 2013, Cher self-published an anthology of poetry called MY SOUL CRIES and in 2014 VIRTUALIS – The Love Story and VIRTUALIS – The Anthology. Her primary media for visual art is Watercolor and she has been exploring Pen/Ink & WC Wash. Her latest self-published anthology “Architects of Destiny” was launched at CaFA Fair Barbados 2015. Cher has since been the subject of 2 solo exhibitions; at the UWI Cave Hill, Barbados and the OAS Marcus Garvey Hall of Culture, Washington DC.
Cheryl D. Miller – US Virgin Islands
Cheryl D. Miller is a designer, author, and theologian who is best known for her diversity, equity, and inclusion advocacy for Black graphic designers in the industry and marketplace. Miller holds a Master of Science degree in visual communications from Pratt Institute and received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, with Foundation Studies completed at the Rhode Island School of Design. She also holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. An accomplished, award winning designer and businesswoman, Miller established one of the first black women-owned design firms in New York City in 1984. Cheryl D. Miller Design Inc. serviced corporate communications to a Fortune 500 clientele, including BET, Chase, American Express, and Time Inc., Sports Illustrated; social impact corporate communications defining the Civil Rights Era. Miller’s influential article, “Black Designers Missing in Action,” was published in 1987, followed by “Embracing Cultural Diversity in Design” in 1990 and “Black Designers: Still Missing In Action?” In 2016. Her current PRINT 2020 article, “Black Designers Forward In Action,” is currently trending. Miller also wrote a memoir, Black Coral: A Daughter’s Apology to her Asian Island Mother (2013). She captures the story of her legacy US Virgin Island, maternal Danish West Indian, family. Her personal work and archives were acquired by Stanford University Libraries, The Cheryl D. Miller Collection at Stanford University. She is further curating with Stanford Libraries and design colleagues, The History of Black Graphic Design in North America-an open source database. She lives both stateside and in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islanders. Her island scenes are authentic local perspectives to the lifestyle, culture and beauty of the US Virgin Islands!
Coronado Print Studio
Rooted in the philosophy of creating art in the community, the Coronado printstudio is not only a fine art printmaking studio, but also a space where artists can shed boundaries and barriers to engage in open dialogues around history, identity, and important issues of our time. Pepe Coronado, the master printer at the studio, believes that “printmaking, by nature, is a collaborative medium. It’s a community-oriented art form.” Based on this principle, Pepe founded the studio in 2006. In 2015, it settled in the vibrant neighborhood of East Harlem and later relocated to Austin, Texas in 2019. The studio’s prime goal is to collaborate because we believe that voices and stories are most powerful when seen and heard collectively. The power of art motivates the studio to reach out to and engage with diverse institutions and sectors, both nationally and internationally. An interconnectivity of diverse artistic disciplines is a necessary catalyst to ripple art into the American social imagination. By gaining visibility around the country and beyond, the studio invites the attention back to its works, thereby imprinting louder voices of diverse narratives, and broadening the definition of contemporary American art.
Representing:
René De Los Santos – Dominican Republic
René De Los Santos is a self-taught painter and printmaker born and raised in Santiago, Dominican Republic. After arriving to New York in 1980, De Los Santos took the decision to exile himself from his motherland. This allowed him to take on a new understanding on social change and it helped him bring to life characters and ideas that would have been lost in the Diaspora of the Caribbean American culture. De Los Santos has shown an incredible work ethic and tenacity in his craftsmanship. For the past 38 years, his works have shown an alignment with his susceptible appreciation on feminism and humanism, and his personal philosophies, which contain certain spiritual and symbolic sentiments. De Los Santos has participated in numerous solo and groups and exhibitions and his work is in many collections.
Palén Obesa – Dominican Republic
Palén Obesa [Paloma Leida Natividad Obergh Santos] is a visual artist who works and lives in the Bronx, NY. She received her BFA in painting and drawing and minor in art history at SUNY Purchase College in 2017. Obesa was originally born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and immigrated to the United States at the age of fifteen. Through her practice, Obesa has been exploring multiple themes that can be controversial, ominous or too complex to discuss. By doing this, she hopes to open wider and less biased conversations about them. Some of these topics include womanhood and what does it mean to be a female, adult-centrism and its negative effects on children, and education through art for visual learners. By addressing patriotism and cultural identity, she also comments on the hybrid society of immigrants who are struggling with cultural assimilation, language acquisition and racism.
Narciso Polanco – Dominican Republic
Narciso Polanco was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic: a complex and cultural city considered to be the second capital of the Dominican Republic. He studied at the Escuela de Artes at UASD in the Dominican Republic from 1985 to 1989 and in 1989, studied metals at Taller de Grabado at GAM and the Art Students League of New York in 1997. He has served as president of Artistas Plasticos Unidos in Santiago, DR and was appointed Speaker of the Alliance of Dominican American Visual Artists (ADAVA) in 2009. He has been a member of FotoGrupo in Santo Domingo and is currently a member of Grufos in Santiago, DR. He worked as a photography professor at the Institute of Culture and Art in Santiago, D.R. and a teacher of Introduction to Painting for children at the Cultural Center Dominico-Americano. He has participated in numerous photography and painting exhibitions in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Peru and New York.
Denae Howard – Panama
Nae Howard is a Brooklyn native who is a recent MFA graduate from CalARTS. She strives to make engaging imagery that capture instances of the American Black experience. As an interdisciplinary artist, her practice examines constructs of society’s views of beauty and politics in regard to the surface tensions of America within media. Her work explores the revitalization and ownership of black culture by black people. She studies colors established by pop-cultural icons in new media, reflexive ideologies in photographic portraiture, and visual disparities as a result of systemic racism, classism and gender binaries. Employing a strong background in printmaking and graphic design, her work critiques the politics of skin. Understanding the power of images, I create paintings, collages, music and animated Gif.s that evoke notions of conscious and unconscious concepts conceived through racist views that allow alternative narratives of blackness. Nae’s work illustrates all factors of the “cool” and societies consumer behavior of blackness. Her recent “Consume Us” series questions the importance of imagery in a social context and the notions of significant images such as “pop icons” in mass culture.
Diogenes Ballester – Puerto Rico
Diogenes Ballester, visual artist, educator, and writer holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BFA from the Catholic University of Puerto Rico. He has taught as Professor of Art at The Cooper Union in New York City, the State University of New York at New Paltz, the College of New Rochelle and The State University of New York at Albany. Mr. Ballester’s work explores oral history, memory, mythology, ritual, and cultural identity along a transnational spectrum. In recent exhibitions, he has appropriated cultural objects and historical artifacts together with painting, drawing, prints and new media as a way of accessing the past and re-interpreting the present in a trans-Caribbean dialogue. Ballester has received numerous honors for his artistic work and has exhibited widely in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. His work is in numerous private and public collections.
Earl Darius Etienne – Dominica
Born in Massacre, on the west coast of the island of Dominica and currently living in Mahaut, Earl Etienne received his formal training at the Jamaica School of Art, now the Edna Manley School of Visual Arts. Etienne is known for his trademark technique called bouzaille or flambeau, a method of using a carbon flame to apply forms to canvas. A brilliant painter and conceptual artist; he is equally adept at capturing his culture as it manifests itself around him. Now retired to life as a full time creative, he has managed to extend himself into many areas in service to his fledgling nation as senior cultural officer, painter / coordinator of events / curator/ carnival costume designer / art graphic consultant/ set designer / founding member of associations related to preservation and cultural awareness of historical and architectural heritage. His works are collected throughout the Caribbean and in many nations across the world.
Gilberto Wilson - Aruba
Gilberto Wilson and his family emigrated from Aruba in the Netherlands Antilles to the USA in 1968. His love for art was kindled in the 8th grade of his new home, Philadelphia, PA. He later gained a BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art in New York and went on to receive his MFA at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. After graduation he spent five years working as an apprentice at the Brandywine Workshop. While there he worked with artists like Romare Bearden, Benny Andrews and Richard Hunt, amongst others. A noted collagist and mixed media artist, Gilberto’s work speaks extensively about migration, longing, family, assimilation and rebirth. His paintings, photography and mixed media creations have been exhibited widely in many individual and groups shows. Gilberto’s work is a part of several private and public collections including the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, NYC and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
Gina Samson - Haiti
Gina Samson’s work has been influenced by the rich cultural heritage and vibrant colors of the Caribbean, as well as the New York City urban environment. After showing interest in the arts at a young age, she enrolled in her high school’s art program, took classes and workshops at the Art Students League and NYU’s School of Continuing Education, and participated in shows and competitions. She regularly exhibits in the New York metropolitan area and her work is featured in several corporate and private collections. In her view, artwork reflects the importance of creation and imagination in everyone’s life. Working primarily in painting, collage and drawing, she aims to create works that incite reflection; while bringing to the viewer an appreciation of the pride, resilience and cultural achievements of the African Diaspora. Currently her work explores in two series the immigrant experience and the interplay of music and the visual arts: “This series focuses on the relationship between the 2 art forms and is linked to fact that I most often listen to jazz while I’m working”. Jazz has been the “soundtrack” of this production.
Hedy Klineman – Barbados/USA
Born in Hamburg, Germany and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Hedy Klineman graduated from Cooper Union, NYC, where she encountered the maximalist, full canvas Abstract Expressionism that has shaped her style. Hedy’s works have been exhibited at the Whitney, Rubin, Hood, Tibet House and Vizcaya Museums, among others, and she has enjoyed solos exhibitions at the Bridgewater Lustberg Gallery, Benrimon Contemporary, Dorothy Blau and Vered Modern, as well as internationally. Her work has been inspired in recent years by the ethereal figure of the Buddha further infused by the creative nourishment provided by her winter sojourns in Barbados. When the USA elected its first African American President in 2007-08, Hedy became fascinated with the spirituality of another place, Africa, and the masks of Gabon and the Ivory Coast. These common threads of spirituality combine the sublime and every-day, the personal and political, as well as bear a strong influence on the many enchanting phases of Hedy’s career.
Joachim McMillan – Grenada
Joachim McMillan was born on the beautiful Caribbean Island of Grenada, with beautiful landscapes and seascapes at every angle. Since then, he believed that extraordinary things can evolve from the ordinary. With this mind-set combined with his passion to nurture his creative intelligence, he ventured out into the world, creating a significant presence and making a notable contribution in art shows all across the US and internationally. He is a self-taught artist who epitomizes true raw talent. Using an impressionistic style, he constantly experiments with his art. Hence, he brings to the world a vibrant art style that explores the energy of life through color and texture. His paintings reflect the multi-faceted nature of the world in which we live and he achieves this by dissecting his paintings with energetic strokes using palette knives. Working with oils on canvas, his art stimulates curiosity and intrigue. This avant-garde style of art is unparalleled and so too is the skill of merging his art with a fashion brand. He is also part of the Crypto Art Movement which promotes the use of art as a form of storage for digital currencies like Bitcoin. The paintings include a cold wallet at the back which facilitates the storing of Bitcoin offline. All this represents the ingenuity of Joachim McMillan, a cutting-edge, world class artist and designer whose art is simply timeless.
Lisa Mona - Barbados
Coming from a diverse cultural background including the West Indies and South America, Lisa Mona’s artwork is eclectic. She finds inspiration while interacting with different cultures from all around the world. Through photography, painting and drawing her creations are influenced by nature’s simplicity, its colors and organic shapes. Lisa Mona is a believer in being an Eco-friendly artist and does her part by using recycled items as much as possible in her artwork. Her professional training was acquired at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida and Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. Her photography has been showcased in numerous publications, exhibits and galleries both in North America and Barbados. Lisa Mona’s philosophy is that there is beauty in simplicity, and it can be found when looked at with non-critical eyes and a different perspective.
Marlene Millon Desvignes (Imat’s Creations) - Martinique
Marlène MILLON-DESVIGNES is one of those artists who create works that call each one to seize and wear them. Originally from the town of Morne-Rouge, Marlène MILLON-DESVIGNES is one of eleven siblings, all in close connection with the Land and the Tradition Martiniquaises on the one hand, and the Ancestral Lands on the other hand. It is a parental and ancestral heritage that this great lady honors brilliantly with these inspired textile works adorned with motifs unique in the world. Tunics, dresses, trousers, accessories are made and hand painted one by one with the pattern which will have been inspired to the designer the same day. The result is unique accessorized outfits that accurately reflect tastes and personality, and especially the commitment of the wearer. Self-taught but clearly endowed with an indisputable gift, the success of this work first of all confidential, even intimate, has exceeded the hopes of that great Lady Marlene MILLON-DESVIGNES. This is how the company Imat's creations was born today which offers more than 200 designs and accessories
Nicole Metzger - Barbados
Nicole Metzger is a visual artist with works in acrylic and oil paint, as well as dabbling with watercolour and ceramics. Through her art you will see stories of love, family matters, travel, determination, and independence. Nicole grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada where she was always painting and drawing from a young age but started dedicating herself to learn painting techniques 8 years ago. This was after she completed her accounting designation and realized she had a huge hole from lack of creativity, so she learnt to use art to balance a black and white career. This career moved Nicole from Canada to Barbados in 2017, where she currently resides. She has shared her love of art by teaching painting classes in many Manitoba communities in Canada. Major projects in recent years have included illustrating two published children’s books and building a creative brand with a variety of artistic products.
Norma Lithgow – Honduras
A native of Honduras, Ms. Lithgow received her early training at the Academy of San Vincent Paul. She came to New York City to study fashion at French's Fashion Academy and went on to Spain to study art at the Academia de Bellas Artes. Ms. Lithgow’s wonderfully expressive “Jazz Series” paintings have been shown at New York’s 2003 and 2004 JVC Jazz Festivals and have won her an enthusiastic following since then. Her creations are in many private and public collections.
Patricia Brintle - Haiti
Self-taught artist Patricia Brintle was born in Haiti and immigrated to the United States in 1964. Although she has made the U.S. her residence, her colorful style reflects her native land. Her works on the Holocaust are on permanent display at the Holocaust Center of Temple Judea in New York and are used as teaching tools for visitors. One of her religious works, The First Mother, travelled with the Black Madonna Exhibit which made its debut at the famed National Museum of Catholic Art and History in New York and toured museums throughout the United States. One of her paintings hangs in the permanent collection of Albert Schweitzer Institute in Hamden, Connecticut, and her images have been published in both secular and religious periodicals.
Ras Ilix Heartman – Barbados
Ras Ilix Heartman, wood sculptor and farmer, was born in Barbados. His first international exposure was at the Third Havana Biennial in Cuba which was followed by the “In The Spirit Festival" at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Since then his work has been exhibited at numerous exhibitions in Barbados and in the U.S. His sculpture Melchizedek was awarded "Best In Show" at the 1997 Black History Month Exhibition held at New York’s Hintersteiner Gallery in Washington Heights. Ras Ilix’ 2012 solo show received critical acclaim at the Queen’s Park Gallery in Barbados. His sculptures are a part on many private and public collections including the Barbados National Collection.
Steve Reid - Barbados
Steve Reid is a University of the West Indies trained agriculturist who has worked within the agricultural and financial services sectors for over two decades. Pottery making, however, has always appealed to his creative spirit and was brought to light in the early ’90s with displays at the Bridgetown Market and at the Barbados Crop Over Festival. His work often shows plant life and natural features of his environment, and embodies an ancient spirit in a unique, contemporary style.
Sylvester “Adelabu” Clarke - Barbados
Adélabu aka Adé, is a self-taught Artist, Designer, and Weaver. he adopted the name Adélabu from the Yoruba tribe, in West Africa, as a lover of African things. “Live to love”, and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) are two of the philosophies he lives by. His business name is “Adélabu’s”. Inspiration for his creations comes from life, the environment, and his spirituality. His main objective is to concentrate on developing his skills in art and design, to the highest level. Adelabu has pursued courses at Barbados Community College and Barbados Industrial Development Corporation, as well as a short course in Tapestry, Weaving, and Dyeing Techniques in the United Kingdom - 2014. A recipient of many awards in the Arts, I he has staged multiple solo exhibitions, fashion shows, and participated in numerous group exhibitions. He has taught Weaving at Lester Vaughan Secondary School in 2009, as well as pottery at many different places. As a person with Dyslexia, he is passionate about helping persons like himself. To this end, Adelabu founded and is the President/C.E.O. of the “Bajan Stars Dyslexia Support Organization” (Charity #659). Each piece of Adé’s work is created with passion and dedication. The brand Adé ranks high in Art and Design circles in Barbados for its quality, originality, design, and outstanding workmanship. He makes his statements in the Arts through textiles, lino, mono printing, handmade paper, and sculpture.
Tariq Bailey - Barbados
Tariq Bailey better known as TJ, is a 23-year-old independent graphic designer, illustrator and art director based in Barbados. As an illustrator, he immerses himself in anything that relates to comics and video games, which continues to be the driving force for many of his artworks as they reflect a lot of references to comics, advertisings, video games and urban life. Tariq spends a good amount of time giving talks about the creative process, mentoring, and sharing his knowledge about painting
“Non Traditional” - Contemporary art by 8 emerging Barbadian & Jamaican artists:
Alex Gibson - Barbados
Alex Gibson (b. 1994) is a Barbadian visual artist based in Vancouver, BC, as a guest on the unceded territories of the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Skwxwu7mesh First Nations. They are interested in investigating queer themes and sentiments in relation to their Caribbean background, primarily working in animation and drawing. Through the exploration of gender and identity, Gibson’s practice seeks to reveal new/ alternate realities of queer Caribbean potentials, while simultaneously using escapism as a means of self-preservation. Through the creation of new potentials, they are interested in investigating means to decolonize heteronormative Caribbean sexuality to make space for queerness. Most recently their works have been exhibited at Tomato Mouse, New York; CBC Arts, Canada; Wil Aballe Art Projects, Vancouver.
Bonito Thompson - Jamaica
Bonito Thompson is a Jamaican digital artist that goes by the name Don Dada. He creates augmented reality experiences that fuses art with technology and Jamaican life. Heavily influenced by Dancehall culture, his work seeks to represent all aspects of Jamaican Pop Culture. This is evident in some key elements like - the sound systems, zink fences, dance moves and other iconic Dancehall imagery. In 2018 he held his first solo art show in partnership with Chilitos called Passionfruit. The collection was an abstract and exciting 6 piece display that explored human connections with a tropical vibe. In 2019 Don Dada was born and in 2020 I was featured as Kingston Creative’s artist of the month for Reggae Dancehall month in February 2021 Don Dada hosted the first-of-its-kind augmented reality art show spanning two location in Kingston Jamaica. The art show, ‘Paper Planes’ ran for a week and was covered by all the major media outlets in Jamaica. He also collaborated with Grammy winning artists such as Damian Marley and Common.
Délyt (Deandra Daniel) - Barbados
Déandra Daniel, professionally known as Délyt is a queer Barbadian creator. Délyt uses her craft as a means of catharsis to cope with life’s many experiences and challenges. As such her pieces include themes of spirituality, the journeys that are sexuality and sexual discovery, mental health, the experiences of blackness and inclusivity and the diversity of the female form.
Donné Haynes – Barbados
Donne’ is a contemporary, performative Artist. Her work explores various aspects of identity, be it in relation to being a Barbadian Artist, or general emotions. Her recent series “the smilieys or ME” speak about how women in the Caribbean are represented throughout tourism and the media, as these smiling people here to entertain tourist. The work showcases various things seen in the house holds of the Caribbean women. Donne’ speaks to how she as a Caribbean woman does not fit into these stereotypes. The work explores the methodology of printing and passing on an image over and over relating to the stereotypes of the women.
John Alleyne - Barbados
John Alleyne was born on the island of Barbados. At age sixteen, he migrated to Brooklyn, N.Y., and became influenced by Hip-Hop culture, specifically Street and Graffiti art. As a point of departure, he looks to hairstyle-guide posters commonly found in Black barbershops and salons. His intention is to challenge representations of Blackness, notions of masculinity, and spaces of healing by presenting allegorical narratives through the use of spray paint, and silkscreen-collage. In 2014, Alleyne received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio art, with concentrations in Graphic and Digital design from SUNY Potsdam. Quickly after graduating, he was hired as a membership assistant by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, to assist with the new Henri Matisse Exhibition. As a result, Alleyne became fascinated with Matisse’s process and his “Cut-Outs,” and the act of “cutting out” would later become a significant part of his art practice. In 2015, Alleyne moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to pursue his Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio art at Louisiana State University. In 2018, he graduated with concentrations in painting, drawing, and printmaking. Since his graduation, he has been Artist-in-Residence at the Ox-Bow in Saugatuck, Michigan, and ACRE in Steuben, WI. Alleyne will also be artist-in-residence at Anderson Ranch Art Center in the fall of 2021. He has exhibited work throughout various museums in Louisiana, such as the Masur Museum in Monroe, LSU Museum in Baton Rouge, and most recently, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans. He has also exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, and Ireland. His work is featured in Issue #23 of The Hand Magazine, in addition to volumes of Studio Visit Magazine, and New American Paintings (South Issue). Alleyne currently lives and works between Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Brooklyn, NY, and is Assistant Professor of Art at Southern University and A &M College.
Malique Shorey - Barbados
Malique Shorey was born Barbados on February 6th, 2000. He was not always an artist initially. He was more of an aspirant to greater things or a dreamer, but always to something vague and unsure, always fleeting. His path as an artist started on a whim after his CSEC exams. With no clear route at the time, he chose to go to the Barbados Community College and obtain an Associate Degree in Fine Art. Now his body of works consist mainly of small and medium sized paintings but seek to extend outside of traditional bounds of art by using sculpture, painting, storytelling and designing to create not only a set of art works but also a space for them to exist and belong. Malique’s work has been displayed at The Barbados Community College Gallery and at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society. Not one to be confined to just the galleries, he has also created logos and tattoo designs for companies and individuals alike.
Sasha-Kay Nicole - Jamaica
Sasha-Kay Nicole was born in St Andrew Jamaica, in 1995. She currently resides in Downtown Kingston, Jamaica. Sasha-Kay is a recent graduate of Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) in Kingston, Jamaica with an honours degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. Sasha-Kay’s very Autobiographical but Interdisciplinary social art practice explores deep feminist conceptual thoughts relating to socio-political concerns as a black Jamaican woman/girl. In her practice as a Visual artist, she uses skills to make interdisciplinary works in digital art and photography. But her practice has expanded to include other disciplines, digital projections, video art, sound, and installation. Sasha-Kay Nicole has exhibited works in several exhibitions namely: Manifestations, EMCVPA Student exhibition at CAG[e] Gallery, [Un]finished (2019), and Olympia Art Gallery in Jamaica (2021-2022). In 2021 she was a part of the inaugural La Practica, a group residency at New Local Space (Kingston/Jamaica).
Sydney McConney - Barbados
Sydney McConney is a Barbadian artist that explores identity and personal expression in a colourful and humorous way. Her aim is to tell a story or make a statement that alludes to serious situations by producing cartoony and satirical creations. She mainly works with digital media, acrylic on canvas and pen and ink. Sydney has exhibited works at the Barbados Community College, for her portfolio exhibition, and Firefly, organized by the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI). She has also sold works at Animekon. Her art education is ongoing; first attending the Barbados Community College in 2017 for two years, receiving her Associate Degree in Visual Arts. She then went on to her first year of her Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art. She then withdrew from the program after a year to pursue an education in 3D Animation and Visual FX at the Vancouver Film School, where she is currently enrolled.
Curator: Mahogany Culture is a Caribbean History and Culture Collective focused on Culture retention in metropolitan cities. It was founded by Barbadian Zoe Osborne in 2016 to create what she was missing while living away from home in Toronto, Canada. In 2017 Zoe received a micro grant from the Sprouts Taking it Global program in Toronto which allowed for her to start up this initiative. The goal is to provide a place where the diverse culture of the Caribbean is acknowledged and people who identify with the culture have a space to feel at home.
“Non Traditional” will be presented at NORMAN CENTRE, Broad Street, Barbados simultaneously with the virtual platform Caribbean.Global
“Diaspora Dialogue IX” – special exhibition of Global Diaspora Artists
Brian Cannady – USA
Brian Cannady II is a multimedia artist and avid fan of mythology, superheroes, and manga. He earned his BFA and MFA in Computer Graphics from New York Institute of Technology.
Brian's studies led him to develop the promotional mascot for SIGGRAPH Asia 2009. Though he studied digital sculpture, Brian's love of clay, watercolor, and digital painting inspire him the most. Currently, Brian exhibits his paintings, sculptures, and illustrations across galleries and conventions along the Northeast United States. His passion for the Arts led to earning the Marvin Horowitz Sculpture award. Brian has curated two exhibitions, Character Among Us and Our Muses Do Ninety. When he's not creating Brian enjoys relaxing by walking in nature, observing the world around him to take in inspiration, or reading a new comic/manga.
David Emmanuel Noel - UK
David Emmanuel Noel is an interdisciplinary artist and curator with a wealth of experience collaborating with acclaimed visual artists, musicians and performing acts. He has exhibited widely, across the US, UK, and mainland Europe, and has been heavily involved in a number of community art initiatives; working with the New York Mayors Office, the UK Department of Health, the Royal Institute of British Architects, National Network for Art in Health and the NSPPC, with an aim to promote the social and therapeutic benefits of presenting the arts in public spaces. For a short period, he was a Director and Chair of The Brixton Artists Collective (BAC) in the early 1990s. He is currently a Director and Trustee of Open Ealing, a west London NGO enabling public access to arts education and career support for artists, and a Director of
Occhi Arts & Entertainment, a New York based PR and arts consultancy with a particular focus on supporting up and coming visual artist, musicians, actors, and performing acts.
Danny Simmons – USA
Danny Simmons, Jr., is an American abstract painter from Queens, NY, who coined his particular style of painting as “neo-African Abstract Expressionism.” His talent and passion for the arts reaches beyond the canvas; he is a published author, poet, painter and art philanthropist. The New York Times, in reviewing one of his art exhibitions, stated that Simmons “injects freshness” into his abstracts, and that they are “meticulously rendered and decoratively impressive.” Today, his works appear in prominent locales around the globe, including: Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Museum, Chase Manhattan Bank, Deutsche Bank, Schomburg Center for Black Culture, The Smithsonian, United Nations, and, on an international scope has shown work in France, Amsterdam and Ghana. In 2015, he served as a scholarly consultant for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC.
Ebony Art, New York – representing 2 artists:
Ernani Silva – Brazil
Ernani Silva, artist, curator, educator, and mentor was born in the hills outside of Rio de Janeiro. At four years of age he picked up the pencil, pen and natural fruit juices and applied them to paper, he has not stopped painting since. He had his first gallery showing in 1969. He also introduced painting as an alternative to violence for youth in the hills of Rio. Ernani is known for his freedom of expression and use of strong vibrant colors that move across the paper as if the figures were dancing or playing a musical instrument. He speaks several different languages and is passionate about art and art history. The language he speaks best is with his brush or with the paint applied directly from the tube to the canvas. In keeping with his commitment to his collectors, Ernani’s works are all originals on paper, wood or canvas. In 2014 he celebrated forty-five years of exhibiting his original work in the United States.
Vernon McAuley - USA
Vernon McCauley’s formal art training began in 1968, the year during which he attended the School of Visual Arts in NYC and majored in painting. He also attended Fordham University, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1973. Subsequently he also earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1983 at New York’s Stony Brook University. This field of study allowed him to have a more direct impact on his environment and the human condition. In addition, it has greatly influenced his work as an artist. Conversely, considering himself a self-taught musician, playing the saxophone has always been in the foreground as well as background of his life, both to pay for his art education and support his creative interests. After exhibiting in various galleries about NYC and its five boroughs, in 1989 he broadened his creative palette to include working in the medium of sculpture. Having gained control of this medium in a short amount of time, in 1993 he was commissioned to create a life size bronze bust of fallen Medal of Honor recipient “Garfield M. Langhorn”. This memorial sits permanently in front of Town Hall in Riverhead New York. His ongoing drawing series “Sticks & Stones” in which he reduces the human figure to just a few lines and a dot was first published 1987 by Dexter Griffith Press, Pearl River NY. Continuing to participate and exhibit his work in various art venues in New York and the Metropolitan area, as well as making himself available to private collectors, Vernon currently lives and works out of him home and studio in Selden, New York.
Josh Kidd - UK
Josh Kidd is a Painter, a Filmmaker and a Writer. He was born in South-East London and is of mixed Caribbean and British decent. Kidd has been drawing and writing ever since he could pick up a pen, but it wasn’t until he moved to NYC to study acting that he really started his journey as an Artist. Josh had his first exhibition in 2019 for the Grenfell tower anniversary. Since then, he has been successful in selling many of his paintings. His most popular work are the abstract expressions that he makes. In this work, Kidd attempts to express the multitude of different people’s facial expression with acrylic paint on paper.
Khuumba Ama - USA
Khuumba Ama hails from the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor of Savannah, Georgia. She now resides in Harlem, USA. She is a full time multi-dimensional Visual Artist, Storyteller and Reiki Therapist. Khuumba uses various textures to tell the stories of her art, such as, images printed on canvas, a technique Ms. Ama developed while experimenting with various materials to create her collages; sand and felting. Khuumba is currently the President of National Conference of Artists (NCA), New York Chapter. As a teaching Artist, her classes are designed for elevating “Life Skills Through Art”. In September 2019, Khuumba received a Citation from the City Council of New York, for Outstanding Work in Community Service.
S. Ross Browne – USA
S. Ross Browne studied Communication Art and Design at Virginia Commonwealth University
and Photography at The Corcoran School of the Arts. He is also an alumnus of The Miller
School of Albemarle, Charlottesville, Virginia. He has taught art and design for inner city
and at-risk youth for the Fresh Air Fund of N.Y.C, Weed and Seed, Project Ready and Art 180
of Richmond, VA. He was also an instructor for the Resident Associate Program at The
Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. During his tenure as the Art Specialist for the VCU
Health System, Ross practiced art therapy for and taught art to his various patients with an
emphasis on pediatric hematology/oncology, infectious disease and brain injury patients. He is
also an illustrator and graphic designer with a long and varied list of clientele. Ross continues to
paint and write out of his studio in Richmond, Virginia. In a review of the exhibition Art Fusion in the Richmond Times Dispatch, Special Correspondent, CeCe Bullard wrote; "Browne, always
intense and direct, explores the many faces of the American experience in a variety of media,
each of which he uses effectively." S. Ross Browne is the recipient of numerous awards and
honors, and has been featured in various local and national media. His work has been acquired
by the internationally recognized Virginia Museum of Fine Art and is in the collection of
international, national and local institutions.
Sadikisha Sandra Collier – USA
Ms. Sadikisha Saundra Collier is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn N.Y. Sadikisha is a multi-media artist, but is primarily known and recognized as a Master printmaker. Her work ranges from prints, painting, collage, computer graphics, and stained glass. She also expresses herself through video editing and fashion design. Sadikisha has a Master in Education from Cambridge College in Boston, Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Museum and Gallery management Certificate from California College of Arts and Crafts. Collier’s work is in the collection of the late Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes, The Honorable David Dinkins, The Honorable Councilman Al Vann, Whitney Houston, Carver Bank, Thelonious Monk Jr., Valerie Bell-Bey, and a host of others. Sadikisha has exhibited with such notable artists as Jacob Lawrence, Tom Feelings, Otto Neals, Bob Blackburn, Ernest Crichlow, Ann Tanksley, Ted Gunn, Vincent Smith, Varnette Honeywood and many others. President of the oldest African American art fair in NY, Fulton Art Fair 2011-2014 Her work has been sold at Sotheby’s auction house. Collier is a Producer at BCAT Cable network and her artwork has been featured on the hit show “New York Undercover.”
Shenna Vaughn – USA
Shenna Vaughn’s intuitive abstract paintings tell subconscious narratives of the deep stories of the soul. Shenna’s use of warm colors sets the stage for the expression of the personal thoughts that all must confront. Shenna was born and raised in Queens, New York. She attended FIT and received her Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College. Her work has been included in national group exhibitions at Skylight Gallery (January 2014), Prizm Art Fair (December 2013), Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (December 2013) Rush Arts Gallery (November 2013), The Baobab Cultural Center(August 2013), Art Prize (September 2013) Gallery Guichard (August 2013) African American Museum of Dallas Texas (April, 2013), Jamaica Performing Arts Center (February 2013), Rush Arts Gallery (October 2012), The WAH Center (October 2012), Gallery Guichard (August & May 2012) and Miami Scope Art Basel (December 2011) as well as international group exhibitions at Agora Gallery (February 2011) and Caelum Gallery (July 2010). She has had solo shows at Jamaica Performing Arts Center (February 2014), Le Grand Dakar (January 2011) and Cape Liberty Gallery (July 2008).
TAFA – Ghana
TAFA is an award-winning painter whose work is exhibited and collected internationally. His style is characterized by a richly vivid palette and heavily textured surface. He obtained a BFA degree from the College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He currently lives in Harlem, New York. TAFA was named 2010 Sport Artist of the Year by the American Sport Art Museum and Archives. TAFA’s paintings have been celebrated and exhibited in galleries, educational and cultural institutions in the US, Japan, Europe, and Africa. His work may be found in numerous permanent public and private collections, including the Superior Court, Washington, D.C, Barclays Bank, Sparrow Hospital, Michigan, Shell Co, Ghana’s National Museum, Carver Federal Bank and former New York City Mayor, David N. Dinkins, Bryant Gumbel and former US President Bill Clinton. “Myth, worship and ritual is what attracts me, the arena as a landscape or the athlete or player as portraiture is not what inspires me. Sport as a metaphor for life and faith fascinates me - our collective allegiance and dedication to the gods and deities of the game, the mass psychology and identification, almost prehistoric and primal. It is the mythic power of the stadium, the arena, which has become the new basilica and pyramid, synagogue and temple.” says TAFA. This myth and almost religious relevance is also captured in his paintings of marches and protestors.
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and the official CaFA Fair Barbados platform at Caribbean.Global