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Local artists on display
WBN09 - Feature_LocalArtists
Local artists on display
Visit art galleries around Nassau
A T-shirt for a friend that says It’s Better in The Bahamas, $4; a bottle of Bahamian Pink Pearl fragrance for your mom, $16.95; an original painting by an island artist for your wall—priceless!
Well, maybe not priceless. But gallery owners in Nassau say a fine painting or a piece of Bahamian sculpture may appreciate nicely over the years. And even if it doesn’t, you’ll enjoy it every time you look at it or show it off to your friends.
There are several top-flight artists working in The Bahamas, taking advantage of the islands’ marvelous light, say gallery owners in Nassau. They include painters, sculptors and designers who have earned an international reputation.
As they have in a surprising number of fields, Bahamians excel in fine art as well as crafts, especially in straw products, wood carvings and other handmade items. While some buyers are most interested in the lasting value of these pieces, others simply want a souvenir.
A lasting investment
David Charlton, director of Anthaya Art Gallery near the major hotels on the Cable Beach strip, believes Bahamian art is an investment that will hold its value over time. Often, he says, a painting is passed down as a family heirloom. “In the not too distant future, these pieces might be worth much more than you’re paying for them now,” Charlton says.
He showcases the work of several up-and-coming artists, as well as offering custom framing, canvas mounting, photo restoration and consignment art. Patrons will also find handmade handbags and jewellery at the gallery.
Although the Anthaya gallery is still relatively new—it opened in late 2007—it has already developed a local following, due largely to the steady supply of new works. “When you purchase from Anthaya,” says Charlton, “you’re buying an original piece of art.”
A sale every two years
Bahamians have always been enthusiastic patrons of the arts, says Erica James, director of The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) on West Hill Street, near the high-end Graycliff hotel and restaurant. “We have artists who can support themselves wholly from the work they sell,” she says. “Quite a few are doing just that.”
Even before the National Gallery opened in 2003, buyers were keeping artists busy in The Bahamas. James links that steady buying and selling to the country’s progress. “I think the Bahamian economy had to come to a certain maturity to support an art market. That has happened only in recent years—since the 1980s and ’90s.”
James says most people who buy art are at that point in their life when they have the disposable income to indulge in some of their passions, “unless they’re doing it purely as an investment.”
As the curator of the five-year-old national art gallery, James also seeks to preserve the country’s visual arts history and legacy. One of the gallery’s chief functions is to uncover and record the history of Bahamian art and “teach people about that aspect of ourselves.”
The national gallery exhibits only original works of art in Villa Doyle, formerly a private residence located near the centre of downtown Nassau. Built in the 1860s, the two-storey villa was the private residence of Chief Justice Sir William Doyle, the first Bahamian to be knighted.
A $3.9-million restoration project transformed the building into what it is today: a modern gallery showcasing Bahamian paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photography and other works of art.
Every two years the gallery mounts a show of artwork offered for sale. The Fourth National Exhibition, which featured the work of 32 artists, ended on Jan 31, 2009. Another six-month sales period is scheduled for 2011.
For those who can’t wait until then, Doongalik Studios Art Gallery in Marina Village on Paradise Island, and at its original location on Village Road, sells a wide range of Bahamian artwork, priced from $10 to $10,000.
“Tourists tend to buy things that remind them of their trip here,” says gallery co-owner and manager Pamela Burnside, “so we have a lot of images of The Bahamas and the people.” She noted that visitors usually opt to buy prints that can be easily carried in their luggage, because mounted original art has to be shipped home.
Another gallery that no art lover should miss is the Nassau Glass Art Gallery on Mackey Street, which features work by top Bahamian and foreign artists, including Amos Ferguson, Rolfe Harris, Eddie Minnis, Chan Pratt and Max Taylor.
The gallery also carries elegant, handmade straw bags by Barbara Jesubathem, Sonia Isaacs pottery and decorative turned-wood pieces by Roddie Pinder, who crafts functional items from native woods such as madeira, horseflesh, cedar and cork.
When it comes to buying art, the store’s director, Ann Roger, offers one important piece of advice: “Art can be a wonderful investment, but I truthfully feel you should buy something that you like. You have to find the right piece that appeals to you, so where you find it is luck. If you see a piece you like, then you should buy it, wherever it is.”
Other galleries around New Providence include Aitken Imaging, Balmain Antiques, Central Bank Art Gallery, The Hub, Ladder Gallery, MyOcean Body and Home, New Providence Art & Antiques, Paradise Tees, Popop Studios Center for the Visual Arts, Sine.Qua.Non Gallery and Third Eye Artworks and Collectibles.
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