Artists come together for panel discussion

The National Museum and Art Gallery of T&T hosted a panel discussion on January 20, as part of We the Artists, an exhibition of international art, and featuring six local artists, held from January 5–26.
Panelists included exhibition curator Nicollette Ramirez, artist Edward Bowen, film producer and head of UWI’s Film Programme Bruce Paddington, UWI senior lecturer Dr Jean Antoine-Dunne, Swiss artist Clarina Bezzola and moderator UWI Professor Patricia Mohammed. The panelists each made ten-minute presentations, discussing their respective fields, along with some of the challenges they faced.

Paddington made a survey of art film in T&T, particularly in the last decade, noting Yao Ramesar’s SistaGod series and the work of Elspeth Duncan. He showed Janine Fung’s film 4 am, featuring the poetry of Muhammad. Muwakil would perform at the event later in the evening. Antoine-Dunne discussed themes such as Créolité and feminism in Caribbean film, examining Felix de Rooy’s Ava and Gabriel.
Bowen bemoaned the neglect and lack of support for contemporary arts, across the board, in T&T, while Bezzola discussed her work, which is concerned with social isolation in the modern world. She showed her film, Judgement Day, a parody on judgmentalism. Ramirez spoke about the process of putting the exhibition together, and said there was a need for better infrastructure to support contemporary arts in T&T.

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Afterward, the floor was opened up for comments and questions from the audience. Artist Steve Ouditt expressed disappointment, saying the speakers lacked a contemporary perspective. He said they had failed to mention arts spaces that currently support progressive local artists, such as Alice Yard and Studio 66. Charlotte Elias, director of the now defunct CCA7 arts space, which was located at the Fernandes Industrial Estate in Laventille, said she was disturbed that the conversation around the arts had not moved on in the last 17 years, despite significant strides.

Writer and Karnak House publisher Dr Amon Saba Saakana voiced the opinion that we need to discuss our art in our own contexts, instead of continuing to view it through a European prism. Dancer and performance artist Dave Williams expressed concern that even though the We the Artists forum seemed somewhat out of touch with the T&T arts scene, the exhibition had received much support from the Government and the Museum, while local artists often found the institution and its resources inaccessible. Nimah Muwakil Zakuri, acting Curator, said the Museum was open to working with and supporting local artists. After the panel, there were performances by Michelle Isava, Freetown Collective, featuring Muhammad Muwakil and Lou Lyons, and spoken word artist Ryan Stollmeyer. Guests were invited to have refreshments in the courtyard.