Bahamian Art & Culture

20/08/2025

Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates another FIRST! This time it’s for our own brilliant Dr. Erica Moiah James—widely regarded art historian, scholar, author, curator, and Associate Professor at the University of Miami—on the release of her FIRST academic press book entitled, “After Caliban: Caribbean Art in a Global Imaginary” (Duke University Press).

In “After Caliban”, James explores how Caribbean artists of the 1990s built a decolonized art history for the region. Drawing on Aimé Césaire’s rewriting of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”—where Caliban takes control of his own story—James shows how artists like Marc Latamie, Janine Antoni, Belkis Ayón, Edouard Duval-Carrié, and Christopher Cozier rejected marginalization and forged new cultural and historical narratives.

Just as Césaire decolonized literature, these artists decolonized visual culture, reshaping what contemporary Caribbean art means today. James argues that these artists not only reshaped the field, but also created a new kind of art practice—one that moves beyond borders, divisions, and colonial ideas—paving the way for a postcolonial future.

REVIEW:
“By thinking art history from and with the Caribbean, Erica Moiah James demands a reorientation and expansion of the theoretical toolkit used to understand the region. Her questioning of the analytical purchase of Caliban disturbs the taken-for-grantedness of earlier examinations of the Caribbean while opening up space for how we might think it otherwise. ‘After Caliban’ will be of great significance, having an important impact on the field of art history, especially in this moment as attempts are being made to decolonize the discipline.” - Wayne Modest, Professor of Material Culture and Critical Heritage Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

If you order directly from Duke UPress, use the code E25JAMES to receive a 30% discount: dukeupress.edu/after-caliban

17/08/2025

✨ Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates yet another FIRST with our very own world-renowned, Grand Bahamian conceptual artist Janine Antoni who this summer unveiled her very FIRST public sculpture, “Whispering Through a Stone”, commissioned by the City of Coral Gables, Florida. You can experience it at 332 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134.

Inspired by the 19th-century “conversation chair,” Antoni’s work invites intimacy while setting boundaries. Two seats are carved into a single boulder, separated by a small hole positioned at ear-and-mouth height. A whisper spoken on one side travels through the stone to the other, encouraging quiet, personal exchanges in a public space.

Antoni also drew inspiration for this piece from a cherished memory of growing up in Grand Bahama:

“I grew up in Freeport, Grand Bahama. At the center of town was the International Bazaar… In front of the Chinese restaurant was a laughing Buddha with a big belly. My father told my brothers and I that if we rubbed the Buddha’s belly, our wish would be granted. That sentiment created a ritual.”

This childhood memory of ritual and connection shows how small, symbolic gestures can turn ordinary public spaces into sites of intimacy, magic, and connection — and that thread lives on in the enchanting “Whispering Through a Stone.”

The piece was fabricated by Urban Art Projects () with stone milling by Quarra Stone ().

🔗 Learn more about this wonderful sculpture at: janineantoni.net/whispering-through-a-stone-1

Photo sources: JanineAntoni.net, , and ICABoston.org.

15/08/2025

Bahamian Art & Culture celebrates another first in the Bahamian art world with widely acclaimed, award-winning Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan’s FIRST major museum exhibition in Los Angeles. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Presented by Hyundai Motor Company and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced the exhibition as part of their ongoing 10-year collaboration to support artists working across disciplines to transcend conventional boundaries. “Tavares Strachan: The Day Tomorrow Began” runs October 12, 2025 – March 29, 2026.

The exhibition features over 20 new works—including Strachan’s most expansive neon piece and one of his largest sculptures—across immersive environments that reveal erased and overlooked histories, particularly of the Black diaspora.

“Tavares is one of the most innovative and experimental artists working today… The Day Tomorrow Began reconsiders how institutions engage Black diasporic histories,” said Michael Govan, LACMA CEO.

Image Credits:
-Image 1: Tavares Strachan, A Map of the Crown (Amasunzu Black), 2023, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist, photo by Jonty Wilde
- Image 2: Tavares Strachan, Six Thousand Years, 2018, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles, photo by Brian Forrest
- Image 3: Tavares Strachan, Inner Elder (Nina Simone as Queen of Sheba), 2023, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist, photo by Jonty Wilde
- Image 4: Tavares Stachan, Galaxy Defender, 2025, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist, photo by Jonty Wilde
- Image 5: Tavares Strachan, Six Thousand Years, 2018, and The Encyclopedia of Invisibility, 2018, installed in Soft Power: A Conversation For The Future, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2019–20, © Tavares Strachan, photo: Johnna Arnold/courtesy SFMOMA
- Image 6: Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan, photo source: Perrotin Gallery

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14/08/2025

We are back from a much-needed break, ready and refreshed to bring you the best in Bahamian Art & Culture! 🥳🇧🇸🎉🤩⭐️

We have a couple firsts for you— starting with acclaimed Bahamian-born, Atlanta-based artist Lillian Blades in her FIRST solo museum exhibition that’s open to the public now at the Sarasota Art Museum in Florida until October 26, 2025.

“Through the Veil” is an immersive installation of suspended mixed-media assemblage sculpture Lillian calls “veils.” Made from materials such as acrylic, wood, fabric, photographs, and found objects, each piece is assembled with a process reminiscent of quilting, a tribute to her late mother’s craft. Hung beneath the museum’s skylight, the veils catch and reflect light, creating shifting patterns and colors throughout the space.

Blades describes her work as a way to “bring together fragments of memory” and to explore connection, identity, and place. Visitors are invited to walk among the layered forms, experiencing the interplay of texture, light, and shadow while moving between past and present. Through the Veil is organized by the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Lacie Barbour.

13/05/2025

This July 2025, Summer Arts Immersion is offering a FREE digital arts programme exclusively for young men who wish to pursue careers in illustration or animation.

Find out more:
- Scan the QR code on the graphic
- Or check out
- 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eUHhjCbf

12/05/2025

Exciting news as accomplished Bahamian artist Lillian Blades is marking a major career milestone: her first solo museum exhibition in the United States! Opening June 1, 2025 at the Sarasota Art Museum, this show is a proud moment not just for Blades, but for the entire Bahamian creative community.

“Lillian Blades: Through the Veil”, curated by Lacie Barbour, Associate Curator of Exhibitions at SAM, features an immersive installation of recent and new works that explore themes of memory, cultural identity, and connection. At the heart of the exhibition is a radiant labyrinth of suspended mixed-media “veils”—tapestries of color, texture, and reflection that invite viewers to step inside, wander, and experience her work from within.

Blades’ vibrant palette and intricate assemblages are deeply inspired by her Bahamian heritage and the legacy of her late mother, a seamstress whose influence continues to shape the artist’s visual language.

Exhibition runs June 1–October 26, 2025.

https://www.sarasotaartmuseum.org/lillian-blades-through-the-veil/

23/02/2025

Bahamian Art & Culture wishes to congratulate the extraordinarily gifted Bahamian pianist Elijah Stevens on being named the Most Inspiring Pianist of 2024-25 by Pianote Awards, an annual event where the international piano community comes together to celebrate the remarkable talents and achievements of exceptional pianists across various genres and platforms.

“Steven’s exceptional skill, dedication, and passion set him apart in the industry, and this award is a testament to his talent and significant impact on the piano community.”

Elijah Stevens made history as the first Bahamian to earn an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School. In 2024, he achieved a milestone debut at Carnegie Hall, showcasing his virtuosity and artistry to critical acclaim. As an ambassador for Bahamian classical music, Stevens continues to inspire audiences globally, blending technical mastery with emotive performances that celebrate his heritage and personal journey in the arts. His list of achievements include:

✅ Pianote’s 2024-25 Most Inspiring Pianist of the Year.
✅ First Bahamian to be nominated for and win an award from Pianote Awards.
✅ First Bahamian to earn an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School.
✅ Carnegie Hall Performer.
✅ First Bahamian to attend & graduate from The Royal Conservatory of Music.
✅ Student of Olga Kern at Manhattan School of Music.
✅ First Bahamian to be a Doctoral Student of Pasquale Iannone at Accademia Del Ridotto in Italy.
✅ Officially the Best and Brightest of Students in the USA & White House All-Star.
✅ Lyford Cay Foundation Thomson Family Foundation Leadership & Innovation Scholar.
✅ HBCU first-generation graduate.
✅ Winner of numerous international and national competitions, scholarships & grants.

22/02/2025

Amazing Bahamian sculptor Anina Major has been shortlisted for the prestigious Loewe Foundation Craft Prize for 2025. She is one of 30 artists selected out of 4,600 applicants hailing from 133 countries and regions around the world! So awesome!

The finalists will present their works in an exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid, Spain from May 30th to June 29th.

The prize winner will be chosen on May 29th and announced during the opening ceremony for the group exhibition. The winning recipient will receive a $51,000 award. The winner is selected by a 13-person jury composed of leading names in design, architecture, journalism, and museum curatorship.

Major’s chosen piece is entitled ‘Sandcastle’, a large glazed stoneware sculpture that reinterprets weaving on a monumental scale, transposing into clay traditional braiding and plaiting traditions, which were passed down through generations by enslaved West African people who were forcibly transported to The Bahamas. By capturing and preserving these techniques in ceramic, Major provides permanence to these endangered traditions and amplifies narratives from under-represented communities. The walls are created by interlacing horizontal and vertical coils, and space has been left a few rows from the top to allow for visibility inside the structure. The work has a significant physical presence, and the surface has been glazed to appear as hardened sand, encrusted with areas of salt.

Congratulations Anina! We are all rooting for you!! 🇧🇸🩵💪🏼

03/02/2025

Bahamian Art + Culture is proud to announce that Haitian-Bahamian artist Jeffrey Meris has been selected as a 2025 Vilcek Foundation Prize winner amongst 14 other stellar individuals in the fields of Biomedical Science, Visual Arts, and Curatorial Work. This year, the Vilcek distributed a total of $950,000 in awards.

Born in Haiti and raised in The Bahamas, Jeffrey Meris receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Visual Arts for his work engaging materiality, installation, and performance to explore the power of ecology and embodiment to liberate and heal from individual and historical trauma.

The 2025 Vilcek Foundation Prizes are given to outstanding immigrant professionals and cultural leaders who have made profound impacts in their fields and society more broadly.

Congratulations Jeffrey!

Click here for full list of 2025 prizewinners:
https://vilcek.co/42AnHWu



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28/01/2025

“Jonkonnu” or “Junkanoo” is not just a festival, but a testament to Black resilience, creativity, and resistance. It is a living archive of intersectional Black life that can only be brought to life through those willing to preserve it.

Jonkonnu is not just a festival, but a living archive of intersectional Black life that can only be brought to life through those willing to preserve it.

27/01/2025

🎉 Facebook recognised our page as a top rising creator this week! Woohoo! 🥳 🎉

23/01/2025

It’s the beginning of the 2025 Bahamas art calendar and three new exhibitions of stunning work are opening this evening (Thursday, January 23rd) in Nassau. Come on out for a gallery hop!

1.
“Fragments of Being”
A group exhibition featuring 20 young Bahamian artists whose work explores the imperfect, layered & evolving qualities of self-hood using collage and mixed media.
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The D’Aguilar Art Foundation
8A Virginia Street, Downtown Nassau
5 PM - 8:30 PM (Open Bar)

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2.
“An Unmistakable Softness”
New works by Jamaican artist Leasho Johnson created during a 3-month residency here in New Providence.
•
TERN Gallery, The Island House, Western Road (Western Nassau)
6-7 PM Artist’s talk
7-9 PM Cocktails and music
Ends March 8, 2025

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3.
“Max Taylor: Vintage Works”
A collection of the Bahamian master artist’s paintings and works on paper
•
CAB - Contemporary Art Bahamas
South Ocean Blvd, Western Nassau
6PM - 8PM.

Please support these first new shows of the year and our community of talented hardworking artists and galleries.