Announcements and Initiatives
Untitled Document
The National Art Gallery Announces the Leave of Absence of its Current Director, Dr. Erica James and the Appointment of David A. Bailey as Acting Director and Visiting Resident Curator in Her Absence
The founding director of the National Art Gallery Dr. Erica James will take a year long sabbatical to serve as a Post Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University in St. Louis Missouri in 2010.
Dr. James returned to the Bahamas in 2003 after being retained as Visiting Resident Curator by the Committee to Establish the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. She was tasked with overseeing the final stages of the restoration and renovation of Villa Doyle, the official opening of the Gallery, the curation of the Inaugural National Exhibition (INE) and the coordination of the installation of the three major exhibitions that open the gallery in July 2003.
Dr. James was appointed Chief Curator in 2003 and Director of the Gallery in 2005. During her time at the NAGB she has drafted policies to govern the operation of the National Art Gallery both curatorially and institutionally, curated more than ten exhibitions including three National Exhibitions, the popular What is Africa to Me?, The Awakening Landscape and the current Max Taylor Paperwork. Under her direction the gallery has also developed a vibrant public program offering that includes, lectures, concerts, artist talks, children and family workshops, films, teacher workshops etc. Perhaps most important to her has been the development of the gallery’s Art Library intended to assist, students, teachers and artists with resources on Bahamian, regional and international artists and art movements.
A graduate of the College of The Bahamas and a proud recipient of the Sir Gerald Cash award for the highest GPA in her graduating year at COB, Dr. James received her BA (honours) from Vassar College, the Master of Fine Arts from the University of Chicago and an earned PhD in Art History from Duke University. She is the recipient of numerous awards including research fellowships from the International Association of University Women and the Ford Foundation, The John Hope Franklin Fellowship and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Research Fellowship at the Clark Institute Williamstown, MA.
Washington University is considered the twelfth ranked University in the United States. While there Dr. James will mentor students, work on several projects including personal research in Caribbean Art, a new teaching text on Bahamian Art and a new curriculum for a degree program in Art and Visual Culture being proposed as a partnership between the National Art Gallery and The College of The Bahamas.
The Board of Directors and the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture are proud of Dr. James’ accomplishments and dedication to Bahamian Arts. They support her in her desire for continued growth and admire her commitment to remaining current in her field. Dr. James recommended that David A. Bailey be appointed as Acting Director in her absence. After careful analysis of the situation, the Board supports this appointment and will welcome Mr. Bailey to the NAGB in 2010.
Though not a Bahamian, in the increasingly internationalized world of Visual Art and Culture, Bailey is recognized as a top curator and gallerist. Dr. James states that “The NAGB is almost seven years old. This is a very symbolic year for us. For the first seven years we have concentrated on building an institution, establishing and enforcing clear policy guidelines on which the NAGB can operate. We have shown our ability to produce exhibitions that have relevance. We have contributed to building the archive on Bahamian Art and Culture through our publications and have established ourselves as a regionally recognized and admired institution. However, listening to our artists and really seeing what is being produced by Bahamian artists inside the Bahamas and across the world has made us realize that the next seven years will be about building the Bahamian Art historical canon, teaching Bahamians about our rich artistic history while simultaneously gaining a foothold for Bahamian Art in international exhibition spaces.”
“Unfortunately for us though - and we are working to change this - few Bahamians have sought careers in the Arts at this level. Fewer have the training, vision, international exposure and contacts necessary to help us make this leap. There is a need to craft a public discussion that looks dispassionately at what it means to be a Bahamian artist, is It necessary or even possible to create “Bahamian Art” in an increasingly globalized culture. When planning my leave, the intention was to make certain that the gallery continued to operate at a high standard. Having worked with Bailey at Duke University and knowing of his level of success and dedication to Diasporic curatorial practice, he seemed a perfect match in this transitional moment.”
Until recently David A. Bailey served as Senior Curator at Autograph- London. Awarded the distinction of Member of the British Empire (MBE), Mr. Bailey is a noted curator and member of the British Arts Council. He has curated exhibitions that have travelled the world, making stops at institutions such as the Corcoran Museum in Washington DC, and The Tate, Whitechapel and the Heyward Galleries in London. He is the founder of the International Curator’s Forum and a recent recipient of a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation to work on Caribbean Art. His life partner is the artist Sonia Boyce (once the youngest artist to have her work acquired by the Tate Gallery) and they have two daughters Maya and Arony. Mr. Bailey was born in London in 1960 to Bajan émigré parents and educated at The University of Sussex.
Dr. James states that, “It truly is an honor to have David A. Bailey in residence at the Gallery for 2010. For him to accept our invitation says a lot about the work we have done, but also about the potential of the gallery and Bahamian Art in the future. I know that he along with Bahamian Artists and the general public will have a terrific time charting the course and I know it will be a year of artistic, mental and intellectual challenge and growth.”
Mr. Bailey will oversee the curation of the 2010 National Exhibition and continue projects Dr. James initiated such as the Gallery’s acquisition of the Amos Ferguson home, the Livable Neighborhoods project and its extension with the Artists for Peace Initiative.
Attached Images: Dr. Erica James (L) and David A. Bailey (R)
Education Officer Michael Edwards Leaves NAGB
The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas announces that effective December 28, 2009, Micheal Edwards, Education Officer at the NAGB, will no longer represent or be associated with the NAGB in any capacity. The NAGB thanks Mr. Edwards for his year of service and wishes him every success in his future endeavors.
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The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas
In Memory: Amos Ferguson, 1920-2009
Image: Amos Ferguson With Robert Farris Thompson, Professor Emeritus of Art, Yale University. December 2007. Photograph by Erica M. James, PhD
Internationally Acclaimed Bahamian Artist Amos Ferguson Passes Away, 1920-2009
To Paint, the Lord gives a vision, a sight that you goes by….” - Amos Ferguson
On the morning of October 19, 2009, Bahamian Artist and National Monument Amos Ferguson went home to be with the Lord he had spoken to and communicated with through his paintings for the past fifty years.
Amos Ferguson was born in 1920 on the island of Exuma in The Bahamas. He received his primary school education at Roker’s Point School in Exuma. Ferguson came to Nassau, Bahamas in 1937 to learn a trade. He dabbled in various enterprises such as upholstery and furniture finishing. Finally he went into house painting and began painting on cardboard, drinking glasses and whatever he could find after receiving divine instruction. He first sold his works in the Straw Market but soon made his home on Exuma Street (now Amos Ferguson Street) his studio.
Possessed by the vision of God, almost every square inch of the house has been touched by Ferguson’s brush. He literally lived in his work. Ferguson is completely self-taught, yet it has taken him some years to receive the respect and recognition he so richly deserves in The Bahamas. He once lamented, “I’m known all over the world. The Queen of England owns one of my paintings and Rajiv Gandhi bought one when he came to The Bahamas in 1985, but the Bahamian people hardly know I exist and don’t seem to notice my work.” (Tribune 8.3.91)
Since that time Ferguson has become the country’s best-known “intuitive” artist. His distinctive signature “Paint by Amos Ferguson” was also the title of a successful one-man exhibition held in 1985 at the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas acquired over twenty of his works shortly after opening in 2003. Formerly exhibited at the Pompey Museum, they now represent a major holding in the National Collection of The Bahamas.
The Board, Staff and Members of The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas extend their deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the late Amos Ferguson. He was a spirited man, a visionary artist and a Bahamian treasure. May his soul rest in peace and may his art be a living epistle to his faith and work.
Community Projects
Livable Neighborhoods Partnership
On Wednesday, 24th September, 2008, The National Art Gallery in collaboration with the Marathon Community, The Wulff Road Police Station and the Nature Conservacy launched the Livable Neighborhoods Project at Lou Adderley Park.
The project combines mural painting and tree planting at each venue selected, based on need. For example Claridge Primary School the project’s fourth venue, expended nearly $40,000.00 in labour and supplies in to repaint the school walls more than four times during the last school year.
Research both in The Bahamas and abroad shows consistently positive results when graffiti is replaced with murals, and many mural projects on New Providence remain untouched after thirty years; The Oakes Field Primary School murals were painted by art teacher Jackie Elias who left the Bahamas some 35 years ago and the mural remains a wonderful reminder of the power of murals to change attitudes and develop artistic talent in productive ways.
The National Art Gallery has selected Alan Wallace, as the artistic coordinator. He is a young Bahamian artist, who began his career with graffiti, and is now an artist with work that is apart of the Bahamas’ National Art Collection. He will work with other graffiti artists (identified by the police) as well as students from COB, other schools and community residents on these mural projects.
In addition to Lou Adderley Park, murals have been completed at the Stapeldon School for the Mentally Challenged and Woodcock Primary School.
If your school, civic or community group wishes to have the mural project come to your neighborhood, please contact the Gallery’s Education Department.