Three TT artists are exhibiting in the first Atlantic World Art Fair (AWAF) on the fine art website Artsy.net.
The virtual event, which runs until June 21, is the first time the art powerhouse, the leading marketplace to discover, buy, and sell fine art, has focused on the Caribbean.
Each artist is represented by a gallery, and the work chosen is picked by the artists and their respective curators. The artists are photographer Abigail Hadeed, represented by Barbadian-based gallery Sour Grass Gallery, visual artist Roberta Stoddart, represented by Jamaican gallery Suzie Wong Presents, and mixed-media artist Rodell Warner, represented by Bahamian gallery Tern Gallery.
The fair was initiated by Bermuda's Black Pony Gallery. Proprietors of Sour Grass Gallery, Annalee Davis and Holly Bynoe, said they had a series of conversations with the director of the Black Pony Gallery, Lisa Howie, in early 2020, in which the idea of the art fair was floated.
“During these discussions, we started to speak about what a virtual Atlantic-focused art fair would mean for Caribbean institutions and artists, seeing that we take up very little presence in the global art market. Howie, having been a member of Artsy and the lead initiator for the fair, invited us to join her in this inaugural venture whereby the Caribbean would be represented on its terms through this internationally recognised platform.”
[caption id="attachment_894954" align="alignnone" width="680"] Hazbat by Roberta Stoddard. - Photo courtesy Abigail Hadeed[/caption]
Davis and Bynoe said the fair has developed a robust online programme, including panel discussions, less formal artist-to-artist conversations and moderated critical conversations, supporting deeper understanding and recognition of the Caribbean region through the arts.
“This programming series is important, as the region is often thought about as a tourism and investment haven and not necessarily a place that generates ideas and manifests creative spirit, entrepreneurial rigour and tenacity. The programming will deliver to a global audience a more succinct understanding of the makeup of the geographical, geopolitical and ideological sensibilities of those working inside and outside of the region. It will present information that demystifies artists' work while giving a broader sense of localities and presence.”
They said the Caribbean is disproportionately underrepresented in the art world, which is not aware of the contributions that Caribbean artists have made and are making,
“It is important to have artists from the region and its diaspora represented in the AWAF to generate awareness of the powerful work being produced and increase the visibility of the art practices in the region. Along with the eight regional galleries, Sour Grass is taking up space by showing works that reveal the complexity, intellectual rigour, magic and potency these artists possess.
“From an economic perspective, cultural workers worldwide have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and those based i
