PRESENT - AN EXHIBITION OF CREATIVITY FROM THE AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN DIASPORA
Through various media, the artists in PRESENT examine how words and sounds can be used to convey emotion, express ideas, and tell stories that highlight the creativity of the African and Caribbean diaspora. In doing so, they offer a unique perspective on the power of being “Present” and its ability to shape our understanding of the world.
PRESENT features visual artists plus two events at the Winter Arts Hub.
The visual artists were all inspired by Naila Keleta-Mae’s poem, “A Gap”. During VMF Winter Arts 2023 (Feb 16-26), you can find the laser light animations by Franco E. at Bentall Centre and the light-poetry art by Natasha Cunningham with word design by Nya Lewis at the Winter Arts Hub.
The first event, PRESENT, on Feb 17, 2023, featured local poetry and a Drum Clash, inspired by Jamaican Sound clash culture using Drummers from the Afro-Caribbean countries with local Asian & Indigenous cultures in friendly competition.
Continuing the series, PERIODT: BLACK QUEER POETRY SLAM, on Thursday, Feb 23, 2023, will feature Black queer poets on the stage of the Winter Arts Hub.
Curated by fanny kearse in collaboration with Tafui, and co-presented by Vancouver Pride, PERIODT: BLACK QUEER POETRY SLAM will amplify, celebrate, and illuminate the unique intersections that Black-Indigi-Queer folks bring to the community, in commemoration of Black History Month.
Poetry and storytelling is a conduit for inter-generational healing, as well as inter-generational joy.
Featured Poet and special guest for the evening will be none other than world renowned poet, actor and performing artist, Staceyann Chin, author of the new poetry collection Crossfire: A Litany For Survival. Staceyann has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and 60 Minutes, and her poetry has been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post. She proudly identifies as Caribbean, Black, Asian, lesbian, a woman, and a resident of New York City, as well as a Jamaican national.
The event will happen at the Winter Arts Hub at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square (Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza).
We asked some questions to Tafui about PRESENT. Read her interview on curation and the artists involved in the project.
What was your inspiration behind PRESENT?
In Jamaica, this is how we would normally have celebrations with artists: outside a gallery, with a fusion of visual arts, poetry, and live music, so I wanted to recreate that kind of vibe at the VMF Winter Arts festival. I miss having that kind of art form in one place.
How did you select the artists for the exhibition?
Being from Jamaica and living in Canada, I found there’s a large Caribbean community here. I wanted to reflect that within the festival and highlight the Caribbean artists and musicians.
I personally followed all the visual artists I chose for the exhibition. Franco’s family is originally from Haiti. He’s a muralist and an illustrator and I've been following his work for the past few years. Natasha is based in Jamaica, she’s a very outstanding collage artist and I really wanted to highlight her work. Nya’s work is type-based and I find her pieces really eye-catching and powerful. She's based here in Vancouver, of Trinidadian descent, and there was no way I could have this type of exhibition without including her. As for Naila, I really fell in love with the poem she wrote, “A Gap”. I just found it so beautiful and so timeless.
I think as Canadians it's important to highlight the different types of artists that we have here. There are such amazing talented artists in Canada, but because the country is so spread out, sometimes it’s difficult to know or hear about other artists from different provinces and I wanted to make sure that I included Naila’s voice and this poem in particular in the show.
I wanted people here in Vancouver to hear her voice and see her words, and for her words to inspire these artists and for them to make their piece based on that. They all worked independently on the piece after listening to the poem and I was really interested in seeing how each artist would translate the poem in their way using different media. Also the theme of this year’s festival is Land and Light, and her poem talks about the environment so it’s really fitting.
You can listen to the poem that inspired the work for this series - “A Gap” by Naila Keleta-Mae’s - on the PRESENT page: https://www.winterartsfest.com/present
Why are the two events focused on poetry?
As an artist, I love poetry and historically it was one of the first forms of art, like the live performances people used to go to. I think poetry transcends culture. It’s a means of communication that we’ve used for such a long time and I really wanted to use that as the launching pad for the visual artists, so it would connect the work while each artist could still maintain their own style and artistic expression.
Why the name PRESENT?
I think that being an artist is a gift and that it’s happening now, in the present. I wanted to talk more about the fact we’re creating history at this moment for the future generations to look back on and I wanted us to be conscious of that.
ARTISTS
FRANCO E.
Franco E. is a visual artist living and working in Montreal, Canada. Raised by his single mother, he learned to hold a pen and trace a line before walking on his feet. His sensual and captivating drawings take you into a world where the body plays freely.
Inspired by Naila Keleta-Mae "A Gap", Franco’s primary intention in this project was to remind you that just as gravity binds you to this unique planet Earth, your singular bodies are connected and intricately tied to each other by forces of equal magnitude.
Location: 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver
Supported by: Bentall Centre, Evo Car Share, Softlanding
NATASHA CUNNINGHAM
Natasha Cunningham is a Graphic Designer and Visual Artist based in Kingston, Jamaica, with a BFA in Fine Arts at the Edna Manley College of the Visual Arts. Her body of work can be described as 'Digital Photo Collage', which is usually portrait-focused and serves as an exploration of her love for collage art, texture, layering, and storytelling.
NYA LEWIS
Nya Lewis works in digital text based installation to depict and visualize diasporan aesthetics and coding. Inspired by the screen printing, caricature and graphic design of the civil rights movement, her work approaches visual culture through manipulation and access, critically examining representations of Black diasporas and the social, economic, and political conditions that form them.
NAILA KELETA-MAE
Dr. Naila Keleta-Mae is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Race, Gender, and Performance; Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo; and a multi-disciplinary artist.
“Seismic Waves” by Natasha Cunningham and word design by Nya Lewis is an interpretation inspired by Naila Keleta-Mae’s poem, “A Gap”. “Our Earth is emitting a stifling heat. Sound the alarms. Be alarmed. Be Alarmed.”
Like seismic waves, this piece echoes repeated warnings, from haphazard patterns, and symbols of seismic waves to a sharp gradient line that mimics rising sea levels. At the centre is Earth, minds and lives that emit waves of caution that you should indeed “ [be] alarmed. Be alarmed.”
Location: Winter Art Hub - 850 W. Georgia
Supported by: Comma Properties
