APRIL Newsletter

Except where otherwise credited, the above 4 photographs © 2006 Stefan Falke. Usable only with permission of the artist. www.stefanfalke.com
Superior Concept Monsters in Trinidad Mas
View Poster for Puppetry Workshop in Italy



Caribbean Contemporary Arts welcomes you to Art Papers online! Each month a link to this newsletter and a brief introduction will be e-mailed to our subscribers. This newsletter utilizes links so more information and contact email addresses are a click away. Next month there will be more pictures and Art Papers is always developing so email Jaime Lee Loy at jaimelee@cca7.org with suggestions you may have. Please send us submissions for future issues.

- Exhibitions, Events and Openings

Local
* Artist Talk: Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles
* 9x5² : Eddie Bowen. Recent Works 2004-2006
* “And so we continue”: Book to be launched by Jackie Hinkson
* Rethinking Landscapes: Tessa Alexander at Horizons Gallery

International
* 15th Biennale of Sydney
* Triangle Workshops 2006

CCA Programmes
Education Programme
* Kids Create re-opens in May
Residency Programme
* CCA Residency Programme

Opportunities
* Caribbean Media Arts
* Art Director of Macmillian Caribbean visiting Trinidad
* Jan van Eyck Academie call for applications
* UNESCO-Aschberg residencies 2006/2007

Network News
* big River ₃ International Artist Workshop
* Dragon: Marlon Griffith’s Mas Band wins Mini Band Title 2006
* Ninth Biennial of Havana
* "Chutney Jam" - Trinidadian artist shows work in Cape Town
* 'Omega' filmed in Trinidad, to be shown at Biennial in Limerick

CCA7
* Contact us
* Our Staff
* Studios
* Facilities
* Studio Film Club

Links


Exhibitions, Openings . Artist Talks

Local
Artist Talk: Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles at CCA7
Mediating Mas: A Carnival pilgrimage : Thursday April 6th at 6 pm

On Thursday, April 6th, Residency Artists Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles will be discussing their past works and recent Carnival experiences. Viewing of video documentation and selected works will start at 6 PM, and the talk begins at 6:30. For the past decade, pageant puppeteers Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles have created numerous performance works specifically for the medium of procession. They have spent the past four months exploring Trinidad’s Carnival tradition, seeking points of intersection and divergence between the Mas and their own practice in processional art.

Heeding the Carnival maxim "Play yuhself!" Kahn and Michahelles have sought to integrate their current research in Carnival traditions with their own daily experiences as contemporary artists in Port of Spain. One result, created and performed in collaboration with CCA artists and local Trinidadian participants, was a Mas entitled Rights of Passage, which appeared on Carnival Monday. Rights of Passage was a contemporary adaptation of the traditional Dragon Band. Drawing inspiration from local Mas veterans, as well as from Earl Lovelace’s Dragon Can’t Dance and Hollis "Chalkdust" Liverpool’s Rituals of Power and Rebellion, they presented their Dragon Band as an alternative to the prevailing commercial Mas.

Constructing elements from vernacular street materials and found objects, they portrayed the dragon’s frenetic, inhibited dance as a commentary on current constrictions of class, space, and mobility within the modern-day Carnival, and in Trinidad in general. Their experience has left many fertile questions in its wake, and the artists hope, through sharing their work, to share their questions as well – and spark an open-ended discussion on the Mas as medium and message.

Those wishing to learn more about Superior Concept Monsters can log on to www.superiorconcept.org. Their work in Trinidad has been sponsored by grants from the US Fulbright Scholarship Program and a faculty development grant from the Maine College of Art.
Direct link to Rights of Passage


9x5²
Eddie Bowen. Recent Works 2004-2006
This exhibition will continue until 15th April 2006. The gallery is open Wednesdays and Fridays 12am to 5pm, Thursdays, 12am to 8pm, and Saturdays 10am to 5pm.

These recent works mark the end of a creative process that has spanned the last twenty years . Eddie Bowen has exhibited widely the whole time, both locally and Internationally, operating from his studio at 25 Sydenham Avenue, St Anns. This collection of paintings (acrylic on canvas) predominantly illustrate Eddie’s exercises in drawing and painting over an extended period of time, as his career as an artist is primarily shaped by these two processes as well as with teaching.

'Drawing, colour, and an exploration of visual structure, are the defining characteristics of this series. A deliberate fusion of these attitudes in painting, issues extended from previous formats and investigations in studio and working in and with urban and rural environments in this locale. The works explore and stretch techniques in acrylics. The attempt it to find a new visual metaphor, or to break new ground in the articulation of the landscape.'

“And so we continue”: Book to be launched by Jackie Hinkson
On Tuesday 4th April 2006 at 6.30 p.m. at the National Museum POS, Jackie Hinkson will be launching a book entitled “And so we continue” on the series of paintings "Christ in Trinidad".

The series of paintings (also on display) "Christ in Trinidad" was begun some five to six years ago and consists of 14 paintings, each measuring approximately 6 x 10 feet. They appear to depict events from the life of Christ in a Trinidad context. The artist, however, insists that these are not religious paintings but rather the result of his reaction to the social, political and physical environment in which he lives. Other observers disagree and feel they are deeply or at least inescapably religious.

The range of reactions to the work will be reflected in the book and excerpts from the Press and from comments made at a panel discussion on the work will appear in the also. In addition to the full colour plates, details and preparatory drawings, the book will feature a scholarly essay on the history of the use of the Christ image in world Art and an essay by Pat Bishop on the biblical texts. A DVD and portfolios of prints of the series will also be presented for the first time.
Email Jackie Hinkson at Jackie@wow.net for more information

Rethinking Landscapes: Tessa Alexander at Horizons Gallery
Tessa Alexander's exhibition closes on April 1st, after opening on the 21st March 2006 at Horizons Gallery. This series of paintings which are inspired by local scenes, takes the viewer to spaces around Trinidad that are not necessarily noticed, perhaps because the spaces are taken for granted, inhabited by people on the fringes of society, or may simply be in a state of decay. These paintings encourage a rethinking of the concept of "landscape" but also question whether this is indeed the landscape we wish to see and condone in our society, while also appreciating those other spaces we take for granted.

* Review by Adele Todd

SACKS full of fun at the International School!
The International School of Port-of-Spain (ISPS) proudly presents its 2006 theatre production “June Groom”, a farce written by Rick Abbot and directed by Naima Thompson. The International School is a diverse community of learners striving to achieve a standard of excellence. As part of that community, The International Thespians of T&T strive to achieve the highest level of professionalism in their work. Over the past four years ISPS performances have included Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” and Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Both of these plays are commonly part of a secondary school syllabus.

This year’s play, while not as widely known among secondary schools, is an equally important theatrical experience for all. “June Groom” follows a man’s efforts to keep his marriage a secret in order to gain a large inheritance. The cast has worked on the elements of farcical theatre and the students look forward to showcasing their accomplishments. It has been a collective process with students operating in all facets of the theatre arts spectrum, from artistic theatre to technical theatre to the business of theatre.

Performances start Thursday 6th of April and Friday 7th at 7:00 p.m. There is also an open dress rehearsal on April 5th at 7:00 p.m., which students are welcome to attend at no cost. Please be advised that the play is rated PG13 and may be inappropriate for younger children. If you are interested in attending the free dress rehearsal or our performances, please contact their offices at 632 4592 for bookings and reservations. Tickets cost $35.

International
15th Biennale of Sydney
8 June - 27 August 2006

The 2006 Biennale of Sydney is organised around the conceptual framework Zones of Contact. It will include 85 artists and collaborations from 57 cities in 44 countries making it one of the most ambitious, daring and challenging Biennales ever. In 2006 the Biennale of Sydney will collaborate with arts organisations across Sydney, extending to more than 16 venues and sites.

Exciting new projects will be created for specific public sites and outdoor locations. A program of performances, public talks, symposia and workshops that will be held over the duration of the Biennale of Sydney. There is also an Australia-wide program involving galleries, art schools and organisations in a number of cities across Australia. Most events are free! More information


Triangle Workshops 2006
Vasl Pakistan 10 - 25 February
Big River Trinidad 1 - 12 March
RIAA, Residencia Internacional de Artistas Argentina, 7 - 22 March
Kuona Landscape Workshop Kenya 13 - 25 March
Theertha Sri Lanka 19 March - 2 April
Braziers UK 6 - 22 August
Wasanii Kenya 28 August - 9 September
St Petersburg Russia September
Triangle New York USA October
Khoj Kolkatta October

Education Programme

Kids Create
Tessa Alexander will re-introduce her art classes on May 6th 2006 for ages between 6 and 12 on Saturday Mornings at CCA7. They will run until the the end of June in the Education Space.

A second session/class will also be scheduled in response to the overwhelming demand. Each class costs $40 inclusive of materials, and Tessa is welcoming schools to use this as an outing for the children as the classes are two hours in duration from 10 am to 12 noon. Children will work with a different theme each week exploring a range of materials in 2D and 3D. The classes are also divided into two groups: 6-8 / 9-12 with a maximum of 10 children per group. Children will also benefit from open discussions on art and can coincide with existing exhibitions at the time. For more information please call Tessa directly at # 745 6816.

The Residency Programme at CCA7

Tamara Sanowar- Makhan shooting for STIGMA
Tamara Zeta Sanowar Makhan, a toronto based multi-media artist of Trinidadian heritage and last year resident at CCA, has returned to Trinidad to film the second segment of her feature film artumentary project, STIGMA. The film is a fusion of a Chacachacare based installation project and investigative documentary which addresses social stigmas faced by patients of contractual illness, specifically Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) and HIV/AIDS. She and her "dragon wagon" film crew have been travelling on back roads throughout the country interivewing subjects, and sampling local dishes in each town. This weekend, after an early morning agouti and corn
pick-up, the crew plans to head south to continue their film adventures...
Tamara's project is featured in the current issue of Caribbean Beat magazine (Art Beat section) viewable online.

Sophia Michahelles and Alex Kahn - see Exhibitions, Openings, Talks

Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood completed her residency at CCA on March 31st.
For an article on her work completed in Trinidad please view the following links:

• The Star Article: Using her unique art to Educate
• The Express Newspapers Article

Lara Dahlmann
German artist Lara Dahlmann Wanted to return to Trinidad after working here on her project "Crick Crack Monkey Break He Back" in 2000. She had also participated in "Ways of Working", a two-week Workshop hosted by CCA and led by Chris Cozier. Lara will be an artist-in-residence until mid-May. Working on large scale drawings when she was last here, Lara is translating these images into three dimensional objects. These objects/ characters are then combined with fabrics, found objects, and other materials in the urban enviroinment, which are then photographed as film stills, and later scanned and re-worked digitally to create a surreal and slightly disturbing atmosphere giving the characters life. Lara's talk will be in the first week of May.

Opportunities

Caribbean Media Arts
For more information and course outlines:
# 27 Jerningham Avenue, Belmont, Trinidad
tel 868 625 7752 or fax 868 624 5562
website
info@caribbeanmediarts.com

Art Director of Macmillan Caribbean visiting Trinidad
Joanne Johnson from The Society of Children's Book writers and illustrators is expecting a visit this year from Bob Swan, the art director of Macmillan Caribbean. He will be scouting for new talent : illustrators/ graphic artists/ photographers. The SCBWI is hoping to host a seminar with him so that he can talk to artists and writers about this aspect of books and publishing.
Please register your interest by email and / or attending their monthly meetings.
www.scbwi.org and www.caribbeanchildren.com
Email joanne@caribbeanchildren.com for further information

Jan van Eyck Academie call for applications
Post-academic Institute for Research and Production : Fine Art, Design, Theory
Deadline: 15 April 2006
Application procedure

Artists, designers and theoreticians are invited to submit research and production proposals to become a researcher at the Jan van Eyck Academie. Candidates can either apply with a topic of their own or for a project formulated by the institute itself. In order to realise these projects, the Jan van Eyck offers the necessary made-to-measure artistic, technical and auxiliary preconditions.

UNESCO-Aschberg residencies 2006/2007
The UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists programme supports international fellowships in arts disciplines, and has just published the programme of available fellowships for 2006/2007. In the field of the visual arts, residencies can last between 1 and 24 months and are offered in 18 countries worldwide. Deadline for applications: variable
For more information

Network News

big River ₃ International Artists Workshop
CCA would like to thank all artists who participated on the Workshop as well as the working group. All our sponsors, supporters and individuals who helped to make this happen, we are truly grateful.

CCA is currently working towards the documenting, archiving, and the distribution of the Workshop’s process through a catalogue and a documentary, which will be produced in time. Soon a webpage like this one will be available solely dedicated to the Workshop with statements and postings from the artists, pictures, and reviews.

big River ₃ was a three–week experience with 6 days in the streets of Port of Spain (Carnival), ten days at the Aripo Cottage in Aripo Heights, closing with a public discussion and a show at The Little Carib Theatre. The entire three weeks were part of a process that is still unraveling today; a process that allowed the artists to experiment with form and method, immersing themselves totally in an experience of intense cultural and artistic exchange.

Nightly there were artist talks and presentations after dinner, and frequent informal discussions occurred daily. The theme ACCESS DENIED was always discussed either through constant ‘talk’ or starting as a creative play on words through poetry writing, spontaneous verse, and song. This then led to collaborations between artists, who were encouraged to ‘free up’ their practice and explore new avenues for expression. Naima Thompson recorded her first soundtrack on the theme with music from Corey Wallace, who through his musical collaborations encouraged other artists to create new work through video installation, dance, or other forms of performance.

One example is Marlon Griffith who drew with chalk for nine minutes on the black wall of the theatre. There is loud sound full of static and a warped voice. This voice representing his father’s is challenging his choice to be an artist…”So you think you’s a boss….”, trying to discourage him from drawing further. At the end, the crackle of sound breaks to a clear “ah so you listening to me now” followed by eerie silence. As Marlon stopped to listen to the torturous chant he lost the connection. A refrain from Gabby Hosein’s video “ And who tell you, you could draw the line…you say I must draw the line,” encapsulates the Workshop’s premise: To say something! To protest…to vie for change.

Mauricio Ianes sat nude with glitter streaming onto his head, into his mouth and his nose, repeating the words ” unthinkable, unspeakable….” Hamlet Cordovi sat crouched above the stage cloaked in a white sheet watching the stage performances as a performer himself but still in the shadows. They speak of exclusion and intolerance to difference, and are visually lashing out against the hierarchies of power and breaches of personal, social and political freedoms in society. Mohammed Muwakil used his fiery oral poetry to remind us that this denial of access is perpetuated by our silence or indifference which hinders real change.

Akuzuru clad in brown paper crept out of her 'cocoon' and shuffled onto stage, her movements doubled with the unsettling audio and grim imagery silenced the audience as the metaphorical creature or representation of a displaced person reverted back into its hiding place. The cocoon swallows the willing figure who could not find a welcoming space outside it.

This is just a glimpse into the Final Show and the overall Workshop, which presented a seamless string of ten to twenty-minute performances, and the theme which fuelled its processes. This group of artists showed remarkable harmony and collaborative effort, and their voices were loud and clear. Hopefully it is still unravelling and we will remember to Say something!!

For Pictures by Georgia Popplewell
For article on Global Voices
For article in The Guardian Newspapers


Dragon: Marlon Griffith’s Mas Band wins Mini Band Title 2006
Dragon was the childrens’ presentation for 2006 carnival, designed and produced by Marlon Griffith for the Mucurapo laboratory centre of St James. The band was very successful this year in it’s endeavours, claiming seven of the titles in the mini band category including Mini band of the year (school and open).

The emphasis of the presentation was on the current state of the society and was represented in the form of a dragon band, where each section represented an element or crisis in the society.
The dragon mask was used to accentuate these elements as the dragon himself is tormented and probed by the phalanx of imps which surround him. A major focus of the band is education of the environment so costumes are designed around the use of cardboard and other recycled materials for its production. Marlon Griffith recently participated in an International Residency in Japan and in CCA’s big River 3 International Artists’ Workshop.

Ninth Biennial of Havana
The 9th Biennial of Havana takes place from March 27 – April 27, 2006, under the motto Dynamics of Urban Culture. About one hundred artists from Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Canada will participate.

The 9th Biennial of Havana calls attention on contemporary visual culture, which owes plenty to the pre-eminence of popular components in the urban scenario; architecture, for example, with its values and re-appropriations, as well as the compendium of graphic elements that turns this relationship into a complex warp, coherent or chaotic in certain cases, but undoubtedly indispensable in the everyday life panorama. The 9th Biennial of Havana aspires to involve cultural, education, scientific, and social institutions in order to accommodate its structure to the demands of contemporary life and should result in true benefit for the social and cultural development of the city that serves as its scenery.

There will be exhibitions of Cuban art in galleries of Havana. The venues for the Biennial comprise the La Cabaña Military-Historical Complex, the Cuba Pavilion, the “Wifredo Lam” Contemporary Art Centre, and the Centre for the Development of Visual Arts, the Fototeca de Cuba, and other important places in the city. The theoretical event foresees the participation of critics and curators. It will give special importance to the artists’ participation.
For more information

“CHUTNEY JAM”
Trinidadian Artist Dean Arlen in Art Show in Cape Town
This Show was at Artscape from March 17th to March 20th 2006.

Chutney Jam was an eclectic collection of works by 6 artists from around the globe and South Africa. Their work dissected social, political and personal boundaries of this new South Africa from their own personal, cultural, geographical and artistic knowledge.

The title of the exhibition came from the fusion of different crushed ingredients mixed together, known as Chutney. This delicious provision is most often served as an accompaniment to eastern cuisine and can be both spicy and sweet. Chutney Jam is reflective of a diversity of cultures coming together to provide a unique flavour. One that hopes to be both spicy and sweet. The artists of the exhibition had been working at Greatmore Art Studios for 3 months. Each have had their own studio space in which to produce their work and have, as part of the residency, interacted with each other, the community and other local artists.

Dean Arlen is from Trinidad and Tobago and is an artist and sculptor. The work he has been creating in Cape Town is about exploring the socio political environment. It is his response to what he has confronted as he has navigated his way through Cape Town. Much of the work will be called street drawings (urban marks).
Tel: 021 447 9699 www.greatmoreart.com


'Omega' filmed in Trinidad, to be shown at Biennial in Limerick
Omega (2004) , a video produced by former CCA Artist-in Residence, Phil Coy (UK), has been selected for the ev+a 2006, 30th ANNUAL, 6th BIENNIAL EXHIBITION OF VISUAL ART in Limerick, Ireland thus receiving its first formal airing.

In 2004 Phil Coy received a British Council International Artist Fellowship to work with Germain Wilson of The Lydian Singers, and a decommissioned Omega Tracking Station in Trinidad. While here, Phil Coy participated in a six-week Residency programme with Luis Insfran from Paraguay.

Omega was filmed in a redundant Omega tracking Station in Chaguaramas, Trinidad. In 1977 the site was abandoned following the end of America’s 36 year occupation of Chaguaramas. The video features Germain Wilson, a Soprano from The Lydian Singers.
For more information on the biennial

CCA7

Contact us
Phone: 625 1889 / 6805
Fax: 624 0695
Email: mail@cca7.org

Building 7
Fernandes Industrial Centre
Eastern Main Road
Laventille

If you are interested in applying for an exhibition or for the leasing of a studio space at CCA please contact Alicia Guevara at aguevara@cca7.org. If you need more information on the International Residency program or the newsletter please contact Jaime Lee Loy at jaimelee@cca7.org

Our Staff
Charlotte Elias - Director
Alicia Guevera - Operations Manager
Jaime Lee Loy - Residency Coordinator
Karen Kennedy - Education Programme Facilitator
Laurenta Glasgow - Accountant
Annabelle Ove - Exhibition Coordinator for the Peter Minshall Project

Studios at CCA
1 Rachel Rochford
3 Tessa Alexander
5 Alex Khan and Sophia Michelles
6 Lara Dahlmann
8 Che Lovelace
9 Chris Ofili
10 Keith Valere-Grimes
11 Jasmine Thomas – Girvan
12 Alex Smailes, Gareth Jenkins, Sam Clement

Peter Doig and The Cropper Foundation are also in the building

Facilities at CCA
CCA7 occupies 19,000 square feet of urban industrial space which includes: twelve artists' studios, one exhibition space, an Education programme facility, lecture and meeting facilities, a climate controlled archive and a library as well as CCA's information centre and offices. Resident artists have the option to use these facilities to inform their work as well as meet with the Programme's local and international visitors: artists, curators, students, collectors, journalists, writers, and critics.

Our library is open to the public. It is the largest Art library in Trinidad. Persons interested in using the library can call the office or they can come during the hours of 8 30 am and 4 30 pm. The books are meant to be read in the library space. Books are not allowed to leave the library.

Studio Film Club at CCA7
Studio Film Club is run by Peter Doig and Che Lovelace on Thursdays starting from 8 15pm. The film club is hosted at the ‘backspace' and all films are free and open to the public. If you are interested in joining the mailing list please direct your e-mail to studiofilm@wow.net

Links
* La Llama, Venezuela
* The Triangle Arts Trust
* Bag Factory, South Africa (JHB)
* Gasworks, UK
* Braziers, UK
* Trinidiary
* The Bookmann
* Small Axe

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an email to mail@cca7.org and you will be removed from, or added to the mailing list. This newsletter is created by Jaime Lee Loy.

© Copyright Caribbean Contemporary Arts 2005 - 2006
The information in this newsletter including all pictures shall in no way be copied or facilitated for use without the permission of Caribbean Contemporary Arts.