CCA's Contemporary Season

Amidst Carifesta celebrations is an influx of regional and international, visiting artists, writers, curators and critics to Trinidad. It is an opportune time for our country, our people, and the wider region, to indulge our creativity, further enabling a discourse that can positively and objectively critique issues of culture and art in the Caribbean context.

CCA will be hosting an exhibition of photographs by local photographer Abigail Hadeed, an open video screening by artists in and of the Caribbean, welcoming three regional artists to the residency programme this month, and actively supporting the launch of GALVANIZE.

Please see GALVANIZE’s webpage by selecting this link and read more about it below. it is updated frequently so keep it in your links list!

CCA news for September:

• Trees Without Roots – Exhibition of Photographs by Abigail Hadeed
• Visibly Absent – Nine exhibitions under the Galvanize initiative
• Three visiting artists from Cuba and Puerto Rico
• Banana Monologues: Local residency artist Sabrina Charran


‘Trees without Roots – The Caribbean and Central America’.
















Canal Crossroads

The exhibition opens on September 7th at 6pm in the Inter Americas space, and will continue until Thursday September 28th. A catalogue of Trees Without Roots will be on sale at CCA7 and at select bookstores.

Abigail describes this work as ‘seeking to address the historical exclusion of Afro-Caribbean people who claim a local and collective specificity within Central America; ‘My photographic narrative attempts to chronicle the impact of isolation and transition on these generations of black West Indians. Theirs is a courageous story of determination and Grace in making a life for themselves and for their children born out of a traumatic displacement.’

Abigail refers to the history of the West Indies and Central America as ‘a complex story of slavery, migration, mercantilism, trade, transportation, and transmigration; My artistic commitment strives to root the latent personal story of Afro-Caribbean people merging with Hispanic culture and traditions. In Limón, one finds Caribbean culture at the crossroads of a painful past and an uncertain future, as a vanishing part of the region’s heritage gives way to new and pluralistic genealogy. Historic migration demarcates the deteriorating cityscape of Colón, an international thoroughfare that continues to undergo challenging transformation.’

And she shares, ‘While working voluntarily in Limon and Colon, St. Lucia and Dominica, I was fortunate enough to build trusting relationships with many admirable people. I wish to put a face to what history has denied. I would like my photographic work to further increase and strengthen cultural understanding between peoples, and expose existing hardships to the attention of regional and international governments and organisations.’

The gallery is open Tuesdays to Fridays: 12 to 5pm, Thursdays 12 to 8pm, and Saturdays 10 to 5pm. All are welcome.


We welcome:

Regional Artists on the Residency Programme:
Celia González Álvarez and Yunior Aguiar Perdomo (CUBA)
Chemi Rosado Seijo (Puerto Rico)


Galvanize: Visibly Absent




















Bruce Cayone, Galvanize 1.1,
emulsion paint on cardboard (2006)

http://projectgalvanize.com Updates will continuosly be posted to this blog.

Galvanize is a six-week contemporary Arts Programme situated throughout Port of Spain from the 14th of September to the 26th of October, 2006.

We invite you to the launch party of Galvanize 1.1, the first of a three part programme, at CCA7, Thursday the 14th September, 2006 at 7pm.

Please keep viewing their blog as more information for future dates will be posted, and exact times etc for these exhibitions. The second component will launch on the 28th September.......


VISIBLY ABSENT: Artists' Interventions - 15th to 27th September - first three

Gerard Gaskin: A Walk in the Park - www.gerardhgaskin.com
Venue: Tattoo Farm, Long Circular Road, St James

Friday 15th September - Wednesday 27th September

Jaime Lee Loy: Unease: An Eight Step Programme
Venue: Alice Yard, 80 Roberts Street, Woodbrook - jaimeleeloy.blogspot.com

Friday 15th : 5 to 8 pm
Saturday 16th: 11am to 6pm
Friday 22nd: 4 to 8pm
Saturday 23rd: 11am to 6pm

Sabrina Charran: Banana Monologues
Venue: East-West Corridor: St James: Woodbrook - projectgalvanize.blogspot.com

Friday 15th September to Wednesday the 27th September

OPEN SCREENING: new video works by artists in and of the Caribbean
Venue: The Art Room, CCA7

Conversation: The Visual Arts Enviroinment: 20 Years After
discussion of the pioneering 1980's artists-led initiative
Thursday 21st September, 2006, 6.30pm

Venue: InterAmericas Space CCA7
Participants: Courtney Martin, Steve Ouditt, Edward Bowen, Mario Lewis

Sabrina Charran has been a local artist-in-residence at CCA for the past two and a half months.
She is using her residency to work on her project for GALVANIZE, entitled Banana Monologues.
















Neurotic Banana

BANANA MONOLOGUES is a body of work comprising installation, posters and
photography. Through a combination of graphic illustrations, found objects and Polaroid pictures, it develops a narrative based on neurotic bananas speaking up from a capitalist 'bananaist' standpoint against their oppressor – the artist. The subjects, the bananas, voice their opinions about their subjection to the artist's still life paintings and their exploitation in the local art market. In their protests, the bananas are depicted with expiry dates, others claiming that 'ART has gone BANANAS'. It is a satirical work, which aims to appeal to a general audience.

Banana Monologues is also part of the Galvanize project, 'Visibly Absent', which launches in September 2006.

Past Residency Artists:

Stary Mwaba and Brendan Fernandes have recently left CCA. For more information on their work please see last month’s newsletter.

Stary Mwaba and Nicola Cross hosted a workshop at CCA7 on 29th July and 5th August, 2006 with youth members from Sophia House and Rainbow Rescue.
The workshop is a collaboration of CCA7 and The Akiel Chambers' Memorial Programme of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Brendan’s Artist Talk was very successful with a participating audience. He is currently working on a video he started while on residency at CCA.
















Brendan at his artist talk.


© 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.

Newsletter edited by Jaime Lee Loy