"Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."-Pablo Picasso
As the summer winds down, school bags begin to be packed and the camper's paint at NAGB grounds begin to dry. This past summer with-held the very first art camp, with camp coordinator, Jordia Benjamin, directors, Allan P. Wallace and John Cox, and interns, Dyah Neilson, Ashante Pratt, and Gem Roberts.
Camp was nothing short of fun filled events and education disguised as entertainment. The campers began their first week by firstly being educated on the artists and pieces in the NAGB's exhibitions (Master Artists and Artists of the Bahamas), then by designing and painting the mural on the NAGB Annex walls whilst being overseen and guided by artist Allan P. Wallace. The campers learnt the art of large scale painting and began to awe at the compilation of their various designs into one unified piece. The campers also were able to attend Coffee Hour at Antonius Roberts' Hillside House and view various artists' pieces. As the first week wound down, campers were accompanied by attendees of FINCO's Art Workshop and created their own personal abstract paintings. To this day, the mural done by campers and Allan P. Wallace is displayed on NAGB grounds as a recollection of their time spent and visitors are able to view the evidence of their artistic work.
The second week of camp directed by artist John Cox was around the art of Printmaking. Campers were able to visit Bahama Handprints to view and become enlightened in the printmaking process from start to finish before starting this process themselves. They also attended The Festival of The Trees, ran by BahaMar interns, members of the staff and artists such as Antonius Roberts and John Cox themselves, where they observed the hanging of conch shells on the wood carved tree on the cable beach strip. In the duration of the week, campers took part in the printmaking process by creating their own designs by paper cut outs, whilst keeping in mind the terms and guidelines learnt. They also did wood carvings, to create various prints, like that of artist Maxwell Taylor, who also paid the campers a visit. Popopstudios was the venue of printmaking for the remainder of the week. Here, campers were able to print their carved blocks, leaves, and t-shirts which they were able to leave camp by becoming familiar with actual printmaking methods and tools. Overall, instructors and campers grew bonds and grew artistically, making this summer experience, needless to say, a memorable one.
-L. Gem Roberts
(intern)