The National Art Gallery of The
Bahamas (NAGB) has recently welcomed onboard three new team members to complete
its crew. In the midst of preparing for the upcoming Brent Malone
retrospective, which will feature over 260 works by the late legendary artist,
Richardo Barrett, Darchell Henderson and Christina Wong have jumped in to help
behind the scenes.
Barrett is the NAGB’s new
assistant curator and has already proved his capacity in more than one way.
Barrett completed his associate degree in art at the College of The Bahamas and
was part of The Current, the art team at mega resort Baha Mar. Since joining
the NAGB, his duties have focused on getting the gallery’s archive in tip-top
shape to manage its collection in accordance with best practices. He has also
gotten his feet wet – quite possibly literally – in installing the most recent
iteration of the Double Dutch project, engaging Bahamian artist John Cox and
Jamaican artist Charles Campbell.
This
version, titled "Calendar of Conditioning" features Cox's "123/76"
and Campbell's "Transformer 8". Cox's piece is a continuation of his
"Filler" series. "123/76" incorporates the inner tubes
of bicycle tires suspended in an octagon-shaped ring.
Campbell's piece, titled “Transformer 8”, is a part of
the artist’s “Transformer” series of works and features an aluminum sphere
floating in the center of a pool of black liquid, which is surrounded a by a
prohibitive white border. The sphere is a nod to Geodesic Dome designer
Buckminster Fuller, who was known for his theories of utopia and hope that his
architectural visions could be instrumental in improving the quality of human
life.
Barrett and Curatorial Assistant Natalie Willis were
responsible for receiving the dome in parts, putting it together and installing
it before filling the pool.
His major project, though, has been working on the Brent
Malone retrospective exhibition, which opens on October 24 and will feature
more than 250 works by the late artist. This, he believes, has been the most
exciting part of his orientation.
“I would definitely say seeing some very rare Brent Malones
has been the best part so far,” he said.
Darchell Henderson is looking forward to leaving her mark on
the NAGB. The new registrar and education assistant joins the NAGB from her
former post with Lyford Cay International School, where she worked as a duty
assistant and substitute art teacher.
At the gallery, she has taken charge of membership and has
already jazzed up the gallery’s membership drive with new options and
offerings.
“I didn’t want it to be the kind of thing where you sign up
and nothing happens,” she said. “I want to encourage those who are members to
stay members and I want to encourage those who aren’t members to become
members.”
Henderson is also elbow-deep in plans for the NAGB Mixed
Media Shop. An artist herself, she has engaged her design skills in creating
plans for the store’s upcoming facelift.
“The store is the first place our guests see, so I
wanted that to be a statement. It is an historic building, but we also want it
to have a modern feel.”
Henderson looks forward to using
her position at the gallery to find out more about running a gallery, as she
sees a future as being one of the few female Bahamian gallerists.
Christina Wong earned a place at the
NAGB table in May when she helped deinstall the Seventh National Exhibition in
May 2015. Since then, she has helped install the subsequent Central Bank
exhibition and worked as head volunteer of the NAGB Mixed Media Summer Camp.
She is now a part-time gallery assistant and curatorial advisor – a post she
juggles along with art studies at COB. She now works under the direction of
NAGB Chief Curator Holly Bynoe on the gallery curatorial team. She hopes to
pursue an advanced degree in curatorial studies in future.
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