In remembrance of a special arts educator Sandra Illingworth-Adderley touched the lives of many

On February 21, the Bahamian art community lost one of its brightest stars with the passing of art teacher Sandra Illingworth-Adderley. At the time of her death, Illingworth was in her eighth year at Lyford Cay International School (LCIS). Before that, she had served 40-plus years teaching at Lincoln Primary School, A. F. Adderley Junior High School, S. C. McPherson Junior High School, C. V. Bethel Senior High School and part-time at the College of The Bahamas.

For the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB), she was a familiar face. She scheduled regular trips for her students, who showed up enthusiastically and prepared. She equipped them with foundational knowledge and encouraged them to apply their studies to the gallery explorations. Though the trip would be led by a tour guide, Illingworth would usually take her time; ‘Ms. Illi’, as she was affectionately known at LCIS, would be called over to examine respective pieces with individual students, encouraging constructive exchanges among them.

She was instrumental in the lives and artistic development of some of the NAGB’s staff members. Jackson Petit and Darchell Henderson were touched by her influence as young students.

Chairman of the NAGB Stan Burnside, too, knew her commitment.

“She was one of the nicest, kindest human beings I’ve ever met,” he said. “She was a superstar art educator who was devoted to the development of her students, and many of them have gone on to do great things.”

Jackson Petit, NAGB digital media administrator and installation technician, remembers Illingworth well from his junior and senior high school years. They first met when he was in eighth grade at A. F. Adderley. Convinced that he had potential, she encouraged him to enter the FINCO Summer Art Workshop. He followed her advice, and they crossed paths a few years later at C. V. Bethel, where she taught him from 1998 to 2001.

Petit went on to become a regular winner of the Central Bank art competitions. His work has made him an established and respected member of the visual arts community, and touches on issues like heritage, ancestral roots and belonging.

“I remember all of those wonderful days of doing art classes at C.V. Bethel. I cherish the memory of all the weekends of extra attention she gave to nurturing my talent,” said Petit. “They were such beautiful days of creativity and laughter. Ms. Illingworth was a woman full of life. Anyone who knew her would say that she had a wicked sense of humor and a heart of pure gold. As a teacher, she took vested interest in the artists that her students would become. This was important. However, she also encouraged us to be the best human beings that we are supposed to be. I will miss her dearly.”

Darchell Henderson, registrar and assistant education officer, knew Illingworth-Adderley from her previous work at LCIS.

“Ms. Illi was an amazing woman. She was always full of energy, telling jokes and encouraging students and friends to be the best they could be,” said Henderson. 

“I can still hear her saying ‘Ya ma!’ as she walked passed, mocking me waddle while I was pregnant. She was so proud of me when I started working at the NAGB. She always made all my problems seem small and always told me never stop striving to reach my goals because she saw what great potential I have.

“It saddens that she is gone, but I hold onto the memories we made and the laughs we shared. She was a great mentor and I hope one day I can touch lives the way she has.” 

            Her colleagues, students and friends at Lyford Cay International School are in deep mourning for her loss.

“Mrs. Sandra Illingworth-Adderley was a very caring, generous and devoted teacher and friend to many. She was more than an art teacher to her students; she was a mentor, confidant and role model,” said Judy Reiach, guidance counselor at Lyford Cay International School. “Ms. Illi pushed her students to go beyond that which they believed they were capable of achieving. She developed in them character, confidence and skills that will stay with them for life. Ms. Illi’s humor and laughter were contagious. She is greatly missed. There is a feeling of sadness over our campus at this time. She was a very special person who touched all of us.”

            The NAGB sends its condolences to Sandra Illingworth-Adderley’s friends; family, particularly her husband, Richard, and daughter, Sarah; colleagues and students. She will be remembered as one of the institution’s most treasured visitors and art educators.

‘Build and Battle’ at TS2016

New Providence Art & Antiques (NPAA) returns to Transforming Spaces this year presenting “Build and Battle”. The title is inspired by popular terminology in Junkanoo shacks signifying creation and process. Jay Koment, director of NPAA, drew from his experience with the Genesis Junkanoo Organization over the past year; he recognized that Junkanoo would be a perfect match for this year’s theme: Swell: Collaboration and Community.

Three builder-artists from the Genesis Junkanoo organization, Doyle Rolle, Gino Rolle and Juan Cartwright, will transform Popop Studio’s outdoor space into one where fine art and Junkanoo communities can meet on common ground. Cartwright and Gino Rolle will create two main pieces – a pair of male and female figures, each about 15 feet tall. Doyle Rolle will construct a costume of repurposed plastic water bottles. On Wednesday, March 9, the Popop opening night, visitors will also be treated to other costumes on display and a ‘rush-out’ performed by Genesis at 8 p.m. The hope is that Transforming Spaces patrons will be able to gain further insight into the Junkanoo creative process.

Transforming Spaces tickets are now on sale for $35 (regular admission) and $100 (VIP). They can be purchased from the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Bahama Handprints, Doongalik and Hillside House.

Second Wood Artists’ Exhibition “Growth” To Open At Doongalik Studios

“Growth” the second group exhibition of works by wood artists Jeremy Delancy, David McGorrin, and Robin Hardy will open at Doongalik Studios on Sunday, February 28 from 3-6pm.

Inspired by the success of their “From Within” Exhibition last year, the artists have come together once again to showcase their fascination with this medium with a presentation of beautifully turned Bahamian wood items that can be functional, decorative or fanciful.

Delancy stated, “The name of our show is not only about the local woods that we use but also about our own growth as humans and as artists. Wood is an artistic medium unlike any other. In its grain we can see the forces of life, change, and adaptation that are at work all around us. As always the wood used is this show came from trees that were downed in storms or that were cut because they were ‘in the way’ of development. While most of the artwork will have been turned on a lathe, other processes such as dying, burning and staining have been used to make each piece unique and worthy of any art collection. Turning wood is a fascinating process and although you might start your piece with a particular end result in mind, the wood sometimes takes on a life of its own and might well turn into something completely different!”

Popular wood artist, Robin Hardy, will be set up daily on site with this lathe from the second week of the Exhibition to demonstrate the wood turning process, to instruct interested persons in how to turn their own pen, as well as showing them the difference of the various woods! This was a well-attended added feature at last year’s exhibition. The Exhibition will be on display until Wednesday, March 16.

For more information please contact the Gallery at 394-1886. Gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday from 10am – 4pm and Saturdays from 9am – 1pm.

Travis Cartwright-Carroll makes playwriting debut

Travis Cartwright-Carroll is used to writing about death. He should be – he’s a reporter at The Nassau Guardian, and, unfortunately, there have been plenty of murders to report. But in his spare time, he’s been writing about loss in a different way and for another kind of audience. “The Melancholy of Suzanna Turnquest” is Cartwright-Carroll’s first play, and it will be performed at The Dundas Centre for Performing Arts next month.

Cartwright-Carroll is a stranger to neither theatre nor fiction. He was an English major at the College of The Bahamas before joining the Nassau Guardian team in 2011. It was during those years that he met Dr. Nicolette Bethel, who had started up the Shakespeare in Paradise Theatre Festival in 2009.

Cartwright-Carroll helped with the production of the festival’s first Shakespeare play, “The Tempest”. Working with Bethel, he modernized the script, adding the recognized Bahamian flavor that has become a staple of the festival.

“The next year we did a ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’, and that time I had a speaking part and played Thisbe. At that point, I was still at COB and was falling more and more in love with theatre,” he said.

It was then he drafted the script that would later take shape and become “The Melancholy of Suzanna Turnquest”.

“All of my courses were writing intensive. When I started at The Guardian, the first thing I learned was your writing has to be concise, to the point,” recalled Cartwright-Carroll.

He added: “Writing scripts is another level because you’re tapping into your creative side and you’re trying to be original and thoughtful, and it’s harder because there’s no template for that, really.”

The play is a single-act drama about the death of a family patriarch. After her father dies, the protagonist, Suzanna Turnquest, returns to New Providence after spending 16 years abroad and struggles as she becomes reacquainted with family members. The production will be performed March 17-20 in the black box theatre at The Dundas and is being directed by Bethel. It will be followed by another one-act play written by Stephen Hanna.

It was Bethel’s idea to perform the play this year. In the summer of 2015 she invited Cartwright-Carroll and Hanna to read their works at a playwriting workshop. It was the fact that someone else would be interested in seeing his script performed that encouraged Cartwright-Carroll.

“When you’re writing, you’re in a bubble and you’re the person you’re writing for. When you’re in this context, where I have somebody who is interested [in my work], I find myself thinking about how other people would perceive it. I was not just writing for them, but I questioned whether it made sense and would be something I could be proud of,” said the playwright.

A former theatre critic, Cartwright-Carroll had made it a point to view local productions and publish his reviews online via a blog. In so doing he learned much about the challenges faced in the performance industry here.

“It was a good way to learn about our local theatre and the pitfalls that people face here,” he explained. “All of that helped me with my writing, because I saw some really bad plays. When you’re writing for yourself and you’re in that bubble, it can sometimes be hard to take a step back.”

Fascinated by actors’ interpretations of his script, he has become involved in each part of the production process. This, he believes, is most fulfilling and what sets playwriting apart from other kinds of scriptwriting.

“It’s very hard for writers to get their credit, and I’ve always been a writer,” he said. “I just want to write. All the other stuff is fine, but for me, that’s the best part. And what I love about theatre is the involvement you can have as a writer. There’s a certain fulfillment in that.”