The Waterloo Center for the Arts will be hosting an exhibition and symposium featuring the Master Artists of the Bahamas. The exhibition opens on October 14, 2011.

Guests will have a chance to meet the artists and learn from them and other scholarly presenters during the exhibition opening and 2-day symposium.

Experience Bahamian life and culture through the art of the country’s leading artists. From intuitive to trained, the Master Artists of the Bahamas‘ works range from easel paintings to mixed media installations and environments.

Featured in this exhibition and symposium are artists Amos Ferguson, Kendal Hanna, Max Taylor, Brent Malone, Dave Smith, Eddie Minnis, Stan Burnside, Jackson Burnside, Antonius Roberts, John Beadle and John Cox.

John Cox is the founder of Popopstudios and Kendal Hanna is a long-standing resident of the Popop art community. View their work displayed in this exhibition. Both will be travelling to Iowa to be present at the opening reception and symposium.

The Artists of the Bahamas exhibition and symposium are based on a film of the same title which highlights the Bahamas’ most celebrated art makers – artists whose dynamic and distinctive creative work is perhaps not as well recognized within the U.S as it could or should be.

Through this art, we can get a glimpse into the rich texture of Bahamian life and culture which exists beyond the beaches. This project, initiated by the Waterloo Center for the Arts (WCA) in cooperation with filmmaker Karen Arthur and The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, seeks to raise the profile of Bahamian art, bringing the work of Bahamian art to new audiences.

Symposium
October 14 & 15, 2011

During the 2-day symposium master artists featured in the exhibition will be on hand to discuss their individual work as well as its socio-political context. Artist/musician Eddie Minnis will present a rare performance and the acclaimed Ruppapumpum will delight all with the distinctive sounds of the Junkanoo celebration.

The event will also feature premiere screenings of films exploring and documenting the work of Bahamian artists and the award-winning filmmakers behind them, Karen Arthur and Thomas Neuwirth, will provide background and discussion.

Click image above to view Artists of the Bahamas video