Exhibitions

Previous Exhibition

Grandeur

Is the magnificence of life often found within the tiny fleeting moments? In the places where we choose to be enthralled by the earth, and present for each other? How do we navigate the big dramatic moments and milestones while listening to the small still voice within?

These questions arise as part of an art conversation sparked between friends, collaborators in art, and longtime community members uplifting the island of Grand Bahama. With works by artists Chantal Bethel, Claudette Dean, Paula Boyd Farrington, and Laurie Tuchel, the exhibit showcases interpretations of questions more relevant than ever as the world grapples with shifts in energy and spiritual consciousness. In times which call for urgent planetary care alongside empathy and compassion as valued components in forging viable new paths for our collective humanity, these four Grand Bahama artists look to each other, as well as to their beloved island (which has withstood so much) in shining a light of inspiration, solidarity, and personal creative expression.

SOLARIS

Welcome aboard our space station, where art and astronomy unite in a breathtaking journey. Each artwork is not just a representation of the universe; it is a deeply personal exploration of the vast unknown by the artist. These pieces serve as portals, inviting you to transcend the familiar and immerse yourself in the awe and wonder of space as envisioned by each creator.

In this unique exhibition, "We Sent Our Artists to Space," the cosmos becomes a canvas. Inspired by their cultural heritage, the artists transform the enormity of the universe into grounded expressions that resonate with our earthly experiences. Each creation reflects their interpretations of the cosmos and nebulae, capturing what space means to them.

We transformed the gallery into a space shuttle, embarking on an imaginative journey where creativity knows no bounds. Here, each artwork resonates with the infinite possibilities of the universe.

Resilient

I seek to engage in the preservation of history, traditions, and indigenous materials that are woven into the fabric of our story. - Antonius Roberts

We are delighted to announce our first solo exhibition with Bahamian artist, Antonius Roberts OBE. Roberts is a mixed media artist, primarily known for his work with wood sculpture and installation, and for conceptualising and running collective and socially engaged art projects. His practice reflects on ecology, black portraiture and self-expression as a method of de-colonization. In this exhibition, Roberts will unveil sculptures made with found and felled silk-cotton, madeira, logwood, lignum vitae and woman’s-tongue. He carves into the trees or logs to find and draw-out figurative characteristics and then uses the dust and remnants created through the activity of carving to create large-scale, expressive drawings.

Roberts’ interest in ecology is communicated through his careful handling of material; before making any marks or cuts, the origin of finding or being gifted the wood becomes integrated into the artwork’s narrative. When Roberts was given material from a wrecked Haitian Sloop, he conceptualised an artwork entitled Ceremonial stools in honour of Haitians that have died while attempting to cross the ocean. The installation is quiet but monumental: 5 bare and simple stools hang on the wall in a row. Ceremonial Stools, like all of Roberts’ sculptures, are carefully and minimally reworked, resulting in artworks that hang in-balance between living tree and sculpture. Bodies and objects emerge from the wood at certain angles and retreat at others. When confronting his works for the first time, you might find yourself, as I did, engaging in a kind of lunar pareidolia (seeking the man in the moon), wondering out loud, “is this a Chickcharney? Is this a thumb or a hand?”. The glimpses of something recognizable recall the experience of seeing an apparition or spirit in the corner of your eye- but the tangible and weighted nature of the material settles your mind on an effigy or a monument.

Using fire and the saw-dust left-over from carving, Roberts conjured a series of expressive drawings that compliment the sculptures. The energetic marks are not there to form a picture, but to recall the presence and movement of the artist: “I am here” he says. The rhythmical shapes record Roberts making large movements with his arms and shoulders across the paper in a fluid dance. The wood dust reminds us of the physical efforts it takes to carve the wood; and brings us back to the cycles of growth and death. Through this method of making and seeing, Roberts’ work hangs in a balance between the corporeal and immaterial, somatic and intangible.

When you zoom back from a single artwork, you can see that Roberts’ practice as a whole is also a balance between two things: making objects and conceptualizing larger community changes. When reflecting on his recent work he writes “I am dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the places and traditions that define us as a people”. Both of these efforts in decolonization have seen new generations of Bahamian artists grow and benefit from Roberts’ ideas. A few of the notable projects that have had ripple effects include Roberts’ participation in the collaborative project “Jammin”, in which he and three other Bahamian artists Stan Burnside, Jackson Burnside III, and John Beadle painted collaboratively to create an entirely new Bahamian style of painting that drew inspiration from black and African references; Roberts’ on-going project called Sacred Spaces for which he creates installations from local felled wood to remediate under and dis-used spaces; and most recently I.C.E (Incubator for Collaborative Expression), an old ice factory that Roberts’ regenerated into a community project that houses studios, residencies and vegetable gardens and many other initiatives. Roberts’ practice is diverse and complex, comparable to that of American artist Theaster Gates, it encompasses the making of artworks as well as community concepts and projects.

Resilient brings together works made over ten years, with the majority of works made in a flurry of activity in the past year following two major life and career events: Robert’s first retrospective exhibition, a solo at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) curated by Krista Thompson and a life-changing trip to Southern Africa. Having had the chance to see his own work on-mass at the NAGB and then make a spiritual pilgrimage, Robert’s practice is clarified and energised. When reflecting on the breadth of his practice, I see Roberts incredible resilience to find a meaningful and complex practice within our small landscape. I also see the power in his slow and steady growth away from a Euro-centric language, towards an indigenous one. This body of work is even more embedded in the ecology of our landscape and appears to be just the beginning of an even deeper commitment to these concerns.

We look forward to sharing this beautiful new body of work with you.

AS WE ARE

The D'Aguilar Art Foundation proudly presents As We Are, a compelling street photography exhibition curated to showcase the collective spirit from diverse walks of life in Nassau, The Bahamas. Featuring a blend of professional photographers, hobbyists, and community members, this exhibition serves as a poignant reminder of our shared humanity and the intrinsic connections that bind us together. Through the lens of each contributor, As We Are offers a glimpse into the movements through the landscapes we inhabit and the people, animals and things that we encounter.

The exhibition boasts a breadth of perspectives- some artists photographing similar spaces from completely different angles and others finding unique and personal moments within the public spaces of our shared island.

As you traverse the exhibition space, you may encounter scenes that resonate with your own lived experiences or glimpse the very different lives lead on such a small island. We invite you to embark on a journey of exploration, discovering the familiar and the unfamiliar within the landscapes we call home.

20/20 a solo exhibition by Elkino Dames

We are delighted to announce Elkino Dames’ first solo exhibition at The D’Aguilar Art Foundation. Entitled 20/20, Dames recalls 20 years ago, when he was just 20 years old, and Vincent D’Aguilar purchased five of his formative artworks. That same year, Dames made the bold decision to become a professional artist. 20/20 also references the privilege of hindsight, as the exhibition will provide the audience and artist the opportunity to see new and old artworks hanging together: paintings made in 2023 alongside works from 2003 acquired by the D’Aguilar Art Collection.

Dames’ artwork focuses on Bahamian stories and spiritual illustrations. He appropriates African masks, African religious symbols, and infamous local historical figures to create bold, colorful paintings made with intuitive and visible brush marks. Dames’ many years working as an art teacher in the Bahamian “out-islands” (initially Andros and now The Exumas) comes through in his choice of material: poster paper and bright acrylic paint. His material approach is particularly interesting because it mashes together ideas from POP-Art with an intuitive/expressionist approach – as Dames’ references and collages familiar found images, but transforms them with his visceral approach to mark and color.

Artist Biography

Elkino Edward Dames (b. 1983, Nassau, The Bahamas) earned his Associates of Art from The College of The Bahamas in 2008 and completed his Bachelors in Art Education in 2011. Since 2008 he has worked as an art teacher at the L.W. Young Junior High School and is presently at the Huntley Christie High School in North Andros. Additionally, he has taught at the RBC FINCO Summer Art Workshop for a number of years and began instructing at the Summer Mixed Media Workshop at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas in 2017. Dames worked as the assistant curator at The Central Bank of The Bahamas for two years under the mentorship of Mr. Antonius Roberts.

Dames found early success as an artist when he won an anti-drug poster contest in 1994 hosted by the U.S. Customs and Bahamian Government. He ran a small art stand Downtown where he was patronized by tourists interested in his work. In 2002, he participated in his first exhibition at the Central Bank of the Bahamas and sold his first painting. Since then, he has received two honorable mentions and placed second and third in the annual event.

His first solo show, "Brush Strokes", was held on August 23rd, 2013 at the Historic Gray cliff Humidor Pavilion. He has participated in Transforming Spaces 2014 and exhibited new works at Antonius Roberts Hillside House Gallery. In 2016 and 2017, Dames displayed new works from himself and his Students in Doongalik Studios and his present posting in North Andros respectively. In March 2018, Mr. Dames again participated in Transforming Spaces "Historic Nassau" where two of his pieces were on display.

Dames' work can be found in a number of collections across the Bahamas. In 2020, Dames exhibited his works at Sixty Two Sixty, downtown Nassau.

GAZE

‘Gaze’ features the artwork of Melissa Alcena, Delton Barrett, Theo McClain, Clavia McClain, and Blair Meadows. This group photography and video exhibition was produced by guest curator, Ivanna Gaitor after she applied for our open-call entitled “curator opportunity” in 2022. Gaitor was awarded the curatorial prize as a result of her outstanding submission essay, about the challenges of the “tourist gaze” and artists/artworks that have transcended it.

Excerpts from Gaitor’s essay include the following:

“What comes to mind when you think of paradise? There is likely an immediate mental visual of crystal-clear water, miles of sand, palm trees and a cold drink in hand. Maybe even a private cabana and a nearby hammock. When we consider the many islands and cays within the Caribbean that are synonymous with paradise by design, we often forget the people that are native to these getaways. Tourists would not be alone in this erasure: governments and joint powerful entities largely contribute to this as well. In fact, they are the reason the tourism industry exists. In The Bahamas, specifically tourism, is the bread and butter of the economy.

Millions of dollars are annually pumped into crafting the paradise narrative that attracts tourists. Which means that thousands of Bahamians depend on the tourism industry to sustain themselves and their families. An overreliance on an industry rooted in service can have damaging effects on a nation’s identity and surely for The Bahamas it has. Whether you are a taxi driver stationed at the airport, a downtown store clerk or a college student pursuing study abroad, you are an unofficial ambassador of your country. It is embedded within you to cater to and preserve the expectations of current and potential future visitors by greeting them with a warm smile, and going above and beyond the call of duty.”

“These expectations of amplifying the paradise narrative are also burdened upon local artists. Artworks of palm trees, beachscapes, conch shells, women figures going to and from the market and fish are common subject matters that are most sought out in Bahamian art. But Bahamians make art that far exceeds this limited subject matter.”

In response to her essay, Gaitor pulled together Bahamian photographers and film artists that document Bahamian narratives for a Bahamian audience.

i know a river by Matthew David Rahming

Matthew David Rahming is an emerging interdisciplinary artist, born in Nassau in 1997.

Having graduated from St. Augustine's College in 2014, he then majored in art at the University of the Bahamas. In 2017, he held his first solo exhibition "TUFF" at the University's Pro Gallery. In 2022, Rahming’s work was chosen to exhibit in the NE10 at The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. This is his first solo exhibition.

Rahming considers himself an expressionist whose process is heavily rooted in introspection and observation. Spiritual undercurrents in particular permeate this opus, a fact alluded to in many of the works’ titles.

His current practice is focused around paintings and drawings rendered predominantly in acrylic paint and charcoal and his latest body of work, which forms the emphasis of the current exhibition, focuses on sculptures and vessels fashioned from cement. With their textured/ragged/fossilferous surfaces, these works evoke a sense of the natural landscape in which they were created; made outside in his mother’s yard, this external context was integral to the artist in framing their conception. The use of cement, a material seemingly incompatible with the objects it embodies, serves as a reminder of the imperfect nature of things and their ultimate decay.

When the Bread They Have Cast on the Waters Comes Floating Back: Gordon Shadrach & Kachelle Knowles

Written by Byron Armstrong

“People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.”

-James Baldwin, “No Name in the Street”

Diaspora refers to the dispersion, scattering, or migration of a people living in different lands. For the Afro-Caribbean diaspora, the word suggests so much more. Lived differences as vast as shared realities are narrow, like shards of glass, a testament to the structure that once preceded it. They are scattered across distances spanning miles, centuries, and sometimes just the length of a conversation. Gazing into broken glass has the same effect as staring into water troubled by a heavy stone dropped onto its surface. This is a diaspora for Black people. A ripple effect of refracted selves where the water breaks — was broken — by outside influence. We hold this stone deep within us, even as the water calms and memory fades. Submerged, but still felt. Blackness is not a monolith and yet the social construct of race and the systems built to enforce it were replicated across colonies. This replication has led to a hive-mind understanding of Black folk across the globe. An instinctual knowing of place within the plantation hierarchies of a white supremacist fever dream; a narcolepsy of spirit that Black folks have been trying to wake their captors from as the house they share burns down around them. This house of horrors, according to Baldwin in “The Fire Next Time”, is one that he questioned the wisdom of integrating into.

Although Black women were not excluded from dehumanization through over-sexualization, Black males also faced the perception of having inhuman strength to carry out their desires, specifically against white women, if unchecked. In addition to the lie that Black males were also lazy if not forced into labour, propaganda around their oversexed, violent natures gave the state the right to police, maim, and kill them with impunity. This legacy follows us today in the statistics of disproportionate deaths at the hands of police, and the lynch mob mentality of private citizens taking it upon themselves to levy justice against activity deemed suspicious. Allegedly whistling at a white woman (Emmet Till - U.S.), jogging down the street (Ahmaud Arbery - U.S.), driving with your family (Philando Castile - U.S.), sleeping in your car (Jay Anderson Jr. - U.S.), experiencing a mental health crisis (Andrew Loku - Canada), (Clive Mensah - Canada), (Jean-René Junior Olivier - Canada), (Abdirahman Abdi - Canada), walking home (Trayvon Martin - U.S.), standing in a group (Neptune Four - Canada), taking a cab (Mark Duggan - UK), driving away from the police (Chris Kabba - UK), have been any number of “reasons” for Black males to die across the diaspora. “When the Bread They Have Cast on the Waters Comes Floating Back” interrogates how these aforementioned refracted selves are but a ripple effect of colonization and white supremacy. Borrowed from the title of Baldwin’s nonfiction work entitled “No Name in The Street”, this Transatlantic collaboration between artists Gordon Shadrach (Toronto, Canada) and Kachelle Knowles (Nassau, Bahamas) is a dialogue between diaspora. Revolving around themes of identity and representation, it celebrates the Black male by disrupting colonial narratives and the distorted reflections it creates through figurative portraiture. It’s in this spirit that gallery United Contemporary (Toronto, Canada) and The D’Aguilar Foundation (Nassau, Bahamas) endeavour to foster a dialogue between their distinctive practices through this duo-exhibition.

The term “Commonwealth” feels like a misnomer in the case of the Caribbean. What wealth is distributed evenly to common folk on the islands? Even the effects of climate change propagated by the Global North, disproportionately affect nations in the Global South. That a society with heavy reliance on the comfort of tourists would reinforce colonized ways of thinking in its populace in school is unsurprising. Knowles' School Boy Series: He's a Runner, He's a Track Star (2023) addresses how Black male physicality can be rewarded over intellectual pursuits, indirectly playing to eugenic tropes about Black IQ and the heightened athleticism of Black people.

“In the traditional school system, glory is found either in academics or sports. Those who are unable to succeed in their grades but excel greatly in sports turn into school heroes, and this tends to be more valued for men. Their ability as physically fit runners who place ( 1,2,3 and nothing else matters) are seen as popular and desired, so long as they come in first, second or at very least third place, and they now are more worthy than they ever could be.”

-Kachelle Knowles

Knowles employs materials like graphite, coloured pencils, collage, marker, ink, gold leaf, and acrylic gemstones on toned paper to decorate a young sprinter in the style of a gladiator. An emerald-patterned shirt speaks to the colour scheme used in Knowles’ high school. Within the school, there were four “houses”, one of which (labelled “Dolphins”) was coloured green and was considered the most prominent house. Demi-godlike in his presence, the figure is adorned with a variety of gold medals representing his elevated status to his peers. What is the status based on? Black physical power earns praise in controlled circumstances and provokes fear outside of them. For proof, look no further than Muhammad Ali, stripped of his title in 1966 after refusing to fight in Vietnam on religious grounds. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were expelled from the 1968 US Olympic team and faced homelessness and derision for raising their fists in solidarity with the Black Power movement on the Olympic podium. Colin Kaepernick was unofficially blacklisted from the NFL after taking a knee in 2016 during the national anthem to protest and speak out against police brutality and racial injustice. The message is clear. Run, jump, lift, throw, entertain and you will be rewarded. But whatever you do, don’t think. Don’t emote. Don’t vocalize dissent.

In Take the Headboy Out of Your CV (2023), Knowles uses many of the same materials to continue the conversation about how society values Black boys. It is a recognition of the boy who is labelled “too smart” for their own good or “too interested” in their appearance. Conceived as an over-the-top version of the Bahamian school uniform, the pinned broaches and plaid scarf flourish also speak to the right of Black boys to express their individuality without the scrutiny of gender performance or the policing of Black hair —afros and facial hair often considered uncouth and indicative of lower class. As Baldwin said in “No Name in The Street”, “To be liberated from the stigma of Blackness by embracing it is to cease, forever, one’s interior agreement and collaboration with the authors of one’s degradation.”

Except for what lies on the surface, Gordon Shadrach could be seen as very different from his colleague. Age, gender, and geography should all point to lived experiences that are opposite to each other. However, Shadrach’s work intersects and overlaps like the long-lost piece of a puzzle found on the opposite end of the same room, where the presence of Black people — whether in The Bahamas or Canada — is least threatening when invisible or removed.

“So in our conversations, we were talking about how tourists feel uncomfortable when they see Black male Bahamians, in particular, actually enjoying the same spaces with them.

Experiencing that differently in Canada, for me it became about this idea of exploring black boy joy in public spaces as an act of rebellion.”

-Gordon Shadrach

In his Fence Series (2023) Shadrach’s fences become an allegorical and literal barrier that thwarts Black joy. His paintings show the diminishment of barriers represented by shadows cast over Black figures. In Armour (2023), a dreadlocked male stands with his hands clasping the fence with an expression of longing. The barrier to his happiness is apparent, the shadows marking his face could just as easily be the long shadow cast by white supremacy and systemic oppression.

“Although we've been told that the barriers have come down and we're free to be ourselves, there’s still this scar tissue, which is the long-lasting effects of systemic racism, that impacts our freedom just to live our lives.”

-Gordon Shadrach

Emerge (2023) reimagines the fence as having less power over the intended, with an opening where the Black male figure’s face sits. Even with the hole in the fence, there’s still a noticeable crisscrossing of shadow across the figure's face. As a small piece of the barrier dissipates, it leaves behind lines, like scar tissue, on the face of the figure. Perhaps, even after barriers come down, there’s still damage left behind and more barriers to remove. Shadrach’s paintings acknowledge the bypassing of barriers Black people have worked hard to secure, as well as the impact of the psychological, emotional, and at times, the physical toll it has taken to get there.

Knowles and Shadrach are shining a light on identity, representation, gender, and the impact of colonization, enslavement, and anti-Black racism on our collective values and perceptions. Although expressed differently, these themes are universal to the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. As such, they are successfully adding their voices to the Black experience in visual art.

You Gotta See What it is Yer Lookin

In the middle of June a lady stopped by the DAF to look at some art. Now, this wasn’t unprecedented: we are a gallery, and we love giving people a view of what we have on display and in our collection. However, what was so special about this encounter is that she was looking for a particular painting that Stan Burnside painted of her many years ago.

“I can’t remember the name,” she said. We looked through photographs of Burnside’s paintings that we have in the DAF collection (23 in total), slowing down on the faces of each portrait until she found her own: entitled Saintly, a small piece delicately rendered more than a decade ago. The lady gushes over the name: “Saintly! Ha!” then she said: “I have to call Stan – “ and off she went, chatting and laughing with him on the phone, thanking him for capturing her face, forever, in oil paint. You can see the kindness and familiarity within the piece: the softness of the eyes and slight curve of the mouth, as if the woman in the painting is sharing a light joke with the viewer, or, with Stan as he painted her. Or maybe it was from memory and Stan looked to capture this softness that he knew her for and share it with us. Whatever the case, the picture is intimate, familiar, and so full of love.

When I was in grad school I had an advisor who often said that you can tell when the artist enjoyed the work that they are making. This is certainly true for Saintly, and all the works we chose for You Gotta See What it is Yer Lookin. With this show, Tessa and I considered what it is that we love about art and art making: its power to connect with people; to capture humanity; to help us how to remember to love:ourselves, and the people that is captured in our work. So we peeled through the DAF collection to find works that we know were inspired by people (and places) that the artist knew. These works are filled with the closeness and love that can only be captured when working with things that are familiar. It is filled with the enjoyment that my advisor talked to me about, often.

I hope you are able to witness this closeness, and enjoy visiting You Gotta See What it is Yer Lookin as much as we enjoyed putting it together.