A surrealistic sculpture of a hamburger bun sandwiching a human head. Bright paintings of ships, flowers and spaceships. Intricate ropework. Realistic portraits of historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi.
All were among the art on display last week at a pop-up exhibition in a building across the street from Elmore Stoutt High School.
Throughout the week, students and other residents visited the show, which was a collaboration between the new non-profit organisation Creative Waves, Virgin Islands art students, and the ESHS Visual Arts Department.
Creative Waves Director Sophie Stanton is currently fundraising to create a gallery space in Road Town, but she told the Beacon last Thursday that she couldn’t help but engineer a temporary exhibition centred around art created by students from around the territory.
As she spoke, ESHS students on their lunch break browsed the display alongside others on a field trip from Jost Van Dyke.
Ms. Stanton said students and other VI artists consistently create exceptional work, but they are limited by the high cost of supplies in the territory.
“Everyone who’s an artist has to ship [supplies] in order to not pay extortionate prices,” Ms. Stanton said. “It’s just a big cry for help, I suppose, but we just wanted to be able to show, like, what [students] have been able to do given the terrible resources.”
One day, Ms. Stanton hopes to open a public community space in Road Town to showcase local art and encourage the territory’s creators, but last week she appeared content as she beamed at the collection of student works covering the floor and walls of the L-shaped business space.
Instructors’ work
Besides student work, the exhibition — which opened with a party on Jan. 21 and ran through Sunday — featured contributions from art instructors.
As Ms. Stanton spoke, ESHS art teacher Daviana Basilio welcomed a group of students seeking to enjoy their lunch in the midst of their peers’ art.
“Daviana called me, and she said, ‘Look, do you have any?’ because she knows I’m hoping to open a gallery,” Ms. Stanton recalled. “I was like, ‘I’m nowhere near ready,’ But then I drive past this place every day on my way home, and it’s just been sitting here empty. So I went around looking for the owner.”
Ms. Basilio, who has taught in the VI school system for seven years, echoed Ms. Stanton’s concerns about art supplies.
“The kids have a lot of talent, but I think the lack of resources gives us a lot of [issues],” she said. “You cannot teach the correct technique without, for example, the right pencils and paper.”
Until she secures enough funding to open the community gallery, Ms. Stanton said she hopes to continue organising pop-up galleries.
“I want to do a lot more in the coming year,” she said. “I’ve got exhibitions signed up with quite a few different artists.”
British Caribbean News