Amanda Coulson, Director of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas has made it to the Cayman Islands for the 27th Annual Conference of the Museums Association of the Caribbean (MAC). Co-founder of the VOLTA contemporary art fair, consultant for the Davidoff Art Initiative and recent hurricane Matthew survivor – this is what Amanda has to say…
- What do you consider to be the biggest opportunity for museums in the Caribbean?
To be unique agents in changing the perception of our region to the global north, as we are distinctively poised to share our stories and multilayered histories in such a way as to reveal our true nature, one that is so much more than palm tees and beaches. - If you could describe your organisation in one word what would it be?
Alive (not as in: “surviving/not dead” but as in “electric/organic/growing/mutating”) - What makes your Museum or institution essential to your community?
The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas (NAGB) is both a literal bridge—between wealthy Downtown and the inner city—and a metaphorical one—between the creative community and the establishment, between the privileged and the deprived, between the people and the structures that govern. The NAGB is a physical location for exchange and a living organism; a safe space for individual expression; a think-tank and incubator. - Can you share one of your favourite moments of working in the cultural and heritage sector?
The first show under my directorship, which showcased select costumes from the Boxing Day Junkanoo rush-out by the One Family group, in honour of recently-deceased cultural icon, Jackson Burnside. The Chief Curator John Cox also hung the under-frames as art objects; Burnside’s original canvases; and contemporary artworks created by CoB art students, after a day in “the shacks.” It was a rare meeting of self-proclaimed “artists” and community “craftspeople” and was the first time that Junkanoo had been the focal point of an NAGB show. The opening drew approx. 600 people, 300 of them from communities who had never felt served by the institution; I saw grown men cry and received heartfelt hugs from total strangers. It was a very powerful testament to how institutions can deeply connect to their constituents. - What was the last picture you took with your phone?
An image comprised of shades of grey where usually there is intensely saturated colour: Hurricane Matthew.Learn more about NAGB – Click here.