THINGS THAT MATTER

“The gallery – a living institution, growing in usefulness and importance to artists, scholars and the general public.” – (Paul Mellon, American philanthropist)

“If you look at a painting that you love by one of the great masters, every time you go back to it, you see something different.” – (Rory Kinnear, actor and playwright)

“The National Gallery is the place that means to represent everything that's good and important in art and show what it believes everyone who is a citizen should recognise and engage.” – (Kerry James Marshall, brilliant Afro-American artist)

In the newspapers of November 10th, it was reported that the Minister of Culture gave an update on the long-awaited National Art Gallery. The fervent hopes and constant pleas of our many, many artists, educators and art enthusiasts for a National Art Gallery go back almost forty years.

The Art Collection Foundation began in 1985 as an ad hoc committee and became a charitable organisation incorporated under the laws of Barbados in December that year. I believe it was the brain child of the late Norma Talma – artist and wife of the late Dr. Trevor Talma, dentist – and the philanthropic lover of Barbados, Mrs. Nancy Sonis, who recently gifted a collection of 75 Barbadian paintings to the nation, in care of the Barbados Museum. The Foundation’s goals were threefold:

To mount an annual Awards Exhibition,

To acquire by purchase or donation 20th century works of art,

To help in the establishment of a National Gallery to house the growing collection.

Norma Talma, President, stated in her report (1987), “Our wish would be that through the assistance of the Barbados Government, we will by next year have at least temporary housing for the National Collection. We look forward to continued cooperation with the National Cultural Foundation in facilitating this urgent need.”

In 1994 the Art Collection Foundation legally restructured and changed its name to become the Barbados Gallery of Art. By 1995 over 150 paintings, sculptures and works on paper had been acquired by purchase, donation or bequest. With the help of the Barbados Turf Club, the opening of the Barbados Gallery of Art took place on October 19, 1996 at the Historic Garrison, Bush Hill, but it was forced to close a few years later.

The BGA became Barbados Gallery of Art Trust on January 1st, 1998.

The National Art Gallery Committee (NAGC) is a government appointed group, renamed the Barbados National Art Gallery (BNAG). The legislation related to the gallery can be found in the Laws of Barbados, Chapter 48 B, “National Art Gallery, 2007 – 37” by Googling Barbados National Art Gallery Committee, Act. It is a comprehensive act that seems to have been passed and filed but never properly carried through, although there was an on-going committee, members of which automatically resigned after the recent election. The way is now clear for the new government to act to make things happen – to reappoint a Committee, provide start-up funds and move towards developing the site and staffing the gallery.

The Minister has indicated, as widely publicised for many years, that Block A at the Garrison is the top choice for the Gallery, being both the most economical and the most easy to achieve. This building was identified as the ideal location under the last BLP administration, and the Minister pointed out that it’s “in pretty good condition and wouldn’t take a lot of money”.

He also commented that the Carnegie Library and the Old Vestry Hall/City Hall, often incorrectly called the Old Town Hall, had been suggested. Let’s look at the pros and cons of these sites, to see why Block A is the obvious choice. The Carnegie Library restoration has been estimated at 4.5 million dollars. The National Library Service is anxious to return there, and the working concept is to restore the Carnegie AND the adjacent true Old Town Hall/Old Supreme Court building (probably another four million dollars) as a National Library Complex, with a courtyard in between. This would provide space for a modern library with not just stacks for books but computer labs, carousels for study, some exhibition spaces, meeting rooms and offices. While an ambitious project, it would be a magnificent, much needed catalyst for social and academic activities and national development, roles played by major modern libraries all over the world.

The Old Vestry Hall/ City Hall/Old Town Hall was a suggestion some thirty years ago, but it’s been effectively restored as offices, and while it may attract some cruise ship passengers it’s not the most easily accessible site for the public, many of whom avoid the congestion of Bridgetown altogether; and it’s really too small.

Block A has both the many advantages of size (12 000 square feet on each floor), sound condition, and ideal location in the historic Garrison, next to the Barbados Museum, with convenient parking. It will bring life into the UNESCO site, which hasn’t been exploited or developed in any way by the last administration, and it will hugely enrich the attractions of the Garrison. The multiple spin-offs – cultural, social, touristic and economic – of progressing this long-standing selection for the National Art Gallery – justify urgent action on the part of government to begin the planning process, the expert consultations and interior design, and the fund raising for adaptive re-use to achieve the goal of a fine gallery, after forty years of talk and empty promises. The hundreds of paintings in storage are endangered, and Black A should not be left any longer, increasing the costs of upgrading. When the appropriate administrative decisions are made, we are confident funds can be raised to make it happen, and it will redound enormously to the credit of the Government and the Ministry of Culture.

Bouquet: To the Queen’s Park Gallery. Curator Janice Whittle has mounted a splendid show to celebrate 45 years of NIFCA (National Festival of Creative Arts). It comprises award winning work over the years, kindly lent by owners/ artists. My favourite is “She the Sun, I the Moon” by Tracy Greenidge – a brilliant work of photo manipulation. There were two wonderful large landscapes by Sheri Nicholls, “St. Nicholas Abbey” and “Baptism”. There is a splendid sculpture “The gift”, by Amanda Springer, reminiscent of Edna Manley’s famous “Beadseller” (1922); Nick Whittle’s Ancestor 2017 – an Expression of the Middle Passage; Cy Hutchinson’s beautiful wooden vases carved from Neem and Norfolk Pine, and much, much more. It’s a “must see”.

Update: The new Wrapsody Café Wine & Bistro at Bandstand Manor on the Garrison is now open every Saturday from 9 a.m. and Tuesdays to Fridays from 7 a.m. for breakfast, with Tuesday to Friday offering an early bird takeaway special, which covers any choice of breakfast wrap with a coffee – latte or cappuccino. I dropped in for breakfast and chose the splendid black bean and avocado wrap with my cappuccino.

Professor Fraser is Past Dean of Medical Sciences, UWI, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology and President Emeritus of the Barbados National Trust.Website: prof henry fraser.com 