A Kind of Right to be Idle – #CCF Guest Review

June 3, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

…A part of me wanted to write a poem in reponse to Karl Watson’s A Kind of Right to be Idle: OLD DOLL Matriarch of Newton Plantation – so I did. The overall journey varied: from feeling as though the horizons of my perspectives on Plantation Slavery in Barbados had become more nuanced; through amusement at the tribulations and industrial action the female enslaved put the managers through; to suspicion of the real motives behind the apparent forbearance of the absentee owners and managers toward the troublesome family; to a final cynical fulfilment as my suspicions were proven… Why on earth did the author write the book the way he wrote it?

The above excerpt is from Ayesha Gibson-Gill’s guest review of of Karl Watson’s A Kind of Right to be Idle: OLD DOLL Matriarch of Newton Plantation, which took the form of a poem for this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr – the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Weekly and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

About Ayesha:

Ayesha Gibson-Gill is the Cultural Officer of Literary Arts at Barbados’ National Cultural Foundation (NCF), West Terrace, St. James. You may contact Ms. Gibson-Gill at (246) 417-6625.

Academic Digest: Intangible Economies – #CCF

May 31, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Fillip Magazine’s Intangible Economies (2012) tackles the abstract nature of economy in relation to cultural production. Set in the world of cultural/artistic production, the works in this anthology build on the provocative premise of its introduction, providing specialised analyses of the concept of economy as an institutionalised value system. My response offers a brief look at “Intangible Economies”, the introductory chapter of the anthology. It took me three reads to grasp the salient ideas being expressed in the introductory chapter of the journal (the Footnotes were a saviour !). Making reference to Mauss’ theory of ‘the gift’, Derrida’s theory of representation and the ‘symbolic order’ and Marx’s theory of alienation, Hirsch’s articulation of the relationship between affect and economy raises challenging questions about the value of cultural production in a capitalist economic system.

The above excerpt is from Amanda Haynes’ review of Fillip Magazine’s edition Intangible Economies (2012) , this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr – the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Tuesdays and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

Cherise Ward ‘My Time’ Residency – Puppet Building Workshop

May 26, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

For my community outreach for the residency, I decided to do a 3 hour Puppet Building Workshop with students from Workmans Primary. The students were from both Class 3 and Class 4.

As part of my preparation, I made a test puppet. I wanted it to be a simple hand puppet that I thought the students would be able to make themselves. I used fabric, felt and construction paper.

On the day of the workshop, I had the assistance of Fresh Milk volunteers Versia and Ronald, and they were a great help.

I started by teaching the students about 3 different types of puppets, and doing a brief demonstration of how they worked using puppets I have made. They took notes, and were interested in trying to operate the puppets themselves. Then we got started making their hand puppets.

Puppets made by Cherise, demonstrating different techniques.

Annalee Davis introducing Cherise to the Workmans Primary students.

Cherise demonstrating one of her puppets.

Cherise showing one of her completed puppets.

Cherise assisting with the puppet construction.

The students cut out their templates for the glove part of the puppet, and traced them onto the fabric, and we helped them cut and glue the fabric. They drew the designs for their puppets, and then cut the shapes for the heads and hands, and decorated them using felt, paper, and crayons.

The workshop was really well received. The students were enthusiastic, and excited about the puppets, and we had a great time. Thanks to Versia and Ronald for their help as well as Annalee and the teachers at Workmans Primary.

Follow Cherise on Tumblr for updates on her residency & practice.

John Berger Makes Me Dizzy – #CCF

May 22, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

How can I review a John Berger book? How do I gather my thoughts on his thoughts, simplify them and concisely and articulately present them in a 500 word summary? I can’t. Whether through my own honest inability or fear of even trying (I’ll give myself the answer to that later), I found it impossible to do. But under the watchful eyes of two of my teammates here at Fresh Milk (Katherine and Amanda) I feel I must say a little something about the man in the photo above.

John Berger is a writer, a poet, and an intellectual. He is one of the few minds of the 20th century able to dissect a wide range of matters and re-present them with precision and clarity. John Berger Selected Essays is a compilation of some of the most prolific writings of his career. The editor, Geoff Dyer, has gathered works from a number of his collections, including: “The Look of Things” (1972), “About Looking” (1980) and “The White Bird” (1985).

The above excerpt is from Versia Harris’ review on Selected Essays of John Berger, this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr – the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Weekly and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

Colleen Lewis Open Archive Residency

May 21, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

FRESH MILK is pleased to announce the Colleen Lewis Open Archive Residency between September and November 2014. Applications from artists worldwide are welcomed. This residency aims to support visual artists, writers and creatives by offering a peaceful working space for a minimum of 4 weeks, and the opportunity to interface with the Colleen Lewis Reading Room (CLRR) as an archive with which to engage, respond and activate. For more on the archive, view our online bibliography.

The CLRR is continually expanding its collection and has a special focus on the visual arts, with particular interest in archiving material on visual arts in the Caribbean. Resident artists will also be able to meet with the Fresh Milk Books team of young creatives on a weekly basis to converse and collaborate.

Spaces are available between September 1^st and November 28^th, 2014. For more information on the residency and associated costs please visit our International Residency Opportunity page.

Artists wishing to apply for residencies with projects outside of this targeted call are also welcome to submit proposals.

The deadline for applications is July 4th, 2014.