Category: International

The Ripple Effect – Launch of the Fresh Milk/CLF Artistic Fellowship & Announcement of Bajan Tender Grantees

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On August 9th, 2025 The Ripple Effect took place at Caribbean Brushstrokes Gallery, Barbados — an event launching the new partnership between the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF), the Mellon Foundation, and The Fresh Milk Art Platform.

Video by The Snap Happy Collective

These exciting relationships were celebrated with the exhibition Where are the Tendernesses? featuring work by Barbadian artists Simone Asia, Anna Gibson, Russell Watson and Ronald Williams, who are the inaugural recipients of the Fresh Milk/Clara Lionel Foundation Fellowship. Additionally, the Barbadian grantees — Deandra Daniel,  Lyneisha Ince, Alexander Newton, Safia Stoute, Kia Redman, Akilah Watts, Kraig Yearwood, and Punch Creative Arena —  were announced for the 2025 edition of Fresh Milk’s TENDER Regranting Programme,  of which the CLF and Mellon Foundation are also generous supporters alongside the National Cultural Foundation and the Panta Rhea Foundation.

Take a look here at some of the fantastic footage and moments documented of that special night!

Photographs by Dondré Trotman

L-R: Ronald Williams, Anna Gibson, Simone Asia, Russell Watson – the inaugural Fresh Milk/Clara Lionel Foundation Artistic Fellows, 2025-2026
L-R: Ronald Williams, Katherine Kennedy, Anna Gibson, Simone Asia, Russell Watson, Annalee Davis
L-R: Katherine Kennedy – Fresh Milk; Jessie Schutt-Aine, Rosanna Saladin, Wonlyn Lewis, Israel Mapp, Krystle Francis, Amina Doherty – Clara Lionel Foundation; Annalee Davis – Fresh Milk; Justin Garrett Moore – Mellon Foundation
FM/CLF Fellowship Nominators: (L-R) Dr. Natalie McGuire, Jason Fitzroy-Jeffers and Dr. Therese Hadchity (missing: Mark King).
L-R: Where are the Tendernesses? curatorial extract; DECOHERENT 02 by Russell Watson
L-R: Festering Fantasy: Sweet Fuh Days; Festering Fantasy: The Yard; and Rebirth III by Anna Gibson
Lost + Found, Simone Asia
All Dogs Go To Heaven I and All Dogs Go To Heaven II by Ronald Williams
DECOHERENT 02 by Russell Watson
Lost + Found and Procession by Simone Asia
Barbadian TENDER Grantees 2025 with the Fresh Milk Team. L-R: Katherine Kennedy (Fresh Milk), Kraig Yearwood, Safia Stoute, Kia Redman, Deandra Daniel, Ewan Atkinson (PUNCH), Akilah Watts, Allison Thompson (PUNCH), Lyneisha Ince, Alexander Newton, Annalee Davis (Fresh Milk). Photo by Dondré Trotman

Fresh Milk / Clara Lionel Foundation Artistic Fellowship

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Fresh Milk is pleased to announce the recipients of its inaugural contemporary visual arts Fellowship programme, made possible with support from the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF). This initiative provides four unrestricted grants of $20,000 USD, along with a $5,000 USD travel grant for each Fellow. The Barbadian-based Fellows, Anna Gibson, Simone Asia, Russell Watson and Ronald Williams, have demonstrated commitment to their practices, working across painting, sculpture, drawing, moving image, and digital media. Each Fellow was presented at a public event at the Caribbean Brushstrokes Gallery on August 9th and will benefit from sustained support during this 10-month programme from September 2025 until June 2026, culminating in a 2026 exhibition curated by Dr. Natalie McGuire.

On May 21st, 2025, the Fresh Milk team including Annalee Davis & Katherine Kennedy, hosted a roundtable session bringing together diverse participants to discuss critical issues in Barbados relating to the CLF’s core pillars, including contemporary visual arts, health care access and equity, gender-based issues, environmental concerns, and the impact of technology on society. The insights provided, informed the four nominators with expertise in contemporary creative practices, in their selection of the Fellows. The roundtable included Dr. Jo-Anne Brathwaite-Drummond, Dr. Clyde Cave, Carla Daniel, Amina Doherty, Dr. Robin Mahon, Patrick Moufarrige, Dr. Shayna Parris, Rae Skinner, and Leigh-Ann Worrell, while the nominators included Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, Dr. Therese Hadchity, Mark King, and Dr. Natalie McGuire. The full roundtable report can be found on our main Fellowship page here.

The exhibition, Where are the Tendernesses?, is celebrating the launch of the Fellowship and showcasing the Fellows work which runs until August 30th, 2025 at the Caribbean Brushstrokes Gallery. Read the full curatorial text here.

All photos by Dondré Trotman

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About the Fellows:

Simone Asia is a Barbadian-born illustrator recognized for her intricate penmanship and attention to detail. Her artistic influences span from local, regional and international figures, including Ewan Atkinson, Christopher Cozier, installation artist Tomoko Shioyasu, and illustrator James Jean.

Originally specializing in pen and ink, Simone has recently embraced mixed media, expanding her artistic exploration. Her work is deeply rooted in portraiture and journaling, often delving into themes of the human condition, botany, science, and metaphysics.

She holds an Associate Degree in Visual Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA, Hons) in Studio Arts. Throughout her career, Simone has participated in numerous local and regional residencies that have significantly shaped her artistic direction. These include Alice Yard (Trinidad and Tobago), Ateliers ’89 (Aruba), Projects and Space, Fresh Milk, and Punch Creative Arena (Barbados).

In 2016, she was awarded the Central Bank Governor’s Award and later that year held her first solo exhibition, Grey Matters, at Punch Creative Arena, Barbados Community College. Her work has since been featured in various projects, exhibitions, magazines and books internationally.

Beyond her personal practice, Simone works with Punch Creative Arena, where she helps facilitate exhibitions and events. She is also a part-time tutor in the Associate’s Degree Programme at Barbados Community College, teaching Drawing, 2D Visual Language, and Graphic Design: Illustration.

Anna Gibson is a Barbadian contemporary artist who explores women’s relationship with their bodies and its connection to cultural and social environments. Crafting images of body manipulation through realism and expressionism. She has been practicing for over 9 years and attended the Barbados Community College, completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2017.

Anna has participated in some Barbadian local group exhibitions at UN Women 1in3 Art Exhibition at the UN House Barbados, ‘Young Artist’ at The Barbados Arts Council Art Gallery, Reimagined: Unspoken Bodies and Spaces at The Frame & Art Co. and more. She also has experience painting murals with artist collective A3 Design, most notably for the Hilton Barbados, the Barbados Grantley Adams International Airport and the Barbados Post Office.

Russell Watson is a Barbadian artist and arts educator specializing in digital media and theatre. He completed studies in Drama in Education and Theatre Arts at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Jamaica and studies in Film Video, and New Media at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at both the BFA and MFA level. 

Currently residing in Barbados, Watson lectures in film at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus and is the lead artist at the multimedia workshop RSTUDIO. 

His current creative work involves combining drawing, photography and animation for multimedia projection. The works present an ecosystem of beings and landscapes existing simultaneously across various scales and epochs, reflecting his contemplation of time and environmental fragility in the Anthropocene.

Ronald Williams is a visual artist who primarily works in digital media. While earning his BFA in Fine Arts from The Barbados Community College (BCC), he began experimenting with digital collage which he has since gone on to refine and develop into his individual style.

Since earning his BFA in Fine Arts from The Barbados Community College, Williams has gone on to work on multiple commissions and participate in various local, regional and international group exhibitions including exhibiting in Jamaica, Venezuela, Scotland and the USA. After following up a maiden local residency by accepting a Fellowship award to be a Vermont Studio Center resident in 2019, he participated in the Visible Man exhibition in 2021 held at the Bowling Green State University in Ohio and notably, and was featured in part of the Dak’Art 2024 program.

TVE 5 2024 – Caribbean Screening Schedule

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The Fresh Milk Art Platform (Barbados) and the Centre for Culture in Lublin (Poland) as part of Lublin’s successful bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title are pleased to share the schedule for the Caribbean screenings of Transoceanic Visual Exchange (TVE) 2024, a series of programmes taking place this year between Barbados and Poland, featuring artists from the Caribbean, Poland, Ukraine and their diasporas.

TVE is a collection of recent films and videos from artists practicing in the participating regions for each iteration. TVE aims to negotiate the in-between space of our cultural communities outside of traditional geo-political zones of encounter and trade, intending to build relations and open up greater pathways of visibility, discourse and knowledge production between the regional art spaces and their communities.

The Caribbean screenings will take place in Barbados at three locations: The Division of Culture, Prime Minister’s Office, Sky Mall, Haggatt Hall, St. Michael; The Barbados Museum & Historical Society (BMHS), Dalkeith Road, St. Michael; and Haymans Market, St. Peter. 

On Wednesday, November 13th from 6PM – 8PM, the launch of TVE 5 will take place in the foyer of The Division of Culture, Sky Mall. This event opens the Experimental Video Art Exhibition component of TVE this year. The exhibition will continue until Wednesday, November 20th, open 11AM – 4PM, Monday – Saturday.

The exhibition at Sky Mall will feature work by:

Ruben Cabenda (Suriname) – Tongo Sondi, 2023
Alex Gibson (Barbados) – Courtyard, 2024
Volodymyr Kaufman (Ukraine) – РАНИ. відеоарт. / WOUNDS, 2023
Magdalena Łakoma (Poland) – Matriona/Patriona, 2022
Alexandra Majerus (Barbados/St. Kitts & Nevis) – The Shape of Memory (Recollecting), 2022
Stéphanie Melyon-Reinette (Guadeloupe) – MWEN PA PRIYÉ ZACCA, 2022
Andrii Rachynskyi & Daniil Revkovskyi (Ukraine) – Clanking, hammering, dispute and gurgling, 2021
Marinna ‘Mahrinnart’ Shareef (Trinidad & Tobago) – Moving Through the Motions, 2022 and The Consequences of Remembering, 2022
Volodymyr Topiy (Ukraine) – Barber, 2023
Yolanda Velazquez-Velez (Puerto Rico) – DesAhogo, 2021

On Thursday, November 14th from 6PM – 8PM, there will be a film screening night in the Trevor Carmichael Walled Garden Theatre at the Barbados Museum & Historical Society, featuring work by:

Monika Czajkowska (Poland) – Ophelia. Action Will (Not) Be Condemned, 2020 
Hanif James / Have a Bawl Productions (Jamaica) – A Shade of Indigo, 2023
Adrian Lopez (Jamaica) – Ego Sum, 2022
Katarzyna Perlak (Poland) – Broken Hearts Hotel, 2021
Nadean Rawlins (Jamaica) – Boy Girl and All the Rest, 2021

PLEASE NOTE: some of the content being screened at this event is of a sensitive nature, containing themes of trauma, mistreatment of the LGBTQIA+ community, mental health struggles, abuse and self harm. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

On Saturday, November 16th from 6PM – 9PM, our second film screening night will take place at Haymans Market, featuring work by:

Ryan Eccleston (Jamaica) – Jonkunnu Nuh Dead, 2022
Anastasia Kashtalian (Ukraine) – Dinner after the end of the world (Antanakata), 2023
Agata Konarska and Izabela Sitarska (Poland) – Tette Dolci, 2019
Danté Ollivierre (St. Vincent & the Grenadines) – I AM GARIFUNA, 2024
The Hub Collective (St. Vincent & the Grenadines) – Bush Medicine: Stories that Remember the Land, 2024

Food and beverages will be on sale from many of the wonderful vendors at Haymans, so please feel free to mingle and enjoy what is on offer!

All events are free and open to the public. Visit transoceanicvisualexchange.com for more information.

About the Partners:

Fresh Milk
Fresh Milk is an artist-led, non-profit organisation founded in 2011 and based in Barbados. It is a platform which supports excellence in the visual arts through residencies and programmes that provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for development, fostering a thriving art community. Fresh Milk offers professional support to artists from the Caribbean and further afield and seeks to stimulate critical thinking in contemporary visual art. Its goal is to nurture artists, raise regional awareness about contemporary arts and provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for growth, excellence and success.

The Centre for Culture in Lublin
At the Centre for Culture, our “home of imagination” we want to manage human talents wisely and create favourable conditions for artistic work, education and presentation of art and artistic activities. We want to be open to new people, new projects and phenomena. We believe that we will have the courage to take creative risks.

Lublin 2029 – European Capital of Culture
The project is part of Lublin’s successful bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title. Re:Union, the bid’s motto refers to the historic concept of the Union of Lublin (1569), a commonwealth treaty signed by the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is understood as reintegration, reconnection of broken ties, cross-generational, cross-cultural and intersectional dialogue.

The Division of Culture, Prime Minister’s Office
The Division of Culture, Prime Minister’s Office, Barbados seeks to build a stable and cohesive society by harnessing our culture, preserving our cultural heritage and building a sustainable creative economy.

The Barbados Museum & Historical Society
With extensive galleries and a dedicated Library, the Barbados Museum & Historical Society (BMHS) is not only the foremost authority on the historical record of Barbados, but also an educator and a champion of the cultural heritage of our island. We offer professional and research services to academics, history buffs, genealogists and anyone interested in learning a little bit more about Barbados. Our services are far reaching; not only do we provide tours and programmes to share the island’s rich heritage with the world, but we even host cultural and personal events for all to enjoy.

Haymans Market
Haymans Market, located in the heart of Barbados, is a bustling hub offering a wide variety of fresh local produce, spices, and handcrafted goods. Known for its vibrant atmosphere, it showcases the island’s rich agricultural heritage, with everything from tropical fruits to artisanal items. Visitors can experience authentic Bajan culture through the market’s friendly vendors and colorful stalls, making it a must-visit destination for both locals and tourists looking to enjoy the island’s flavors and craftsmanship.

This edition of TVE is also supported in part by TEOR/éTica, our partner organisation for TVE 4, from whom we received a 2023 Catalyst Grant with the generous support of Arts Collaboratory, and by a grant received from the Mellon Foundation.

Announcing Selected Artists for TVE 5

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The Fresh Milk Art Platform (Barbados) and the Centre for Culture in Lublin (Poland) as part of Lublin’s successful bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title are pleased to announce the selected artists from the Caribbean, Poland, Ukraine and their diasporas whose works will be included in the fifth edition of Transoceanic Visual Exchange (TVE), a series of programmes taking place this year between Barbados and Poland, with an accompanying online exhibition.

A preliminary screening of all of the film and video works runs at the Centre for Culture in Lublin between September 18th – October 18th, 2024, and a selection of works will be shown in various exhibition or screening spaces across Barbados in November 2024 – more details on these events will be announced soon!

Participating Artists:

Ruben Cabenda (Suriname)
Tongo Sondi, 2023

Monika Czajkowska (Poland)
Ophelia. Action Will (Not) Be Condemned, 2020

Ryan Eccleston (Jamaica)
Jonkunnu Nuh Dead, 2022

Alex Gibson (Barbados)
Courtyard, 2024

Barbara Gryka (Poland)
Lalki/Dolls, 2021

Hanif James / Have a Bawl Productions (Jamaica)
A Shade of Indigo, 2023

Anastasia Kashtalian (Ukraine)
Dinner after the end of the world (Antanakata), 2023

Volodymr Kaufman (Ukraine)
РАНИ. відеоарт. / WOUNDS, 2023

Agata Konarska & Izabela Sitarska (Poland)
Tette Dolci, 2019

Paweł Korbus (Poland)
What Will Become of Us, 2020

Magdalena Łakoma (Poland)
Matriona/Patriona, 2022

Adrian Lopez (Jamaica)
Ego Sum, 2022

Alexandra Majerus (Barbados & St. Kitts & Nevis)
The Shape of Memory (Recollecting), 2022

Stéphanie Melyon-Reinette (Guadeloupe)
MWEN PA PRIYÉ ZACCA, 2022

Danté Ollivierre (St. Vincent & the Grenadines)
I AM GARIFUNA, 2024

Katarzyna Perlak (Poland)
Broken Hearts Hotel, 2021

Andrii Rachynskyi & Daniil Revkovskyi (Ukraine)
Clanking, hammering, dispute and gurgling / Брязкання, стукіт, суперечка і булькання / Bryazkannya, stukit, superechka i bulʹkannya, 2021

Nadean Rawlins (Jamaica)
Boy Girl and All the Rest, 2021

Marinna ‘Mahrinnart’ Shareef (Trinidad & Tobago)
Moving Through the Motions, 2022
The Consequences of Remembering, 2022

The Hub Collective (St. Vincent & the Grenadines)
Bush Medicine: Stories that Remember the Land, 2024

Volodymyr Topiy (Ukraine)
Barber, 2023

Yolanda Velazquez-Velez (Puerto Rico)
DesAhogo, 2021

About the Partners:

Fresh Milk

Fresh Milk is an artist-led, non-profit organisation founded in 2011 and based in Barbados. It is a platform which supports excellence in the visual arts through residencies and programmes that provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for development, fostering a thriving art community.

Fresh Milk offers professional support to artists from the Caribbean and further afield and seeks to stimulate critical thinking in contemporary visual art. Its goal is to nurture artists, raise regional awareness about contemporary arts and provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for growth, excellence and success.

The Centre for Culture in Lublin

At the Centre for Culture, our “home of imagination” we want to manage human talents wisely and create favourable conditions for artistic work, education and presentation of art and artistic activities. We want to be open to new people, new projects and phenomena. We believe that we will have the courage to take creative risks.

Lublin 2029 – European Capital of Culture Candidate City

The project is part of Lublin’s bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title. Re:Union, the bid’s motto refers to the historic concept of the Union of Lublin (1569), a commonwealth treaty signed by the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is understood as reintegration, reconnection of broken ties, cross-generational, cross-cultural and intersectional dialogue.

    

Amanda T. McIntyre selected for Tilting Axis Fellowship 2025

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In 2019 Nieuwe Instituut joined forces with Tilting Axis to offer a Fellowship to an applicant based in the Caribbean. We are delighted to announce that Amanda T. McIntyre (Trinidad and Tobago) has been selected as the fifth Tilting Axis / Nieuwe Instituut Fellow. Amanda will begin her Fellowship at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam starting February 2025 and continuing research and activities through July 2025.

Read this announcement on the Tilting Axis website here.

Amanda T. McIntyre is a Trinidadian writer and artist. She is Creative Director and Lead Designer at Dolly Mas Visual and Performing Arts Company. Her work experiments with harmonising architectural and textile cultures of the Caribbean. She was previously an Art Administrator at New Local Space (NLS), an art studio and gallery based in Kingston, Jamaica. In 2020 McIntyre was part of the faculty for La Pràctica Artists Residency, Puerto Rico, and an advisor for the NLS, Curatorial, and Art Writing Fellowship. In 2021, she was awarded a Futuress Coding Resistance Fellowship for her project Mapping Queer Carnival. In 2023 she was longlisted for the prestigious Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize.

Project Brief

Present Continuous is a practice-based research project that applies digital intervention towards archiving the materiality and intellectual properties of contemporary Caribbean masquerade cultures, with corresponding designs including architectural elements from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when masquerade emerged in the Caribbean. The project also assesses non-extractive material considerations in this era of climate emergency attempting to answer the question: Can Caribbean Carnivals be sustained materially? And if so, what are the ways that would best serve the planet and the communities that exist within Caribbean Carnival ecosystems?

Comments on the Selected Proposal

Amanda’s project Present Continuous brings new and fresh ideas, presented in her application with an inviting approach that pulls you into the project, addressing urgent themes. Amanda’s project, centered on festival culture and waste, specifically through the lens of Dolly Mass, offers innovative solutions for archiving costumes. Her research on the Baby Doll, focusing on its representation and parody of women in early Caribbean masquerades historically performed by men, is particularly compelling. The jury felt the proposal which linked architecture, mas, queer studies, and climate justice further raised critical questions about the future of these costumes with an emphasis on non-extractive material focuses.

The jury was compelled by Amanda’s ambitious submission concentrating on urgent themes approached with sensitivity, seriousness, and interdisciplinary approaches. Amanda’s ability to think through carnival culture and the determination to archive these traditions and practices by future-proofing them highlights the importance of documenting the fluid migrations and influences within this culture including its evolution in two other Caribbean islands. Although the proposal had a clear focus, the jury was also impressed by Amanda’s willingness to remain curious, flexible, and open to exchange with partners on ways of archiving. Moving into the fellowship period, the jury suggested further research into deadstock materials from Jamaica and Martinique to enhance her project.

General Comments

Members of the jury were impressed by the wide range of themes approached by the projects, as well as the relevance and timeliness. Fifteen applicants submitted a wide cross-section of projects from all four linguistic territories of the Caribbean. This year’s submissions were strong, competitive, and transgressive, indicative of the Fellowship’s growing profile over the past eight-year period. Proposals were concerned with topical themes such as new pedagogies, maroonage, anti-colonialism, embodied and ancestral knowledge, speculative fiction, myth-making, the circular economy, climate justice, cartographies, vernacular architectures, marine, and spiritual ecosystems, ceremony, and shared rituals of masquerade. The projects demonstrate the creativity and power of practitioners living and working across the Caribbean, highlighting the importance of continued collaborations with those in the region.

Procedure

This Fellowship is supported by lead host partner, Nieuwe Instituut and its collaborators including the Amsterdam Museum, De Appel, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and Kunstinstituut Melly. Between the announcement of the open call on May 30th, 2024, and the deadline on June 30th, 2024, Nieuwe Instituut and Tilting Axis received 15 eligible entries in response to the open call from eight countries across the Anglophone, Francophone, Hispanophone, and Dutch Caribbean region including Barbados, Cuba, Curacao, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The proposals were reviewed by a committee composed of the following members:

  • Tijn van de Wijdeven, program manager, Nieuwe Instituut

  • Holly Bynoe, ARC Magazine, Sour Grass and Tilting Axis co-founder

  • Annalee Davis, Visual Artist, Founding Director of Fresh Milk, Sour Grass, and Tilting Axis co-founder

  • Jessy Koeiman, Curator of Collective Learning, Kunstinstituut Melly

  • Mark Raymond, Director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa

  • Lara Khaldi, Director at De Appel

  • Imara Limon, Curator, Amsterdam Museum & Silke Kamp, Curator-in-Training, Amsterdam Museum

  • Charl Landvreugd, Head of Research and Curatorial Practice, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

The meeting was chaired and moderated by Nieuwe Instituut researcher Federica Notari.

​Proposals were evaluated based on their research proposal, methodological approach and connection to the disciplines of architecture, design, or digital culture; and their interest in working with the hosting partners. Four candidates were shortlisted and invited to an online interview with members of the selection committee on July 11th, 2024. Following the interviews, the committee selected Amanda T. McIntyre (Trinidad and Tobago)  as the recipient of the Fellowship. The other shortlisted candidates were Lucia Piedra Galarraga (Cuba), Alex Martínez Suaréz (Dominican Republic ), and Johanna Castillo (Dominican Republic).