Fresh Milk welcomes Chelsea Odufu and Philipp Pieroth to the platform

October 2, 2017Leave a comment

Fresh Milk is excited to welcome US-based filmmaker Chelsea Odufu and German-born visual artist Philipp Pieroth to the platform from October 2 – 27, 2017.

Chelsea will use her residency with Fresh Milk to begin doing ethnography research about Caribbean culture, specifically centered around Afro Caribbean traditions such as Carnival, Crop Over Festival & Juve, and the role Carnival plays in the daily lives of Caribbean people socially, economically, and spiritually. This research will inform a feature film script she is creating focused on Carnival’s connection to Caribbean Spirituality as many have lost touch with this connection, culminating in a short documentary that explores this generation’s disconnect or strong connection to the traditions of our ancestors.

Philipp Pieroth, Become One, 2013, Itacaré, Brasil. Spray paint on concrete, 600 cm x 200 cm

Philipp Pieroth, Three is a party, 2016, Acryl and aquarelle on canvas, 140 x 180 cm

Philipp Pieroth, Fly with the dwarf, 2013, Breslau, Poland. Spray paint on concrete, 500 cm x 500 cm

Philipp Pieroth, Same Wall, different space, 2015, Woodstock, Capetown, South Africa. Spray paint on concrete, 1500 cm x 300 cm

Philipp Pieroth, Roman, 2016, Accra, Ghana, Paint on concrete, 230 cm x 350 cm

Philipp intends to create a body of work that will explore the idea of identity in Barbados using site specific research, combining ethnographical field work with cultural history and community engagement. On the one hand, his work will focus on investigating communal history, such Barbados’ colonial past, cultural heritage, traditions and historical figures, as well as local people as key figures in today’s community, all contributing to a unique system of meaning. He wishes to raise the question of what makes identity; how is identity linked to heritage or geographical location, and how can we capture the ambiguity of reality, question the definition of identity and raise discussions about what the future of identity is.

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About Chelsea Odufu:

Often considered a renaissance woman, Chelsea Odufu is a filmmaker and art activist whose mission is to use art as a tool to regenerate positive and empowering images of Blackness on screen. A Newark, New Jersey native with Guyanese and Nigerian roots, Chelsea’s work focuses on narratives that explore the complex Black identity while portraying issues such as colorism, the stigmas of Black spirituality, gender and sexuality. Chelsea previously worked at MTV, Nickelodeon, Universal Music Group and with many popular artists such as Meek Mill, Chance the Rapper, Vashtie, but found her true love is narrative filmmaking.

Upon graduating from New York University’s esteemed Tisch School of The Arts as a Martin Luther King scholar, due to her proven academic excellence, leadership abilities, and passion for social justice, Chelsea hit the ground running with the creation of her film Ori Inu: In Search of Self with her brother Emann. This film has screened in over 7 countries including Paris, Berlin, Guyana, St.Lucia, London, US, Canada Finland to name a few, and over 15 film festivals. Articles about the film have been featured on NBC News, Huffington Post, Afropunk, Saint Heron, OkayAfrica and many more. The creation of Ori Inu film merged with her passion for social justice and community development launched her speaking career in 2015. Since then, Chelsea has spoken at universities such as Yale, Dartmouth, Harvard, Columbia, Vassar, NYU, Wesleyan giving speeches, leading artistic interactive discussions and workshops centered around identity, Black representation in film and TV, Afrofuturism and her latest film Ori Inu: In Search of Self.

Shortly after graduation Chelsea was offered a job by honorary Oscar award winning filmmaker Spike Lee to work on a number of his projects including Chi-Raq and recently on his new Netflix series She’s Gotta Have it. She also recently directed and produced content for Cadillac General Motors Diversity. Chelsea’s work as an art activist encourages people to be proud of their cultural roots and to stand firm in their truth.

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About Philipp Pieroth:

Philipp Pieroth is a German-born artist who works in drawing, painting and murals. His practice explores the non-stop connectivity between humans experienced in daily life, and how this challenges our individual position and impacts our ability to form genuine connections with others. These social formations, personal interrelation, intimate affairs and environmental determinations are a subject of constant overthinking for Philipp, and he aims to shift our collective consciousness and perception as a constellation of social beings, rethinking our presence, or Dasein in this world and how we relate to one another.

Philipp lives and works between Berlin, Germany and Johannesburg, South Africa. His solo exhibitions have included: 2016 – Dasein, AGOG Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa; Represantation by Gavin Project, Johannesburg, South Africa; Care, Guguletu, Capetown, South Africa; Concept of Hope, Khayelitsha, Capetown, South Africa and number of mural projects throughout Accra, Ghana; 2015 – Saudade, Inhaca, Mosambik and Same Wall, Different Space Woodstock (Mural), Side Street Studios, Capetown, South Africa; 2013 – A number of murals throughout Taghazout, Morocco; 2012 – Der STöR in der Pappelreihe, Pappelreihe, Berlin, among many others.

Fresh Milk presents ‘Resonance’

August 17, 2017August 18, 2017Leave a comment

The Fresh Milk Art Platform is pleased to present Resonance, a showcase of works by some of the artists who have participated in residencies or projects with the organization over the last six years. Resonance opens on Saturday, August 19^th, 2017 from 2-4pm with a presentation about Fresh Milk’s programming and a chance to speak with some of the exhibiting artists, and will also be open to the public on August 21^st – 23^rd and 28^th – 31^st from 10am – 4pm each day. Come and see what Fresh Milk has on display during the regional celebrations of CARIFESTA XIII, and commemorate our 6^th anniversary with us!

About Resonance:

res·o·nance
noun

1.
the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating.

2.
the reinforcement or prolongation of sound by reflection from a surface or by the synchronous vibration of a neighbouring object.

When Fresh Milk began in August 2011, it was an experiment based on the hypothesis that there was a need for spaces in Barbados where contemporary artists, writers, thinkers and makers could come to conduct their own creative investigations. Six years later, the experiment continues to grow organically locally and throughout the Caribbean, constantly being fed by the artists that we engage with.

Resonance plays on the phonetically similar word ‘residence’, taking this opportunity to celebrate our local artist in residence programme among other innovative projects, as well as regional residency initiatives. There is also synergy with the definition of the word; each of the creatives that have been involved with Fresh Milk have enriched the platform, their presence and contribution continuing to impact every new endeavor we undertake and reinforcing our desire to foster prolonged relationships with artists. This showcase is less about following a theme, and more about recognizing the dynamic trajectories of the participants’ varying practices.

It’s our pleasure to feature works by Barbadian artists Simone Asia, Evan Avery, Cherise Harris, Versia Harris, Raquel Marshall, Ronald Williams, Anisah Wood and Kraig Yearwood. Additionally, we are excited that this show coincides with CARIFESTA XIII in Barbados, and are pleased to be able to include works by regional artists Dominique Hunter (Guyana), Leasho Johnson (Jamaica), Oneika Russell (Jamaica) and Shanice Smith (Trinidad) – each of whom have also been part of the Caribbean Linked residency programme coordinated by Ateliers ’89 in Aruba, Fresh Milk and ARC Magazine. We look forward to maintaining our connections with each of these artists, the many others that we have worked with in the past, and those still to come in the future.

Directions to the Fresh Milk studio can be found on the About Page of our website, and for more information email freshmilkbarbados@gmail.com.

Open Call: ‘My Time’ Local Residency 2017

January 19, 2017January 20, 2017Leave a comment

Fresh Milk is pleased to share, for the fourth year in a row, an open call for the ‘My Time’ Local Residency 2017.

Having again received generous support to make this residency possible, one Barbadian artist will be selected from this call to undertake a one-month residency at Fresh Milk, and will receive a stipend of $1,000.00 BBD towards their artistic practice. Visual artists working across a number of disciplines (sculpture, installation, painting, drawing, performance, photography, new media, interdisciplinary) are invited to apply.

We are open to a variety of projects and proposals, but are particularly interested this year in artists who wish to engage with the material in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room, using the residency as a space of research, production and expansion of references & knowledge.

Duration of Residency: 4 weeks

Fresh Milk will provide:

– A $1,000.00 BBD stipend to the artist
– Wireless internet
– A 15.5 x 14 ft studio space
– A wide expanse of rural land
– Access to the Colleen Lewis Reading Room on site
– A varied network of creatives to connect with
– Facilitation of community outreach initiatives
– The option to participate in a public event showcasing the outcome of the residency

Eligibility criteria:

– Artist must be Barbadian
– Artist must not have taken part in an on-site Fresh Milk Residency within the last 2 years

Expectations of the Artist:

– Artist must come out to the studio a minimum of four days per week between Monday and Friday. Studio access is between 8 am and 6 pm
– Artist must supply their own materials and equipment
– Artist must complete some form of public outreach in relation to the work created during the residency (artist talk/presentation, workshop, exhibition, etc.)
– Artist will be required to keep a weekly blog of their activities and processes, and submit a report to Fresh Milk at the conclusion of the residency
– Artist will be required to donate a piece of work to the donor who made this residency possible

Application Process:

To be considered, please submit the following to freshmilkbarbados@gmail.com with the subject line ‘My Time Local Residency 2017 Proposal’:

– The completed application form which can be downloaded here (includes applicant’s contact information, an artist statement, and full residency proposal)
– An up to date Curriculum Vitae (CV)
– A numbered portfolio of 5-10 images (or 2-3 short videos as the case may be) of recent work
– An index of the portfolio pieces in numerical order, with the title, medium and date listed

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

The deadline for submission is February 17, 2017. The residency will take place between March 6 – 31, 2017.

Fresh Milk welcomes Danilo Oliveira and Dorothea Smartt to the platform

October 31, 2016October 31, 2016Leave a comment

Fresh Milk is pleased to welcome Brazilian artist Danilo Oliveira and British-Barbadian poet & artist Dorothea Smartt to the platform for the month of November, 2016.

Danilo Oliveira, About invented borders, More than 1400 drawings over floor, Black ink on paper, 30 x 30 cm each, 2016.

Danilo Oliveira, Rita, Acrylic on wall, 2009.

Danilo’s recent work has focused on ways to engage with the idea, sensation and political concept of the border. Border defines identity, defines quality of life and shapes definitions of the future. Contemporary relationships with borders have two key aspects: abstractly, we have no more boundaries between us due to globalization; on the other hand, questions around borders have never been so relevant as they have in the last decades, in addition to all of the symbolic borders we encounter in our everyday life.

During this residency, he will be continuing his ongoing project ‘About Invented Borders’, by investigating borders in Barbadian and Caribbean society, looking at the history of the region and exploring its ties to Central America. Through research, his concept involves discussing the relationships people have with the boundaries around them and the collective memories of communities towards these borders; whether political, “official” borders or more complex, inner borders and barriers specific to different areas or cultures.

The project will include producing a series of drawings and installation work containing several invented maps drawings, made randomly in response to Danilo’s time in Barbados. The amount of drawings will vary according the spacial and temporal possibilities.

Dorothea Smartt, Bilal on the Ship. Photo: Ingrid Pollard, 2006.

Dorothea Smartt, Hairroots. Photo: Andrew Wood, 2003.

Dorothea’s work typically bridges the islands of Britain and Barbados, effortlessly shuttling between local and global scenes, as it weaves a diasporic web. She has two full collections, Connecting Medium [2001, Peepal Tree Press] and Ship Shape [2008, PTP]. In the latter, ‘a powerful work of reclamation, restitution and reanimation’ [Wasafiri] she offers a name and imagined life to the African buried in Samboo’s Grave, Lancaster.

Her latest chapbook, Reader, I Married Him & Other Queer Goings-On, serves as a precursor to her ongoing research towards new live-art work and her third full poetry collection. She aims to continue reworking standard narratives, this time imagining same-sex relationships and cross-gender experiences in the early 1900’s among ‘West Indian’ workers on the Panama Canal.

Dorothea’s Fresh Milk residency will afford her an opportunity to play and create in a safe, welcoming space. She wishes to work towards creating a multimedia performance reflecting the internationalism of the Panama Canal construction, perhaps collaborating with artists she met during her time in Panama and other artists in Barbados. She will explore the possibility of a collaborative scratch performance, incorporating media such as Skype and PowerPoint presentations with live performance.

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Photo by Natalia Garcia

About Danilo Oliveira:

Danilo Oliveira is an artist, curator and professor based in Sao Paulo, Brazil:

“The last 17 years I’ve been working in various mediums: painting, drawing, muralism, graphic arts, conceptual and community based works. Especially connected to the idea of collective practice, I founded the group Ocavalo in 1999, and Base-V (base-v.org) collective in 2003, working in a few groups since then. Besides the lonely work at the studio when I’m painting, it’s the social insertion that is always the final goal, even for the paintings. Every artwork is a form of relation. The muralism and other works which expanded in the given space, have played a central role in my production. Now, even my canvas paintings only exist when articulated in the space: glued, nailed, stretched, tied. My curatorial practice works the same way: collective, seeking inclusion and with no artistic boundaries. I’m interested both in contemporary and “popular”, folk or ancestral productions and views on culture and art.”

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About Dorothea Smartt:

Dorothea Smartt has an international reputation as a respected poet, live artist, and literary activist. Born and raised in London, with Barbadian heritage, she has two full collections, Connecting Medium and Ship Shape [Peepal Tree Press]. Her recent chapbook, Reader, I Married Him & Other Queer Goings-On, “…is subversive, radical, and surprisingly panoramic…”. She was awarded an Attached Live Artist residency at London’s Institute for Contemporary Arts, an Arts Council of England One-to-One live art development award, and most recently their Grants For All as an independent artist.

Over the past twenty-five years, her credits include engagements with the British Council in Bahrain, South Africa, USA, Egypt, and Hungary. Her seminal work “Medusa? Medusa Black!”, was cited as an O.B.E [Outstanding Black Example) of British live art. Other works include: “Triangle” [A Black Arts Alliance commission, with Kevin Dalton Johnson], exploring generations of UK Blacklesbian & Blackgay lives. “Tradewinds/Landfall”, an international cross-arts residency, exhibited in Houston, Texas and the Museum of London Docklands. In 2013 she was keynote speaker at Barbados’ Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Award.

She is currently researching a new work, to culminate in a third full poetry collection. In it she continues to rework standard narratives. This time imagining cross-gender experiences, same-sex relationships, and the role of traditional religion/spirituality in sustaining the ‘West Indian’ workforce constructing the Panama Canal, in the early 1900’s.

She is a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, Programme Manager of Inscribe (Peepal Tree’s writer development programme), and Associate Poetry Editor at SABLE Litmag. In 2016 she was honoured with a nomination for a Barbados Golden Jubilee Award, and her collection Ship Shape proposed as an ‘A’ Level English Literature text.

Fresh Milk welcomes Torika Bolatagici

June 2, 2016June 6, 2016Leave a comment

Fresh Milk is very excited to welcome Australia-based, Pacific artist Torika Bolatagici to the platform. She will be in residence with us from June 6 – July 1, 2016.

Protect Me, Digital print on flex, 2010

Torika’s interdisciplinary practice investigates the relationships between visual culture, human ecologies and contemporary Pacific identities. During her time in Barbados, Torika will be undertaking a research-based residency, largely involving engagement with local artists and conducting research in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room (CLRR). She is particularly interested in identifying opportunities to connect Caribbean and Pacific artists whose work might intersect along lines of reflection on culture, identity, place and space within a postcolonial framework.

Torika Bolatagici, Decolonise Your Mind, Digital print on flex, Installation view, 2009.

Black Gold (Piper Methysticum), Digital print on flex, 2009

Export Quality, Illuminated chromogenic print on Duratran. Installation view Queensland Art Gallery, 2012

Vicovico (Umbilicus), Digital print on rag, 2014

Ubi (Cover), Digital print on rag, 2014

In 2013, Torika established an initiative called the Community Reading Room; a pop-up destination for research, community discussion and engagement around international visual arts and culture, with a particular focus on contemporary art and theory from Oceania, Africa and the Americas. Many of the texts deal with postcolonial art, literature and philosophy, visual culture, migration, citizenship and cultural identity. As well as spending time researching the collection in the CLRR, she will be investigating points of synergy and opportunities for collaboration and exchange between the two spaces.

Torika will give a public presentation at Fresh Milk about the work of Contemporary Pacific artists from Australia and New Zealand, as well as her own practice. Stay tuned for more details about the date & time for this event!

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About Torika Bolatagici:

Torika Bolatagici was born in Tasmania and spent the early years of her life living between Hobart, Sydney and her father’s village – Suvavou, Fiji.

Torika works across a range of media, including photography, video and mixed media site-specific installation. Her interdisciplinary practice investigates the relationship between visual culture, human ecology, postcolonial counter narrative and visual historiography of the Black Pacific. She is interested in exploring the tensions and intersections between gender, embodied knowledge, commodification, migration and globalization.

Torika’s work has been exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Mexico City, Yogyakarta and throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand and Australia. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at local and international conferences and symposia about the representation of mixed-race identity; Pacific arts practice in Australia and Fiji; representations of teachers and teaching in cinema; and gender and militarism in the Pacific.

In her role as Symposium coordinator for the Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival in 2013 and 2014, Torika curated multiple panels to extend the discourse around contemporary Pacific arts practice in Australia and invited speakers to reflect on themes such as art and activism, museums, collecting and curating, cultural appropriation and contemporary practice. She also produced the symposium publication Mana Motu.

As well as 11 years experience teaching at tertiary level, Torika also has experience facilitating youth arts workshops for the local Pacific community, most recently the Pacific Photobook Project in Melbourne and Sydney.

Torika also presents the Community Reading Room – a pop-up destination for research, community discussion and engagement around international visual arts and culture, with a particular focus on contemporary art and theory from Oceania, Africa and the Americas. The Community Reading Room has appeared at Colour Box Studio (2013) and the Footscray Community Arts Centre (2014).

Torika is a photography lecturer in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University, Melbourne where she teaches contemporary theory and practice. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the School of Art and Design, University of New South Wales.

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