The fifth convening of Tilting Axis is set to take place in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe in collaboration with Mémorial ACTe, Guadeloupe, a contemporary museum offering historical exhibits on the Caribbean’s slave & indigenous people from May 30th – June 1st, 2019 coinciding with Guadeloupe’s anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the last week of May.
Tilting Axis 5 “Beyond Trends: Decolonisation and Art Criticism” will explore the theme of decolonisation to think beyond its currently popular usage as cultural and institutional critique. Unlike its application to specific sites and processes, has decolonisation been a constant and ubiquitous practice in the Caribbean? This gathering will re-consider the currency of these discourses, identifying site-specificity within the Caribbean. For example, what does it mean for art institutions to negotiate decolonisation after postcoloniality? What different approaches can be deployed in decolonizing discourses-specifically in relation to art criticism–and made more visible in spaces where their prevalence renders them invisible?
Examining the roles of artists, curators, educators, arts managers, scholars, art writers and critics, arts managers and policy writers, etc., we will consider how to strategically involve discourses on decolonization that are useful for the Caribbean’s cultural sector.
With limited space, please confirm your interest in attending by emailing tiltingaxis@gmail.com no later than the extended deadline of Friday, March 15th 2019.
Tilting Axis delegates are required to pay a registration fee of USD$75.
Registration fee is waived for local delegates.
The fourth convening of Tilting Axis aimed to shift its location and context to the Hispanophone Caribbean with the theme ‘Caribbean Cultural Ecologies: Connecting Pasts, Presents and Futures’. Artists, curators, stakeholders, instigators and activists gathered to debate ideas about the Caribbean’s interdependent future in relation to culture, the nature, technology and the role of institutions while sharing creative ways which reimagine our collective futures in relationship with our particular environment and with each other.
‘I think it’s an act of rebellion to be a whole person… It’s an act of rebellion to show up as your whole self, and especially the parts that are complex, that are unfinished, that are vulnerable.’ – Courtney Martin
Two weeks before travelingto Tilting Axis:Within and Beyond the Caribbean – Shifting Models of Sustainability and Connectivity at the Fresh Milk Art Platform in Barbados, I listened to a podcast titled The Inner Life of Rebellion, a conversation which included Courtney Martin. During my presentation at Tilting Axis,about the vision and work of Groundation Grenada,I shared the above quote by Martin. Her reflections on the power of being able to make progress even with full recognition that we are imperfect and always in-the-making resonated with me deeply. It is this kind of ‘showing up’ as a whole complex person that Groundation Grenada seeks to support. As an organization our aim is to create safe spaces for people in our communities to explore the fullness of their experiences and express themselves in an environment that honors our differences. Tilting Axiswas a unique moment to connect with founders and directors of initiatives that similarly work to support and enhance the growth of the Caribbean’s vast array of voices & creative visions.
Tilting Axis, held from February 27-28, 2015 aimed to promote greater conversations and engagement between artists and professionals working within artist-led initiatives across the wider Caribbean region, build and redefine historical relationships with those in the North, and establish open dialogue with active networks emerging in the Global South.
The space that the organizers Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc., ARC Inc., Res Artis and Pérez Art Museum Miami were able to create was a rich opportunity for discussing challenges and envisioning collaborative solutions. They brought together several of the region’s arts initiatives to engage in face to face conversations. Also present were a number of professionals from outside the region interested in working with Caribbean-based initiatives such as Solange Farkas, founder and director of Videobrasil(Brazil), and N’Goné Fall, a founding member of the Dakar-based collective GawLab (Senegal). For a complete participant list and other details read the official post-conference press release (here).
There were many existing relationships and partnerships in the room and many possibilities for new collaborations discussed in formal sessions and during tea breaks. Technology has been an invaluable tool in facilitating the growth of what feels to me like a tangible movement in the region via the visual arts. Being in the same physical space as such a dynamic group of artists, curators, writers and organizers, and being able to have real conversations, was an invigorating experience. We all showed up as our full selves, open to discussing the complexities we are working with and through. It was an intergenerational setting with cross-pollination between organizations that were founded decades ago and seedling organizations that are now taking root and beginning to bloom.
The two-day conference ‘Tilting Axis: Within and Beyond the Caribbean – Shifting Models of Sustainability and Connectivity’ was held at The Fresh Milk Art Platform, Barbados on February 27-28, 2015. This meeting aimed to promote greater conversations and engagement between artists and professionals working within artist-led initiatives across the wider Caribbean region, build and redefine historical relationships with those in the North, and establish open dialogue with active networks emerging in the Global South.
Organized by Fresh Milk, ARC Inc., Res Artis and Pérez Art Museum Miami, Tilting Axis saw the founders/directors of several of the region’s artist-led initiatives coming together to engage in face to face conversations, along with a number of professionals from outside the region interested in working with Caribbean based initiatives.
The two-day conference ‘Tilting Axis: Within and Beyond the Caribbean – Shifting Models of Sustainability and Connectivity’ was held at The Fresh Milk Art Platform, Barbados on February 27-28, 2015. This meeting aimed to promote greater conversations and engagement between artists and professionals working within artist-led initiatives across the wider Caribbean region, build and redefine historical relationships with those in the North, and establish open dialogue with active networks emerging in the Global South.
Organized by Fresh Milk, ARC Inc., Res Artis and Pérez Art Museum Miami, Tilting Axis saw the founders/directors of several of the region’s artist-led initiatives coming together to engage in face to face conversations, along with a number of professionals from outside the region interested in working with Caribbean based initiatives.
fresh milk barbados 