Caribbean Linked II Artist Blogs: Veronica Dorsett

September 15, 2013May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Bahamian artist, Veronica Dorsett writes about her experience during the Caribbean Linked II residency programme at Ateliers ’89, Aruba. Dorsett reflects on moments of anticipation and how her hopes for moving forward in her work were propelled to a new level during the residency. Her intimate connection to the resident artists, the Aruban landscape and culture provoked an awakening in her that she didn’t foresee. Learn more about Caribbean Linked and Dorsett’s awakening here.

Veronica Dorsett in Aruba. Photographs courtesy of Shirley Rufin and Omar Kuwas.

Dear Aruba…
As we close our eyes at night, the conscious or subconscious hopes of a sweet dream are as defined as the hazy nothingness most of us conjure up. We dabble in thought before drifting off and most times with no real focus on any one thing we create a beautiful myriad of fragmented images. These images then cluster together delving us into a dreamlike state where, if you’re lucky, you’ll find Elvis Lopez, a couple of Arubans with a botched pick-up truck named ‘the Bronco’, 7 strangers, a couple of wine bottles – well, maybe more than a couple – and an empty art gallery begging to be filled. Yup, for me, being in Aruba simply felt like an extended dream that I quite honestly wish lasted just a little bit longer.

As my plane landed on this Happy Little Island, I quickly wrote down a few random thoughts and they were along the lines of the following:

Veronica’s notes.

I think it’s safe to say that by the end of that note, my dream had begun.

Arriving on the island from a ‘tourists’’ perspective was one thing, but experiencing “Aruba” for what it truly is with the local resident artists (Robin De Vogel, Germille Geerman and Kevin Schuit) was unforgettable. Seeing the raw beauty of the island allowed each of the visiting artists to find direct comparisons to “home”; and yet in the same breath, allowed us to uncover the distinct differences that exists between our islands.

Throughout the residency, as the baby of the group, I found myself very aware of my own personal search for my ‘style’ or my ‘tool’ as a budding artist. This residency became a major stepping stone in my career as I battled through uncertainty and sheer confusion for seven days straight. My lack of focus and frustration with my inability to even ‘create’ a focal point from everything Aruba had to offer brought me to a low where I simply felt defeated. Fortunately, I was able to talk to the other artists around me and draw from them their perspectives and words of advice to help me find my way. The short talks I had with each of them allowed me to accept my “lack of focus” as my “focal point” by taking all these ideas and experiences and combining them into a simple form that I could engage with – a black hole with a few ‘strings attached’. This form allowed me to create an answer to all my questions and combining it with random objects I had found as I walked through Aruba along with magazine cutouts pushed me into a realm of ‘organized clutter’.

Veronica’s work – Focus for Caribbean Linked.

The studio visits to local artists Ciro Abath, Osaira Muyale and Glenda Heyliger were crucial to my process during as well as after this residency at Atelier89. I keenly remember the sketches and models from Ciro’s studio along with the “all blue everything” sculpture’s at Osaira’s studio; both of which tapped into a sculptural craving I had somehow I forgotten I had. Seeing their work once again forced me to question whether I was using the right ‘tool’ or medium to create my work. And ‘Oh, Glenda’, who could forget Glenda? She definitely impacted me on an emotional level and boosted my confidence as she urged me to not be afraid of releasing my fears and most honest opinions within my work.

Veronica’s Collages from Focus for Caribbean Linked.

The dreamlike state that I continually found myself in was only encouraged by the drama free environment we all shared. It all came together in a magical way where we enjoyed one another’s company and made the most out of each day. Much of the nightlife was quite similar to home for me with one of my favorites being our night at ‘Don Pincho’ where we had either chicken, shrimp or mixed ‘pincho’s’ or what we like to call in the Bahamas “shish kabobs”. After that bellyful, we then danced the night away or at least everyone else danced while Mark King (Barbados) and I were attempting to master the ‘Bachata’ with the help of Omar Kuwas and Shirley Rufin who was our dancing queen of the night!

Veronica installing work for Caribbean Linked II

Another ‘exciting’ memory was made when a random dog charged at me as we were heading to a restaurant for dinner and I ever so “gracefully” (as Rodell Warner from Trinidad put it) leapt into Omar Kuwas’ (Curacao) arms out of complete and utter fear. Thankfully, the dog retreated and no one (except for Omar’s back) was hurt. In light of the moment we were given the nicknames “Shaggy and Scooby” and it became one of those classic moments that were unfortunately not caught on camera!

Resident artists at Don Pincho

I can honestly say that this residency in Aruba has not only catapulted my thinking in a new direction but it has inspired me to share my practice more openly within my own community. For me, the concept alone of linking a group of people who all share a commonality through the Caribbean region and diaspora is an amazing opportunity that should be seized time and time again. The connections we have made will not only insure growth but it will also help create a stronger definitive of that which is ‘Caribbean’.

Boundaries have been broken, spirits have been lifted, a few wine bottles have been popped open and this dream has finally become reality.
To all my follow resident artists, the curators and most affectionately to Elvis Lopez, until next time!

Sincerely,

Your Bahamian Sister.
Veronica Vo Dorsett

Ateliers ’89 director, the extraordinary Elvis Lopez.

About Veronica Dorsett:

Veronica Dorsett was born in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas on November 20th, 1992. Currently living in Nassau, Bahamas as a student of the College of the Bahamas, Dorsett received an associate’s degree in art in the fall of 2012. She is primarily an installation artist but also shares a great interest in sculptural, ceramic and mixed media works. As a recent recipient of the 2012 Popopstudios ICVA Junior Residency Prize, she hopes the opportunity will push her work in a whole new direction as she aims to pursue a BFA in Sculpture in 2013.

CARIBBEAN LINKED II is a residency programme and exhibition organized by Ateliers ’89 Foundation in collaboration with ARC Inc. and The Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc. and funded by the Mondriaan Foundation. The programme took place from August 25th through September 6th, 2013 in Oranjestad, Aruba.

Local Residency Announcement: Sky LARC and Adrian Green

September 11, 2013May 20, 2015Leave a comment

FRESH MILK is pleased to announce the start of our final local residency for 2013 from our open call early this year. Taking the platform are filmmaker Sky LARC and spoken word artist Adrian Green.

LARC and Green will be collaborating on a project which explores Caribbean Aesthetics in art processes and utilizes the disciplines of Creative Writing, Cinematography, Photography, Performance Art, Spoken Word and Music.

The work concretizes the creative relationship between the two artists essentially cut from the same cloth, Kente Cloth. They come together as the Collective PTAH, an entity that uses their chosen disciplines, Performance Art and Visual Art to heighten awareness, stimulate consciousness and affect change.

The proposed piece is essentially a short film, somewhat experimental, evolving from the work and performance of Poet Adrian Green and his original piece “Hartd Work”. The creation of this short film is also inspired by the exploration of the Fresh Milk space and other working artist spaces.

Thank you to the Arts and Sport Promotion Fund for supporting this residency.

About Sky LARC:

Born in Toronto Canada to Barbadian parents, LARC as he’s affectionately known to most is a filmmaker, arts educator and community activist. After the year of the gun in Toronto (2005) LARC decided that it was critical to play a small role in creating safe spaces where young people could acquire skills while discovering positive outlets of expression. He started by designing and facilitating filmmaking workshops in low-income, inner-city communities where he began to link many of the current issues faced by youth to a lack of leadership/mentorship in the community. He also noticed a real lack of ancestral/family values and connections with the many gang related black youth he worked with daily. His community work intensified, spreading out to various public housing communities across Toronto from Community Centers to Elementary, Middle School to High Schools.

LARC is developing a feature documentary entitled Hidden Bruises: HIV & Violence in the Caribbean, a documentary and awareness campaign contributing to the national and regional effort to reduce the prevalence of both HIV & violence against women in the Caribbean.

He continues his arts education and filmmaking work in the Caribbean at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados; coupled with his independent company Skylarc Pictures through the First Light Project Arts Education program.

About Adrian Green:

Adrian Green at Carifesta X

Adrian Green is a Gold Award winner in Barbados’ National Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA), a three time Barbadian Slam Poetry Champion, and two time winner of the Emancipation Roots Experience Show. Green represented Barbados at CARIFESTA X in Guyana and has performed to audiences in several countries, including the USA, Ghana, Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Nevis, St. Thomas and Tortola. He has released two albums of poetry, “Random Acts of Conscience,” and “Hard Ears.”

As the co-founder of Iron Sharpen Iron, Green has been instrumental in producing the longest running and most successful open-mic show in Barbados. These open-mic shows were designed to help emerging performing artists develop and have been instrumental in the uncovering and propelling of a number of young artists to the national stage.

Sasha Link and Shea Rose at Workman’s Primary School

June 26, 2013May 20, 2015Leave a comment

On Thursday, June 20th Fresh Milk resident artists Sasha Link and Shea Rose visited Workman’s Primary School in St. George. Sasha presented a creative writing workshop to the Class 4 children titled ‘The Duality of Gift-Giving,’ pictures from which can be seen in the gallery below. Sasha and Shea also went into St. George Primary School and St. George Secondary School on the following day, and the sessions were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Thanks very much to Sasha and Shea, and to all of the schools for having us there!

Photographs by Mark King

Annalee Davis introducing Shea and Sasha

Shea Rose and Sasha Link making their presentation

Sasha Link’s Residency: Week 1 Report

June 21, 2013May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Exploring Dreams

Dreams aren’t written in black and white; they manifest themselves in a variety of colors. They take shape and form in various sizes. Dreams build walls of hope that lend inspiration to all who are willing to fly. The letters, “Be true to your dreams” are written in black ink circled around my ring finger. Those words are like an engine roaring, a vehicle to my creative exploration.

Almost a year ago, my dear friend Shea Rose started the process of sketching out the steps she’d take to begin her journey exploring her ancestral roots in Barbados – a land her ancestors lived, worked and walked on. Shea’s vision to return to trace her ancestral roots was intriguing to me, especially considering the way in which our paths have mirrored over the years. I’ve been working on a similar project tracing my maternal and paternal genealogical timeline, with the hope to find the Link to my history. The steps to “finding my voice” as Shea said it, lit our way. Shea’s vision was a dream that opened the door to exploring the concepts of identity, self-acceptance and home. Together we’ll explore the duality of gift-giving abroad.

When we arrived in Barbados on June 10th as International Artists in Residence at the Fresh Milk Art Platform, we were greeted by Annalee Davis, Founder and Director of the organization and residency programme. Our first day we settled in, unpacked and traveled to Lime Grove for dinner and to see spoken-word artist Rebel Glam perform.

The second day we met with Barbadian creatives, the U.S. Embassy and a host of musicians, photographers, videographers and dancers to share the overview of our project, “Exploring Creative Collaboration: Music and Identity” and “The Duality of Gift-Giving.”

By the third day, during our creative collaboration a transference of energy took place. I attribute it to being in the midst of such talented artists, composers, poets, singers, photographers, videographers — listening to the echoes of the percussion, a solid rhythm-thumping, notes on the keyboard joining in unison — music making moments filled with lyrics that tell a story, that hum a tune, that inspire.

Music is a story. I’m listening right now. It’s transformative. My father says it brightens his day, challenges and lights a flame of hope. For me, here in Barbados, I’m dreaming a story that sounds like waves smashing against the algae-painted shore walls. The distant undercurrents are whispering: “You’re not in control.” The music takes over on the platform of Fresh Milk. As it emanates from collaborative voices that surround me, I glance down at notes from my lesson plan for the workshops I’ll be teaching on the duality of gift-giving at three schools here on the island.

I’m here. I’m ready and willing to embrace each strand of knowledge passed down by our ancestors who carved the creative way for our artistic existence. I’ve learned it’s okay to dream and explore. Dreams are written in many shades; they tell stories in various forms. Shea and I are here to walk in our dream and co-inspire the world.

– Sasha

Shea Rose’s Residency: Week 1 Report

June 20, 2013May 20, 2015Leave a comment

It was just over a year ago that I started thinking about how I would begin to explore my ancestral roots in Barbados. My late great aunt Lillian left our family a jewel; a small black and orange paperback book bound with rope, filled with journal entries from my great-grandmother Edwina Yearwood and her father (my great, great-grandfather) Edward Yearwood.

It certainly would have been easy enough to center a trip to Barbados around documents and paper, but the more I started to investigate the yearning to return to my ancestral roots, I realized that I was looking for more than names, dates and birth certificates. I was in search of finding my own voice in the echoes of my family lineage. I mapped out a plan and I wanted music to be the vehicle in which to tell the story of my self investigation and exploration.

Once I discovered, applied and was accepted to the Fresh Milk International Artist and Residency in Barbados, I knew I had a safe and trust-worthy platform to express my truth and collaborate with artists of various disciplines who are searching too.

Before I continue, I must add, that my best friend Sasha Link, a non-fiction creative writer accompanied me on this life changing journey. During her residency here at Fresh Milk she is creating lesson plans to present to primary and secondary schools in Barbados. She is exploring the duality of gift-giving.

I decided to center my musical compositions on three themes: identity, self-acceptance and home.

Below are reflections, thoughts, prose and visuals around the three themes, complied during the first week of my residency:

Identity: How do you know you?

Home: “Keeping Things Whole” by Mark Strand

This is one of my favorite poems. It gives me the courage to race into the light, accept change, embrace my destiny and feel that no matter how high I fly, there is always home, a place of comfort, where I can land with my feet firmly on the ground.

"...there is always home, a place of comfort, where I can land with my feet firmly on the ground."

Keeping Things Whole

By Mark Strand

In a field
I am the absence
of field.
This is
always the case.
Wherever I am
I am what is missing.
When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body’s been.
We all have reasons
for moving.
I move to keep things whole.

Self-Acceptance: The weight of its conception spilling over into the noisy abyss yearning for a space to embrace the lore of its perfect design

Each theme is a collaboration of various creative disciplines.

Below are photos of our collaborative workdays.

Identity: Adrian Green (Spoken-word Artist)

Barbadian spoken word artist Adrian Green and Shea Rose

My initial sketch of the “Identity” performance set w/ Barbadian spoken-word artist Adrian Green.

He says his work has been described as controversial because he addresses themes such a race and politics that aren’t openly discussed in the conservative Barbadian society.

I decided to incorporate standing mirrors into our performance.

The mirrors represent: reflection, confrontation, acceptance, rejection and illusion

Adrian Green will be the first ever male spoken-word artist that I’ve collaborated with allowing this exploration of identity to not only cross culture, but gender as well – he from Barbados, I from Boston.

The delivery of the spoken-word pieces will be directed at the mirror and other times, Adrian and I will be facing each other.

Home: Sky Larc (Filmmaker) Janelle Headley, Vocalist and Operation Triple Threat (OTT) Director, Tara Jane Herbert (OTT Choreographer and Director of Ascending Stars) OTT students Johari Taitt, Kwasi Perry and Charlene Morris

Barbadian filmmaker Sky Larc working with Shea and Sasha

Shea with members of Barbadian arts group Operation Triple Threat

Self-Acceptance: Nexcyx Band

For this collaboration I brought in an original song entitled, “Pretty Girls” that I started writing back and Boston. Mahalia, the lead singer from Nexcyx wrote a second verse to compliment my first verse.