Culture

NIFCA visual artists’ time to shine

70 gold awardees will be on show at Saturday’s Expo

Almost 70 gold awards have been won in this year’s NIFCA Visual Arts Competition.

Come Saturday at 10 a.m. when the official opening of the Adult and Children’s Exhibitions takes place at the Queen’s Park Gallery and the Steel Shed, the public will get to see those entries plus those earning silver and bronze awards in the first post-COVID NIFCA competition.

The NIFCA Visual Arts Competition – for juniors and non-professionals – spans the categories of Fine Art, Craft and Photography and is a highlight of thefestival which is celebrating its 50th anniversary under the theme “50 Years of Excellence Remembered”.

The National Cultural Foundation’s Curator Oneka Small says they are “very satisfied” with the response to this year’s competition and noted that “a lot of the awards are driven by attaining gold”.

“We’re doing a format where we have Simply Gold in the Queen’s Park Gallery and highlighting the best of the best. We have about 67 gold awards between schools in Fine Arts, Photography and Craft categories and, in the Steel Shed we’re having more than 60 silver and bronze awards displayed. The exhibitions will run until Saturday, December 2.

“For the photography, fine arts, and craft adult and junior entrants that were outside of the schools, there are 17 gold awards, and the rest are golds from the schools. In adult photography, we have no gold awards, but we have silvers and bronze. We have one gold in the junior photography and in adult craft, we have one gold award. …It’s really focusing this year clearly quite heavily on young people and our youth and that’s a positive thing,” Small said.

The curator added that this year, schools mounted displays at their respective compounds where they were viewed by the panel of judges. She also noted the criteria for schools are different to the adults starting at 86 points compared to the adults which begin at 91 points.

Although judging of entries started around the middle of October and wrapped up earlier this month, another round of judging will take place on Friday among the gold award winning entries to determine if any of them merit one of the special awards such as The Ivan Payne Award of Excellence for a fine arts exhibit which carries a cash prize of $3,000 and a trophy.

The other special awards are: The Marjorie Blackman Award of Excellence for a craft exhibit which takes the formofa $3,000cash prize and a trophy and The Karl Broodhagen Award, awarded to the most outstanding gold awarded sculpture or 3-dimensional piece of work in the area of Fine Art or Craft. The Percé Tappin Award of Excellence for a photography entry will not be awarded this year.

Participants also have a chance to gain one of the new special awards this year such as the Prime Minister’s Award for the Best Original Entry in NIFCA Visual Arts and the 50^th Anniversary of NIFCA Award.

The former, comprising a cash award of $3,500 and a trophy, will recognize significant creativity and innovation in a NIFCA entry that challenges established norms in the artform. The latter has a cash prize of $2 000 and a trophy and may be awarded to the Most Outstanding Presentation in the NIFCA Visual Arts 2023.

Additionally, two entrants have the chance to win two scholarships valued at $3 000 each to the Barbados Community College to pursuetraining in the Associate Degree programme in Visual Arts.

In this NIFCA golden jubilee, and in commemoration of the 160^th Anniversary of the Barbados Landship,participants in each discipline have the chance to be considered for the $2,000 cash award being offered for any entry that effectively illustrates any aspect of the institution’s history, activities, or its legacy.

There is also the $15,000 Business Entrepreneur Prize to
recognise works that demonstrate entrepreneurial value. It is offered across all disciplines to a gold awarded adult fine artist/artisan/photographer or group with a collection of winning entries that can be reproduced for mass sale. (PR)

Culture

Heritage Month 2025 Launched | Several Receive Heritage Awards

The historic Morgan Lewis Windmill came alive on Sunday, June 1, as the Division of Culture in the Prime Minister’s Office, in collaboration with its Barbados World Heritage Committee, officially launched Heritage Month 2025 under the theme: “Preserving and Protecting Our Heritage”.

The ceremony marked the beginning of a month-long celebration that forms part of the broader Season of Emancipation, which runs until August 27. In her remarks, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight, emphasised that preserving heritage is not just about honouring the past, but about shaping the future.

“We must recognise heritage as a living resource. It is a tool for empowerment, especially for our youth and a pathway toward building resilient, culturally grounded communities,” she said.

The Minister connected the Heritage Month observance to broader national goals, particularly the empowerment of youth and the development of new economies rooted in cultural heritage.

Dr. Sheron Johnson, Senior Cultural Policy and Research Officer and Focal Point for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, reflected on the growth of Heritage Month since its inception in 2012.

“What began as a single initiative to mark our UNESCO inscription has evolved into a national observance. It now encompasses all aspects of Barbadian heritage – from built heritage to the stories and traditions that continue to shape our identity,” she noted. “We are excited to see increasing engagement from young people and communities islandwide.”

One of the highlights of the launch was the presentation of the Recognition of Contribution to Heritage Awards, acknowledging outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the preservation of Barbadian heritage. This year’s honourees were:

Peggy McGeary – for her work in education, folk culture and museum programming
Virgil Broodhagen – for artistic excellence and historic preservation
Neville Legall – for visual arts and cultural mentorship
Bruce Jardine and Robert O’Neal – for architectural restoration and heritage leadership
Professor Pedro Welch (posthumous) – for pioneering research in history and heritage. His daughter Gem Bonnett attended the event and accepted the award on his behalf.

Two Outstanding Heritage Stewards, Sherry Headley and Randy Batson, were also recognised for their volunteer service and youth mentorship in heritage initiatives.

Heritage Month 2025 features a diverse slate of public events, including:

Jazz in the Churchyard – June 14 at St. Mary’s Anglican Church
Historic Mosques of Bridgetown Book Launch – June 16
Heritage Pop-Up at We Gatherin’ St. George – June 21
Barbados National Trust Bus Tour – June 21
Antiques Market and Writer’s Ink Literary Tour – June 22
Youth Roundtable on Heritage and Science – June 25
Rock Hall Freedom Village Tour – June 28
BTMI Genealogy Lecture – June 29

The evening concluded with a rum tasting by Dr. Geoff Ward and guided tours of the windmill. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight (centre), poses with Heritage Award honourees (left to right) – Gem Bonnett; Virgil Broodhagen; Peggy McGeary; Robert O’Neal; Bruce Jardine; and Neville Legall, at the launch of Heritage Month 2025 at the Morgan Lewis Windmill last Sunday.

Culture

Barbados Goes To Southern California

“We Gatherin’ 2025 is about us as a people. It is a celebration designed to inspire national pride in all Barbadians and create the environment for us to create the best version of Barbados for us, by us. Barbados is calling you home!”

Barbados’ Ambassador to the United States of America, Vic Fernandes, made this declaration last Saturday, while delivering the keynote address at the Embassy of Barbados’ We Gatherin’ launch in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles, California.

Ambassador Fernandes stated that the year-long event was “not just a festival” but “a celebration of us—we Bajans”.

He continued: “It is an opportunity to honour our achievements, share our stories, and look boldly toward the future. Imagine a year where every parish comes alive, culminating in December when we all come together, showcasing the vibrancy of our culture in every village and community. Picture the laughter and conversations of reunited families and old friends, filling the air with joy and nostalgia.”

Over 200 Barbadians, including from the Barbados Association of Southern California, and Bajan and Friends for Health and Education Inc., participated in the launch. They benefitted from exchanges with the team from the Embassy of Barbados, which comprised Ambassador Fernandes; First Secretary William Clarke; and Information and Logistics Officer, Tricia Greaves-Staggs.

Prizes and giveaways were facilitated by the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and Export Barbados. First Secretary Clarke also took the opportunity to introduce some of Barbados’ priorities, including education reform; creating a diaspora database; trade; digital transformation and the Bridgetown Initiative.

He indicated that We Gatherin’ 2025 is more than an event – it’s a chance to deepen our bonds and revel in the pride of being Bajan and to connect with Barbadians near and far, wherever in the world they may be. (PR/GIS)

Culture

Barbados Participates In International Conference On Cultural Heritage

A three-member Barbadian delegation is in Nairobi, Kenya, attending the International Conference on Cultural Heritage in Africa: A Dialogue on the Concept of Authenticity, which aims to foster an exchange of research, experience, knowledge, and observations.

The members of the delegation are Steve Devonish, Chair of the Barbados World Heritage Committee and Site Manager for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison; Alissandra Cummins, Deputy Chair of the Barbados World Heritage Committee; and Dr. Sheron Johnson, Focal Point for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison.

The four-day conference is a significant event dedicated to repositioning and redefining the concepts of authenticity and integrity in the context of African heritage. It is organised by UNESCO, in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Kenya and the African World Heritage Fund, and has brought together heritage experts, government officials, local communities, non-governmental organisations, and academics from across Africa and the world.

Barbados, as the only Caribbean country to present at the conference, has been welcomed wholeheartedly by the Director of the World Heritage Centre, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, organisers of the conference, and other African countries.

The delegation, at the request of the Director, spoke to the outcomes of the conference having implications for small island developing states such as Barbados, as much of our heritage has linkage with Africa.

The meeting also seeks to address the gap between global heritage frameworks and African realities, particularly how authenticity and integrity are defined and applied. Its importance lies in the current application of authenticity, which has a European slate and negates African ecological realities, communities and landscapes.

Africa is home to an extraordinary wealth of cultural and natural heritage, yet it remains underrepresented on the World Heritage List. Currently, African sites make up only 12.26 per cent of the 1,223 World Heritage properties globally, despite the continent’s significance as the cradle of humanity. Additionally, it has the highest number of endangered heritage sites worldwide.

While in Kenya, the delegation, led by Mr. Devonish, paid a visit to the High Commission for Barbados in Kenya and engaged in fruitful discussions with the High Commissioner William McDonald on ways to further deepen the relation between Barbados and African States on matters of heritage, support for Barbados’ future plans at the World Heritage Centre, and ways the Division of Culture can support the Mission’s outreach to the Kenyan population. (PR/GIS)