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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 50th 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 160th 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)

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BEADING WORKSHOP FINISHES TODAY


Bishop Tarambawamwe runs Master Wire and Beadcraft, a South African company specialising in providing high-quality bead and wire products to both the local and international market. From growing up in Zimbabwe playing with wire cars as a child, to taking inspiration from nature for his amazing designs, he now brings his expertise to Barbados. The workshop features an all female group who will benefit from hands on training while learning how to monetise their new skillset on the way to becoming entrepreneurs.

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International Songwriting Camp

Twenty-eight cultural practitioners have reaped significant benefits from the International Songwriting Camp produced by the National Cultural Foundation (NCF).


Following intense practical, developmental and professional exercises facilitated by local and global premiers, the NCF-registered practitioners now have an increased understanding of the craft of global song writing, knowledge of publishing and songwriting, placements, licensing, and synching among other areas.


The sessions were held between September 30 and October 5, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre where participants and producers had access to portable studios to turn penned lyrics into musical renditions of different beats and genres.


On Wednesday, the participants went on a field trip and were required to write a song for a commercial.

And on Saturday night, a listening session was held at the Sage Bar and Stage featuring the songs written and produced during the camp.


Singer and songwriter Casheda Dottin said she was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the comprehensive camp which has left her with a wealth of knowledge and skills which will take her career to another level.

“I am grateful to the NCF for bringing about this initiative to help creators improve their craft. It was such a phenomenal experience because not only were we able to do songwriting workrooms where we were working with different people, but every day we were able to experience working with different producers,” Dottin said.

She added: “And it was also interesting to see how I was able to gel with other writers and singers to create music. It was far from easy and sometimes it was very intense but we were all still able to work together to produce some wonderful music.”


Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marley Kirton said it was an amazing experience obtaining advice and gaining knowledge from experienced professionals in the field.

“But at the same time it was so powerful to get to collaborate with local artistes who are established, growing, or trying to discover their careers. This camp is a reminder of the potential and talent among the younger generation here on the island.  My biggest lesson is learning not to hide my talents and that you should share them with those around you,” Kirton said.


The NCF came in for high praise for hosting the first songwriters camp of its kind which supports the realistic execution to reach the global standard which lends to reciprocation to earning sustainable income and reaching international standards.


Grammy Award-winning producer and composer Che Pope commended the NCF for investing in its creators.

“I don’t know if you realise that this is luxury. Many countries don’t have a ministry of culture and an NCF. There are only so many countries that invest in and care about the talent and the arts in their country.

“The US [United States] does not have a ministry of culture, the US does not give grants like Canada and places like Barbados. I hope you guys understand the opportunity that’s at hand,” Pope advised.


Composer, songwriter and producer Henk Pool was also impressed that the Government is investing in its talented young people.

Pool said while he would have passed on knowledge to the participants, he also benefited from interacting with them.

“I think the openness, warmth and talent of people was amazing. I travel around the world facilitating song writers’ camps everywhere and I would love to see Barbados song writers travelling around the world because the talent is absolutely there. They just need the chance to network and that’s why I love the Barbados government for doing this,” Pool said.


United Kingdom songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Josh Wunderlich, signed to DWB Music, said this was his first time visiting Barbados and noted that working with the cultural practitioners during the camp helped him to gain a wealth of knowledge about the island’s culture.

“We have been sharing ideas and creating songs that are completely unique. No one has ever heard anything like the music created during the camp because this hasn’t been done before,” Wunderlich said.


Meanwhile, Business Development Officer, Music and Music for Film, at the NCF, Lisa Howell, said the successfully executed camp was well-received by the cultural practitioners who began reaping results from the first day.

Howell said the practitioners are now in a better position to write and produce internationally marketable songs.

“So I would say yes we met our goal for this round and hopefully we have the support to continue to facilitate programmes like this. Barbados rose to the occasion. I am really thankful that we had some of our local premier producers and songwriters facilitating. We had Dr Stedson ‘RPB’ Wiltshire who was so invested in showing up every day,” Howell said.

The business development officer added: “We had local producers like Dwain Antrobus, Peter Coppin, Darien Bailey and Simon Pipe who were also facilitators. So we not only brought in global experts in their field, but we also showed our own local premier practitioners in their respective fields and that made us feel good as the National Cultural Foundation.”  (PR)

Caption: from left to right – Singer/Songwriter Munirah Nailah, Gospel Artiste/Songwriter/Producer James Cumberbatch, Singer/Songwriter Dania, DWB Songwriter/Producer Pete Barringer, Songwriter/Producer/ Gospel Art

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BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition Winners Announced

Five winning teams have emerged from the recently held prize-giving ceremony of the inaugural ‘Barbados Postal Service (BPS) 2024 Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’.

The winners hail from the Post Offices of St. Joseph; St. George; Welches Road; St. Philip and the General Post Office in Cheapside.

The overall winner of the competition is the eight-member team of the General Post Office’s Accounts Section, who each received an Island Safari Tour. Second place went to the Welches Road Post Office, third was the St. Philip Post Office, fourth was the St. George Post Office and fifth place went to the St. Joseph Post Office.

Winning Teams (flanked by BPS management), of the inaugural ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’, from the GPO; Welches Road PO; St. Philip PO; St. George PO and the St. Joseph PO.

Postmaster General, Joann Busby, in her address to the winners, stated, “We look forward to many more events like this in the future, celebrating both our history and commitment to excellence.”

Concept Creator of the competition, BPS Marketing Officer Neiai Hall said, “This competition aims to showcase the creativity and cultural expression of our staff, through costume design and performance. The theme of the competition is rooted in our rich heritage and the vibrant spirit of Crop Over.

On left – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’ 2nd Place Winning Costume, On right – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-FFlicky Costume Competition’ 3rd Place Winning Costume.

“We have encouraged participants to design costumes that not only display their creativity but also incorporate elements that represent the services offered by the BPS”.

The judging criteria consisted of Sustainability; Creativity; Depiction of a BPS Service; Originality; Portrayal; Video Creativity and Originality; Practicality and Inclusivity and Descriptive Write-Up. 

Plaques were presented to each of the winning teams and the St. Joseph Post Office also received the Postmaster General’s special award for Outstanding Advertising Video in the competition. (PR/GIS)

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