NIFCA VISUAL ARTS SHOWCASED AT THE QUEENS PARK GALLERY

During this year’s National Cultural Foundation (NCF) National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) showcase, over 300 pieces received visual arts awards.
This news was revealed by Oneka Small, Curator at the NCF, during the opening ceremony for this year’s National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Visual Arts showcase at the Queen’s Park Gallery.

Small stated that the foundation is still pleased with the contributions seen from all sectors of society, particularly schools and small community groups.
“In the preliminary stages we have 317 pieces, which would have gained bronze, silver, and gold awards across all sectors of society…we have 67 golds, those 67 golds are in the Queen’s Park Gallery where we have branded it ‘Simply Gold’, and the other 350 bronze and silvers are in the Steel Shed,” she said.
She also added, that the winner for the Prime Minister’s Award for the Best Original Entry in Visual Arts, and also the 50th Anniversary NIFCA Award, went to Ryan Alleyne for his piece called ‘Bajan Home Essentials’.

Meanwhile, Andrea Wells, the NCF’s Chief Cultural Officer, stated that NIFCA continues to provide a healthy platform for emerging artists, both young and old, to develop their craft in a supportive environment. Wells further praised the NCF’s work over the years in involving members of the incarcerated community into the festival.
“This has been, I think, one of the unsung but heroic stories of NIFCA; we’ve had persons who have come through that program, who have then left their period of incarceration and come out and decided because of the awards they got and the recognition they got in this relatively small national community festival, showed them that there was another way for them to be in the community.”