The Ghetto Biennale: when art is defiance | Backstory By Nixon Nelson | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) Ten years ago, a group of artists in Haiti launched an audacious, even provocative, project: the Ghetto Biennale, drawing international attention to the creative community in Port-au-Prince’s Grand Rue. The event’s tensions and discomforts are at the heart of its mission, writes Nixon Nelson, as the Ghetto Biennale prepares to stage its sixth edition
Kelly Sinnapah Mary: Riddles of survival | Portfolio By Shereen Ali | Issue 159 (September/October 2019) Working across mediums, Guadeloupean artist Kelly Sinnapah Mary creates images with a fairytale quality, mingling cruelty and enchantment, as she explores postcolonial dilemmas and the resistance of self-invention, writes Shereen Ann Ali
Jean-Ulrick Désert: look and look again | Closeup By Andre Bagoo | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Born in Haiti, currently based in Berlin, Jean-Ulrick Désert may be a citizen of the world — but his ideas are shaped by his Caribbean roots. A kind of discomfort that makes you look closer is key to this artist’s work, writes Andre Bagoo
Good prospect | Personal tour By Caribbean Beat | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) From architectural landmarks to a growing foodie scene, the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Prospect Heights — home to Trinidad-born architect Roxanne Ryce-Paul — may be rapidly gentrifying, but it still holds on to elements of its history
Adam Patterson: barbed beauty | Closeup By Shereen Ali | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) For Barbadian artist Adam Patterson, masquerade and performance are mediums for challenging Caribbean stereotypes, writes Shereen Ann Ali
Turn of the tide | Panorama By Caribbean Beat | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) A new exhibition of contemporary artists explores the “submarine” links among the islands of the Caribbean archipelago. A portfolio of artworks from Relational Undercurrents, now on view in New York City
Tessa Mars: full free | Closeup By Shereen Ali | Issue 151 (May/June 2018) Haitian artist Tessa Mars is influenced by her country’s revolutionary history as much as her own family’s intellectual tradition, and her lifelong fascination with riddles. Her colourful paintings often feature a semi-autobiographical character named Tessalines — and deal in complex ideas about identity and freedom. Shereen Ali finds out more
Sans-Souci, Haiti: uncovering a kingdom | Discover By Erline Andrews | Issue 151 (May/June 2018) It’s one of the Caribbean’s most resonant historic sites, but surprisingly little is known about the true history of Sans-Souci, the palace of Henri Christophe, writes Erline Andrews. Now a multinational team of archaeologists are using high-tech tools to resurvey the site, and perhaps rewrite Haitian history
Caribbean spirit By Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 43 (May/June 2000) US photographer Wyatt Gallery's images reflect a part of the Caribbean that is often ignored — or perhaps not ever seen — by the average holiday visitor. These images taken during a six-month journey around the Caribbean, capture the spirituality that emanates from particular places and buildings, whether they are religious or secular. They form part of a study that Gallery is continuing in Trinidad and Tobago on a Fulbright scholarship
Seya Parboosingh: painting a story of love By Petrine Archer-Straw | Issue 43 (May/June 2000) Seya Parboosingh's art tells a simple but profound story of her love for her late husband and for her adopted country, Jamaica. Through it, she has found a way of healing her spirit. Petrine Archer-Straw explains
Graceful Georgetown Guyana By Caribbean Beat | Issue 5 (Spring 1993) Some of the finest traditional architecture in the Caribbean-cool, simple, practical, well-crafted- can be found in the Guyanese capital
Albert Huie: light on the land By Caribbean Beat | Issue 51 (September/October 2001) Danielle Goodman meets Jamaican painter Albert Huie
Potted History By Simon Lee | Issue 42 (March/April 2000) St Lucia’s Amerindian, African and European heritage is reflected in the clay pottery made at Choiseul. Simon Lee reports
On Florida’s “Art Coast” | Destination By Samantha Rojas | Issue 148 (November/December 2017) South Florida: famous for its beaches, its nightlife, its shopping and entertainment. But the stretch of golden coast between Miami and Fort Lauderdale should also be famous for its fabulous art scene and world-class museums, says Samantha Rojas
Word of mouth (Nov/Dec 2017) By Philip Sander, Laura Dowrich-Phillips and Nixon Nelson | Issue 148 (November/December 2017) Why Jean-Michael Basquiat is a posthumous art star, how the Sunset Festival in Trinidad is changing Caribbean dance music, and where to end 2017 with a truly big bang: Paramaribo
The Bibliothèque Schoelcher: a Library For All | Parting Shot By Caribbean Beat | Issue 146 (July/August 2017) Martinique’s Bibliothèque Schoelcher is a storehouse of history in more ways than one
Inner-city art in Kingston By Tanya Batson-Savage | Issue 144 (March/April 2017) For middle-class Jamaicans and tourists alike, downtown Kingston, with its deprived communities, can seem off-limits. So when a group of young artists began a public mural project in the Fleet Street area, it wasn’t just about beautifying the neighbourhood, writes Tanya Batson-Savage. It was really about opening opportunities for local residents
Fanny Eaton: forgotten beauty By Judy Raymond | Issue 143 (January/February 2017) In the paintings of the nineteenth-century British Pre-Raphaelite artists, one “exotic” face stands out. Fanny Eaton, born in Jamaica, was a mixed-race model who found herself, for a few years, near the heart of Victorian London’s art world — and was long forgotten. Judy Raymond tells what’s known of her story
Kingston beat By Tanya Batson-Savage | Issue 140 (July/August 2016) For many visitors to Jamaica, the capital Kingston, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, is just the gateway to the country’s beach resorts. But, as Tanya Batson-Savage explains, Kingston’s bustling cosmopolitan scene and dynamic cultural offerings make it an essential destination. Here’s her list of must-sees and must-dos, from art to music to cuisine
Ewan Atkinson: boy next door By Allison Thompson | Issue 136 (November/December 2015) The fictional Neighbourhood invented by Barbadian artist Ewan Atkinson is like a childhood fantasy complicated by grown-up concerns, Allison Thompson writes
Sea beauty By Caribbean Beat | Issue 135 (September/October 2015) In Grenada’s underwater sculpture park, a new Nutmeg Princess offers divers a handful of spicy bounty
Nadia Huggins: after the leap By Melanie Archer | Issue 134 (July/August 2015) Through her photographs of young boys playing in and around the sea, Vincentian Nadia Huggins captures moments of daring and transformation, and explores “the present moment.” Melanie Archer introduces a portfolio of images
