Art Exhibits at Baha Mar Resort

Sofia grew up in Nassau, Bahamas. Her father is Bahamian (Austrian parents) and her mother is Uruguayan. She went away to school in Austria at 14 years old, then attended high school in Uruguay, college in New York City and finally finished her bachelors in Business and Marketing in Montevideo, Uruguay. Sofia returned home in 2015 and currently works in the family business. 

Sofia has always had a love for photography, her father took a lot of photos his whole life and documented all the important moments in their family.  She got her first camera when she was 8, often borrowed her older sister’s camera and has always been the person at the party that took pictures of her friends. 

Sofia completed various short photography courses in New York City, Montevideo and Vienna but believes that experimentation and self expression is the most important part of photography.

Sofia loves yoga, art and people and hopes that through her photography people can get closer to their own humanity and soul. 

Project Bahama Mama was a two year long journey which began in November 2015. This coffee table book shines a light on the more authentic Bahamas through the portraits and wisdom from the mothers that hold the country together.  The project has taken Sofia through the majority of the islands of the Bahamas, a journey that she states “she needed to make”. It has made her love the people of her country all the more and want to show the rest of the world just how amazing it is.

A professional photographer since the age of fifteen, Roland Rose obtained his first camera when he was only twelve years old and used it to photograph the delights of Hog Island (now Paradise Island) when it truly was an underdeveloped paradise. He has travelled extensively, often to pursue his interest in food, wine, and classical music, but photography has been Roland’s passion and life’s work.

Born in Italy to British parents, Roland has lived in The Bahamas since 1946. Before establishing his own practice, he worked for some thirty-two years for the Development Board (later to become the Ministry of Tourism), when his lens was directed at visitors, touristic sites, and pretty views designed to please and attract visitors. During this time, he also took photographs of island life that piqued his interest or caught his artistic, albeit self-trained, eye.

Hanging precariously from a tree, a fence or a roof, jumping from a boat, or in the air, he sought the unusual angle or different view that gave his photographs special interest. He moved happily from the dark-room to the world of digital photography and Photoshop™, regularly upgrading his equipment to include the latest, most powerful cameras and lenses with their ever-expanding pixel count and improved image quality.

As a photographer, Roland has expressed his joy in the beauty that he has found here in The Bahamas, both in its people and its natural environment.

Daniel Belton was born in the United Kingdom to an English Father and a Bahamian Mother.  He moved to Nassau when he was a young boy and graduated from Kingsway Academy.  Belton was the recipient of the Best Performance Award for Carpentry and Joinery during the 2000 BGCSE Examinations from the Ministry of Education and Youth Testing and Evaluation Section.  He went on to study abroad at Lynn University and received a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management with a Specialization in Sports and Recreation Management.  Belton uses reclaimed wood as his primary material, transforming found and discarded pieces into finished furniture, sculpture and wall decor. He strives to conserve the character of the used material, leaving what others deem as ‘imperfect’: knots, spiral nail holes, cracks, warping and browning. He masterfully incorporates and preserves these wooden ‘scars’ into vibrantly colored, sculptural and functional furniture pieces.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

Once described by a Harvard critic as “an unsophisticated artist producing sophisticated art,” Cox is known for large format paintings, found object assemblages, collage and non-traditional printmaking. His work often references distant places and ideas, but is executed with familiar and ordinary materials.

Born in Nassau in 1973, Cox attended Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, where he received a BFA in Illustration (’95) and an MAT in Art Education (’96). Afterwards, he went on to teach in the Art Department at the College of the Bahamas for six years followed by four years working in Education at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas.

Currently serving as Baha Mar’s Director of Art, Cox has exhibited and participated in exchanges in France, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, the United States and the Caribbean.

John Paul Saddleton’s (b.1968, Bahamas) paintings are a study of light. Working en plein-air, or directly from the landscape, his process is exceptional in that he uses photographic aides sparingly, resulting in dazzling depictions of Bahamian landscape and seascape, often in their most vivid light.

Saddleton received a Bachelor’s of Commerce from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and continued on to Central Saint Martin’s in London, England, where he studied watercolor layering, glass manipulation and advanced color theory.   

The artist frequently works to commission; you can see his paintings in many offices, hotels and private collections.  His murals can also be found at the Lyndin Pindling International Airport, the Cancer Research Centre and Ardastara Gardens and Zoo.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

John Paul Saddleton’s (b.1968, Bahamas) paintings are a study of light. Working en plein-air, or directly from the landscape, his process is exceptional in that he uses photographic aides sparingly, resulting in dazzling depictions of Bahamian landscape and seascape, often in their most vivid light.

Saddleton received a Bachelor’s of Commerce from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and continued on to Central Saint Martin’s in London, England, where he studied watercolor layering, glass manipulation and advanced color theory.   

The artist frequently works to commission; you can see his paintings in many offices, hotels and private collections.  His murals can also be found at the Lyndin Pindling International Airport, the Cancer Research Centre and Ardastara Gardens and Zoo.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

John Paul Saddleton’s (b.1968, Bahamas) paintings are a study of light. Working en plein-air, or directly from the landscape, his process is exceptional in that he uses photographic aides sparingly, resulting in dazzling depictions of Bahamian landscape and seascape, often in their most vivid light.

Saddleton received a Bachelor’s of Commerce from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and continued on to Central Saint Martin’s in London, England, where he studied watercolor layering, glass manipulation and advanced color theory.   

The artist frequently works to commission; you can see his paintings in many offices, hotels and private collections.  His murals can also be found at the Lyndin Pindling International Airport, the Cancer Research Centre and Ardastara Gardens and Zoo.

John Paul Saddleton’s (b.1968, Bahamas) paintings are a study of light. Working en plein-air, or directly from the landscape, his process is exceptional in that he uses photographic aides sparingly, resulting in dazzling depictions of Bahamian landscape and seascape, often in their most vivid light.

Saddleton received a Bachelor’s of Commerce from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and continued on to Central Saint Martin’s in London, England, where he studied watercolor layering, glass manipulation and advanced color theory.   

The artist frequently works to commission; you can see his paintings in many offices, hotels and private collections.  His murals can also be found at the Lyndin Pindling International Airport, the Cancer Research Centre and Ardastara Gardens and Zoo.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

Once described by a Harvard critic as “an unsophisticated artist producing sophisticated art,” Cox is known for large format paintings, found object assemblages, collage and non-traditional printmaking. His work often references distant places and ideas, but is executed with familiar and ordinary materials.

Born in Nassau in 1973, Cox attended Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, where he received a BFA in Illustration (’95) and an MAT in Art Education (’96). Afterwards, he went on to teach in the Art Department at the College of the Bahamas for six years followed by four years working in Education at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas.

Currently serving as Baha Mar’s Director of Art, Cox has exhibited and participated in exchanges in France, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, the United States and the Caribbean.

John Paul Saddleton’s (b.1968, Bahamas) paintings are a study of light. Working en plein-air, or directly from the landscape, his process is exceptional in that he uses photographic aides sparingly, resulting in dazzling depictions of Bahamian landscape and seascape, often in their most vivid light.

Saddleton received a Bachelor’s of Commerce from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and continued on to Central Saint Martin’s in London, England, where he studied watercolor layering, glass manipulation and advanced color theory.   

The artist frequently works to commission; you can see his paintings in many offices, hotels and private collections.  His murals can also be found at the Lyndin Pindling International Airport, the Cancer Research Centre and Ardastara Gardens and Zoo.

Delton Barrett grew up in The Bahamas as a child completing his last year in school from C.R. Walker Senior High in 2008 where he found his interest in art. After leaving school he began spending his time painting sceneries from old magazines of The Bahamas.
Barrett’s ultimate goal is to reflect himself within the landscape that surrounds him; to mirror his masculinity within the foliage that he blends his body into. He asserts his oneness with the roots of trees that stretch far underground. His intentional placement within the untouched landscape communicates a need to be seen deeply, intrinsically apart of the land in a way that brings to the forefront the question of his own freedom – his body, like the land once colonized, now a prop for rebellion against the colonial gaze.

To this day, Jonathan’s desire to recreate the Bahamas on canvas remains, and he has learned that it takes many years to perfect.  Today his paintings realistically capture the majesty and character of Bahamian life and scenery.  Using acrylic paint as his medium, he explores a wide array of subjects, such as historic Bahamian homes and landmarks, colourful native plants, and of course the luminous waters of the Bahamas.

A native of The Bahamas, Kelly says her love for art comes from the 3 H’s—Head, Heart and Hand. Her well-crafted multi-media compositions and assemblages describe ephemeral floral and figurative patterns and imagery using unexpected—and often industrial—materials. The results are both delicate and assertive, providing interesting ideas while also striving to create emotional connections.

She was the first recipient of The Astarita Nassuvian Art Scholarship from the College of The Bahamas, where she graduated with the Top Distinction in Art.

In 2016, Kelly won the 33rd Annual Art Competition at The Central Bank of the Bahamas, being the only woman to win both the junior and senior categories.

Her work has been exhibited in the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, The Public Treasury, The Pro Gallery, The D’Aguilar Art Foundation, and The Central Bank of the Bahamas.

Painting has always been a means of self-expression. I started out drawing and painting portraits, emulating my teacher Stan Burnside, in 1988-1991. But over time I started to experiment with different methods of painting, a natural evolution…..for me the psychology of making images has limitless possibilities. The art world can definitely mess with one’s head at times, but expression has its way of coming out the way it wants to. So with my portraits, to landscapes, to my current elusive abstractions, I am just painting.

Drew Weech (b. Bahamas, 1984) is a multi-disciplinary artist who works both abstractly and figuratively. Weech explores color as a means to create an illusion of form, challenging viewers to visually deconstruct his textured compositions. His work is often ghostly, attempting to reveal imagery in a slow and deliberate manner.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

Delton Barrett grew up in The Bahamas as a child completing his last year in school from C.R. Walker Senior High in 2008 where he found his interest in art. After leaving school he began spending his time painting sceneries from old magazines of The Bahamas.
Barrett’s ultimate goal is to reflect himself within the landscape that surrounds him; to mirror his masculinity within the foliage that he blends his body into. He asserts his oneness with the roots of trees that stretch far underground. His intentional placement within the untouched landscape communicates a need to be seen deeply, intrinsically apart of the land in a way that brings to the forefront the question of his own freedom – his body, like the land once colonized, now a prop for rebellion against the colonial gaze.

John Paul Saddleton’s (b.1968, Bahamas) paintings are a study of light. Working en plein-air, or directly from the landscape, his process is exceptional in that he uses photographic aides sparingly, resulting in dazzling depictions of Bahamian landscape and seascape, often in their most vivid light.

Saddleton received a Bachelor’s of Commerce from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and continued on to Central Saint Martin’s in London, England, where he studied watercolor layering, glass manipulation and advanced color theory.   

The artist frequently works to commission; you can see his paintings in many offices, hotels and private collections.  His murals can also be found at the Lyndin Pindling International Airport, the Cancer Research Centre and Ardastara Gardens and Zoo.

Samantha Treco was born in Nassau, The Bahamas in January 1993. Treco creates art that brings to focus the abandoned, mundane objects that are designated eyesores to ‘ideal’ landscapes. Her work calls into question ways society has trained the eye to recognize beauty and idyllic surroundings, and in doing so making almost invisible parts of the landscape that do not subscribe to the specific criteria that was agreed upon. From an early age, Treco expressed an interest in art. She was encouraged by family and teachers at St. Augustine’s College to develop her interest. That encouragement lead her to enrol in the Associate Degree in Arts at The College of The Bahamas, where she stayed for one year (2011-2012), before transferring to the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York) where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in 2016.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

Janeen Walker (b. 1971, Bahamas) uses the expressive and gestural technique of acrylic pouring to create both large-scale and intimate paintings that exude the vibrancy of the painting language. She explores the way in which marks are spontaneously created through a collaboration between artist and art material. Walker draws emphasis on each layered pour, exposing them through the transparency of epoxy. Walker studied Art at the University of the Bahamas and has exhibited her work in various solo and group exhibitions. She is currently a practicing Artist and the Retail and Merchandizing Manager for The Current Art Gallery and Studio at Baha Mar.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

Jonathan Bethel was born in Nassau, Bahamas on November 1st, 1978.  He attended St. Andrew’s School there for thirteen years, graduating in 1996.  He then went on to Clemson University in South Carolina. There he studied art and graduated in May of 2001 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
 
Even at an early age, Jonathan displayed a strong interest and aptitude for art, particularly drawing.  He would recreate anything he could get his hands on, from album covers to basketball cards.  He also loved to invent his own cartoon characters, creating sketch after sketch of them.  As a child, he participated in and won several art competitions.  In school also he stood out with his abilities in the art field.  He always took the art projects he was doing very seriously, and spent great time on them, sometimes even to his teacher’s disdain.  It was probably always evident that his future would involve art in some form.
 
But it was while at college in South Carolina, away from home for the first time, that Jonathan really developed his appreciation and love for the beauty of the Bahamas.  As the clichéd quote goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”  So he decided to put that passion into his work.  He devoted much of his painting studies there to capturing Bahamian scenery on the canvas.  Most of his work at that time was done completely from his head, and was in part an attempt to feel closer to home.
 
To this day, Jonathan’s desire to recreate the Bahamas on canvas remains, and he has learned that it takes many years to perfect.  Today his paintings realistically capture the majesty and character of Bahamian life and scenery.  Using acrylic paint as his medium, he explores a wide array of subjects, such as historic Bahamian homes and landmarks, colourful native plants, and of course the luminous waters of the Bahamas.
 
In 2001, Jonathan received first prize in the Eighteenth Annual Central Bank of the Bahamas Art Competition (the most prestigious local competition for young artists).  He has also participated in a number of group shows in Nassau and in the Family Islands, as well as several successful one-man shows. Jonathan’s artwork is in the private collections of many prominent Bahamians, and art collectors and enthusiasts around the world.  He was also done many small and large commissioned projects, including a series of five paintings for Bahamar’s renovation of the Sheraton Cable Beach in 2007.  In May of 2008, he was featured in the annual Bahamas edition of the popular Southern Boating magazine, including having one of his paintings on the cover. 

Born on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, to a teacher and farmer; art and nature have always been a part of my life. Growing up on a rural island named Eleuthera, I was always surrounded by the natural beauty of the environment. The colours, sounds, smells and taste of the island life acquainted my mind with the wealth of beauty to be sought on a day to day basis. After leaving this picturesque utopia, I was strewn into the urban sprawl of Nassau, located on New Providence. This new environment seemed familiarly foreign to me, and I contended on a daily basis to remain inspired and enchanted with my beautiful country.

ANTONIUS ROBERTS, OBE (b.1958 Nassau, The Bahamas) has one daughter Ayla Antonia Roberts and is married to Dr Annette Warren-Roberts. Roberts graduated in 1981 from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a BFA in Painting.  As the former coordinator of FINCO Summer Art Workshops and as a teacher and lecturer at Government High School and The College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas), Roberts has mentored a generation of young Bahamian artists.  He conceived of and coordinated the first Junior Junkanoo competition and parade in 1983, celebrating ten years of Bahamian Independence. He served as the Curator of The Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Art Gallery until 2017, and was the architect and coordinator of their annual Competitions and Exhibitions until 2006; and played a supportive role in the restoration of the former Villa Doyle and its conversion to the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.  Additionally Roberts founded The Bahamian Art Gallery in 1991 which was responsible for the reintroduction of master artists Kendal Hanna and Jo Monks – USA Boy. That same year he curated the largest exhibition of Amos Ferguson’s work at The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery and encouraged The Right Honorable Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling to approve the purchase of twenty five (25) paintings from that exhibition. These paintings formed the beginning of the National Art Collection of The Bahamas. In recognition of his contribution to national development in the arts, Roberts was a recipient of a Commonwealth of The Bahamas Silver Jubilee Award and of the E. Clement Bethel Award from The College of The Bahamas, as well as the Ministry of Tourism’s Cacique Award for the Arts in 2000.  As an artist Roberts has participated in exhibitions around the world and has mounted many within The Bahamas.  In 2005 Roberts spent one month in Pietrasanta, Italy working in marble and granite as part of the International Professional Artist Symposium and Exchange. In 2006 he was invited to exhibit in Changchun, China and his 12’ bronze sculpture is permanently installed there.  As a sculptor Roberts is best known for the first Sacred Space project at the historic Clifton Heritage site. This work was expanded by the installation at the Blake Road Welcome Centre.  Another group of Sacred Women travelled to Wiesbaden, Germany for the Funky Nassau Exhibition and then were exhibited at The Nassau Art Gallery of The Bahamas, with a similar installation now forming part of The Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation. On November 3, 2017, The Cove at Atlantis, Paradise Island debuted a permanent art installation “Sacred Space” on the tip of The Cove’s peninsula. This sculpture series, represents seven dancing women who each depict the intention of triumph, hope, determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian Heritage. As an open space designer, in 2009 Roberts designed and directed the creation of the seven acre park at Centreville House, an integral part of the revitalization programme in downtown Nassau. In 2011 he participated in the Master Artists of The Bahamas Exhibition at the Waterloo Centre for the Arts in Iowa. His artwork Bubbles was installed as part of the expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s final phase in 2013. Roberts was the Artist in Residence at Schooner Bay, Abaco, for several years, and in 2017 established a relationship with the Island School in Eleuthera. In 2012, he opened an art gallery and studio on Cumberland Street in a centuries’ old historic building known as Hillside House, which has become an active centre for the creative community. His ethos connecting man’s spiritual and emotional nature and nature itself, and his desire to record and honour Bahamian heritage, is inherent in all of his paintings and sculptures.
A member of The Charitable Arts Foundation for over twenty years, Roberts along with other council members, continue to raise significant funding for the creative community in The Bahamas. These funds are available on an annual bases for art education, grants for short and full length films, art projects, music projects, play writers, poets, musicians and support of national art institutions.

ANTONIUS ROBERTS, OBE (b.1958 Nassau, The Bahamas) has one daughter Ayla Antonia Roberts and is married to Dr Annette Warren-Roberts. Roberts graduated in 1981 from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a BFA in Painting.  As the former coordinator of FINCO Summer Art Workshops and as a teacher and lecturer at Government High School and The College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas), Roberts has mentored a generation of young Bahamian artists.  He conceived of and coordinated the first Junior Junkanoo competition and parade in 1983, celebrating ten years of Bahamian Independence. He served as the Curator of The Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Art Gallery until 2017, and was the architect and coordinator of their annual Competitions and Exhibitions until 2006; and played a supportive role in the restoration of the former Villa Doyle and its conversion to the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.  Additionally Roberts founded The Bahamian Art Gallery in 1991 which was responsible for the reintroduction of master artists Kendal Hanna and Jo Monks – USA Boy. That same year he curated the largest exhibition of Amos Ferguson’s work at The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery and encouraged The Right Honorable Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling to approve the purchase of twenty five (25) paintings from that exhibition. These paintings formed the beginning of the National Art Collection of The Bahamas. In recognition of his contribution to national development in the arts, Roberts was a recipient of a Commonwealth of The Bahamas Silver Jubilee Award and of the E. Clement Bethel Award from The College of The Bahamas, as well as the Ministry of Tourism’s Cacique Award for the Arts in 2000.  As an artist Roberts has participated in exhibitions around the world and has mounted many within The Bahamas.  In 2005 Roberts spent one month in Pietrasanta, Italy working in marble and granite as part of the International Professional Artist Symposium and Exchange. In 2006 he was invited to exhibit in Changchun, China and his 12’ bronze sculpture is permanently installed there.  As a sculptor Roberts is best known for the first Sacred Space project at the historic Clifton Heritage site. This work was expanded by the installation at the Blake Road Welcome Centre.  Another group of Sacred Women travelled to Wiesbaden, Germany for the Funky Nassau Exhibition and then were exhibited at The Nassau Art Gallery of The Bahamas, with a similar installation now forming part of The Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation. On November 3, 2017, The Cove at Atlantis, Paradise Island debuted a permanent art installation “Sacred Space” on the tip of The Cove’s peninsula. This sculpture series, represents seven dancing women who each depict the intention of triumph, hope, determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian Heritage. As an open space designer, in 2009 Roberts designed and directed the creation of the seven acre park at Centreville House, an integral part of the revitalization programme in downtown Nassau. In 2011 he participated in the Master Artists of The Bahamas Exhibition at the Waterloo Centre for the Arts in Iowa. His artwork Bubbles was installed as part of the expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s final phase in 2013. Roberts was the Artist in Residence at Schooner Bay, Abaco, for several years, and in 2017 established a relationship with the Island School in Eleuthera. In 2012, he opened an art gallery and studio on Cumberland Street in a centuries’ old historic building known as Hillside House, which has become an active centre for the creative community. His ethos connecting man’s spiritual and emotional nature and nature itself, and his desire to record and honour Bahamian heritage, is inherent in all of his paintings and sculptures.
A member of The Charitable Arts Foundation for over twenty years, Roberts along with other council members, continue to raise significant funding for the creative community in The Bahamas. These funds are available on an annual bases for art education, grants for short and full length films, art projects, music projects, play writers, poets, musicians and support of national art institutions.

Gio Swaby is a mixed media artist whose practice encompasses installation, textiles, collage, performance, and video. Swaby was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas where she obtained her Associate of Arts degree at The College of The Bahamas in 2012. In 2014, she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree majoring in Film, Video and Integrated Media at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Swaby completed the program in 2016 and is currently based in Vancouver.

Delton Barrett grew up in The Bahamas as a child completing his last year in school from C.R. Walker Senior High in 2008 where he found his interest in art. After leaving school he began spending his time painting sceneries from old magazines of The Bahamas.
Barrett’s ultimate goal is to reflect himself within the landscape that surrounds him; to mirror his masculinity within the foliage that he blends his body into. He asserts his oneness with the roots of trees that stretch far underground. His intentional placement within the untouched landscape communicates a need to be seen deeply, intrinsically apart of the land in a way that brings to the forefront the question of his own freedom – his body, like the land once colonized, now a prop for rebellion against the colonial gaze.

Born on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, to a teacher and farmer; art and nature have always been a part of my life. Growing up on a rural island named Eleuthera, I was always surrounded by the natural beauty of the environment. The colours, sounds, smells and taste of the island life acquainted my mind with the wealth of beauty to be sought on a day to day basis. After leaving this picturesque utopia, I was strewn into the urban sprawl of Nassau, located on New Providence. This new environment seemed familiarly foreign to me, and I contended on a daily basis to remain inspired and enchanted with my beautiful country.

ANTONIUS ROBERTS, OBE (b.1958 Nassau, The Bahamas) has one daughter Ayla Antonia Roberts and is married to Dr Annette Warren-Roberts. Roberts graduated in 1981 from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a BFA in Painting.  As the former coordinator of FINCO Summer Art Workshops and as a teacher and lecturer at Government High School and The College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas), Roberts has mentored a generation of young Bahamian artists.  He conceived of and coordinated the first Junior Junkanoo competition and parade in 1983, celebrating ten years of Bahamian Independence. He served as the Curator of The Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Art Gallery until 2017, and was the architect and coordinator of their annual Competitions and Exhibitions until 2006; and played a supportive role in the restoration of the former Villa Doyle and its conversion to the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.  Additionally Roberts founded The Bahamian Art Gallery in 1991 which was responsible for the reintroduction of master artists Kendal Hanna and Jo Monks – USA Boy. That same year he curated the largest exhibition of Amos Ferguson’s work at The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery and encouraged The Right Honorable Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling to approve the purchase of twenty five (25) paintings from that exhibition. These paintings formed the beginning of the National Art Collection of The Bahamas. In recognition of his contribution to national development in the arts, Roberts was a recipient of a Commonwealth of The Bahamas Silver Jubilee Award and of the E. Clement Bethel Award from The College of The Bahamas, as well as the Ministry of Tourism’s Cacique Award for the Arts in 2000.  As an artist Roberts has participated in exhibitions around the world and has mounted many within The Bahamas.  In 2005 Roberts spent one month in Pietrasanta, Italy working in marble and granite as part of the International Professional Artist Symposium and Exchange. In 2006 he was invited to exhibit in Changchun, China and his 12’ bronze sculpture is permanently installed there.  As a sculptor Roberts is best known for the first Sacred Space project at the historic Clifton Heritage site. This work was expanded by the installation at the Blake Road Welcome Centre.  Another group of Sacred Women travelled to Wiesbaden, Germany for the Funky Nassau Exhibition and then were exhibited at The Nassau Art Gallery of The Bahamas, with a similar installation now forming part of The Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation. On November 3, 2017, The Cove at Atlantis, Paradise Island debuted a permanent art installation “Sacred Space” on the tip of The Cove’s peninsula. This sculpture series, represents seven dancing women who each depict the intention of triumph, hope, determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian Heritage. As an open space designer, in 2009 Roberts designed and directed the creation of the seven acre park at Centreville House, an integral part of the revitalization programme in downtown Nassau. In 2011 he participated in the Master Artists of The Bahamas Exhibition at the Waterloo Centre for the Arts in Iowa. His artwork Bubbles was installed as part of the expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s final phase in 2013. Roberts was the Artist in Residence at Schooner Bay, Abaco, for several years, and in 2017 established a relationship with the Island School in Eleuthera. In 2012, he opened an art gallery and studio on Cumberland Street in a centuries’ old historic building known as Hillside House, which has become an active centre for the creative community. His ethos connecting man’s spiritual and emotional nature and nature itself, and his desire to record and honour Bahamian heritage, is inherent in all of his paintings and sculptures.
A member of The Charitable Arts Foundation for over twenty years, Roberts along with other council members, continue to raise significant funding for the creative community in The Bahamas. These funds are available on an annual bases for art education, grants for short and full length films, art projects, music projects, play writers, poets, musicians and support of national art institutions.

Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. was born and raised in Bermuda in 1966.

His mother says he always showed a fascination for cameras. He did not take photography seriously until at the age of 14, while participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme he needed to chose a hobby, photography was a natural fit. This is where he began to not only shoot but also learned how to develop film and print images in the darkroom. It was at this point where photography became a very large part of his life. Unfortunately, professional photographers were unwilling to teach photography as many feared the student would become a competitor. Guilden learn photography on his own, one image on one roll of film at time, he took notes of each shot he captured and when receiving the film back from the lab he would analyze what he did right and what he did wrong and began to understand why things worked and why they did not, this allowed him to learned the craft of photography. His parents were very supportive, in 1981 they bought him his first 35mm SLR camera, a Canon AE-1 and on this he would shoot between 8 and 10 rolls of film a week. He had this camera and continued to produce images with until it was stolen in 1999.

Guilden relocated to Nassau, the Bahamas in 1997 with his wife of 6 years, they recently celebrated 27 years of marriage and have two children, both born in the Bahamas.

Although much of his work is landscape/seascape, he has become known as a Sports Photographer having been contracted to shoot the IAAF World Relays, CARIFTA Games, FIFA World Cup Qualifier between Bermuda and the Bahamas, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, he also shoots swim events and went home to Bermuda specifically to capture some of the America’s Cup races. He was also recently featured in N Photo Magazine, a Nikon-centric globally distributed magazine for his Sports Photography work. Guilden has also had numerous images selected by Blank Wall, an Athens, Greece art gallery for exhibit. He recently received Honourable Mention in two large global photography contests, the International Photographers Award and the Tokyo International Foto Awards. His work has been purchased and hangs on walls globally.

Guilden is also an executive and photographer with the Bahamian Project, a project designed to capture portraits of average Bahamians with the view to establishing a National Portrait Archive.

Today Guilden has come full circle and is once again shooting and developing film, specifically Medium Format film. He says, “There is just something organic about shooting film and there is nothing quite like the feeling of pulling a developed roll of film out of the developing cannister to see the images created. Shooting film will certainly test your knowledge of proper exposure and composition because the negative does not lie about what you have produced.”

Guilden, along with another local photographer made a decision, two years ago, that they will teach photography because to have gained so much knowledge over nearly 40 years of photograph and not share that knowledge does a dis-service to the art form. The class range from Beginner’s Photography to Advanced Studio and Outdoor Lighting and are held in partnership with Queen’s College Centre for Further Education.

Delton Barrett grew up in The Bahamas as a child completing his last year in school from C.R. Walker Senior High in 2008 where he found his interest in art. After leaving school he began spending his time painting sceneries from old magazines of The Bahamas.
Barrett’s ultimate goal is to reflect himself within the landscape that surrounds him; to mirror his masculinity within the foliage that he blends his body into. He asserts his oneness with the roots of trees that stretch far underground. His intentional placement within the untouched landscape communicates a need to be seen deeply, intrinsically apart of the land in a way that brings to the forefront the question of his own freedom – his body, like the land once colonized, now a prop for rebellion against the colonial gaze.

ANTONIUS ROBERTS, OBE (b.1958 Nassau, The Bahamas) has one daughter Ayla Antonia Roberts and is married to Dr Annette Warren-Roberts. Roberts graduated in 1981 from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a BFA in Painting.  As the former coordinator of FINCO Summer Art Workshops and as a teacher and lecturer at Government High School and The College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas), Roberts has mentored a generation of young Bahamian artists.  He conceived of and coordinated the first Junior Junkanoo competition and parade in 1983, celebrating ten years of Bahamian Independence. He served as the Curator of The Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Art Gallery until 2017, and was the architect and coordinator of their annual Competitions and Exhibitions until 2006; and played a supportive role in the restoration of the former Villa Doyle and its conversion to the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.  Additionally Roberts founded The Bahamian Art Gallery in 1991 which was responsible for the reintroduction of master artists Kendal Hanna and Jo Monks – USA Boy. That same year he curated the largest exhibition of Amos Ferguson’s work at The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery and encouraged The Right Honorable Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling to approve the purchase of twenty five (25) paintings from that exhibition. These paintings formed the beginning of the National Art Collection of The Bahamas. In recognition of his contribution to national development in the arts, Roberts was a recipient of a Commonwealth of The Bahamas Silver Jubilee Award and of the E. Clement Bethel Award from The College of The Bahamas, as well as the Ministry of Tourism’s Cacique Award for the Arts in 2000.  As an artist Roberts has participated in exhibitions around the world and has mounted many within The Bahamas.  In 2005 Roberts spent one month in Pietrasanta, Italy working in marble and granite as part of the International Professional Artist Symposium and Exchange. In 2006 he was invited to exhibit in Changchun, China and his 12’ bronze sculpture is permanently installed there.  As a sculptor Roberts is best known for the first Sacred Space project at the historic Clifton Heritage site. This work was expanded by the installation at the Blake Road Welcome Centre.  Another group of Sacred Women travelled to Wiesbaden, Germany for the Funky Nassau Exhibition and then were exhibited at The Nassau Art Gallery of The Bahamas, with a similar installation now forming part of The Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation. On November 3, 2017, The Cove at Atlantis, Paradise Island debuted a permanent art installation “Sacred Space” on the tip of The Cove’s peninsula. This sculpture series, represents seven dancing women who each depict the intention of triumph, hope, determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian Heritage. As an open space designer, in 2009 Roberts designed and directed the creation of the seven acre park at Centreville House, an integral part of the revitalization programme in downtown Nassau. In 2011 he participated in the Master Artists of The Bahamas Exhibition at the Waterloo Centre for the Arts in Iowa. His artwork Bubbles was installed as part of the expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s final phase in 2013. Roberts was the Artist in Residence at Schooner Bay, Abaco, for several years, and in 2017 established a relationship with the Island School in Eleuthera. In 2012, he opened an art gallery and studio on Cumberland Street in a centuries’ old historic building known as Hillside House, which has become an active centre for the creative community. His ethos connecting man’s spiritual and emotional nature and nature itself, and his desire to record and honour Bahamian heritage, is inherent in all of his paintings and sculptures.
A member of The Charitable Arts Foundation for over twenty years, Roberts along with other council members, continue to raise significant funding for the creative community in The Bahamas. These funds are available on an annual bases for art education, grants for short and full length films, art projects, music projects, play writers, poets, musicians and support of national art institutions.

Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. was born and raised in Bermuda in 1966.

His mother says he always showed a fascination for cameras. He did not take photography seriously until at the age of 14, while participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme he needed to chose a hobby, photography was a natural fit. This is where he began to not only shoot but also learned how to develop film and print images in the darkroom. It was at this point where photography became a very large part of his life. Unfortunately, professional photographers were unwilling to teach photography as many feared the student would become a competitor. Guilden learn photography on his own, one image on one roll of film at time, he took notes of each shot he captured and when receiving the film back from the lab he would analyze what he did right and what he did wrong and began to understand why things worked and why they did not, this allowed him to learned the craft of photography. His parents were very supportive, in 1981 they bought him his first 35mm SLR camera, a Canon AE-1 and on this he would shoot between 8 and 10 rolls of film a week. He had this camera and continued to produce images with until it was stolen in 1999.

Guilden relocated to Nassau, the Bahamas in 1997 with his wife of 6 years, they recently celebrated 27 years of marriage and have two children, both born in the Bahamas.

Although much of his work is landscape/seascape, he has become known as a Sports Photographer having been contracted to shoot the IAAF World Relays, CARIFTA Games, FIFA World Cup Qualifier between Bermuda and the Bahamas, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, he also shoots swim events and went home to Bermuda specifically to capture some of the America’s Cup races. He was also recently featured in N Photo Magazine, a Nikon-centric globally distributed magazine for his Sports Photography work. Guilden has also had numerous images selected by Blank Wall, an Athens, Greece art gallery for exhibit. He recently received Honourable Mention in two large global photography contests, the International Photographers Award and the Tokyo International Foto Awards. His work has been purchased and hangs on walls globally.

Guilden is also an executive and photographer with the Bahamian Project, a project designed to capture portraits of average Bahamians with the view to establishing a National Portrait Archive.

Today Guilden has come full circle and is once again shooting and developing film, specifically Medium Format film. He says, “There is just something organic about shooting film and there is nothing quite like the feeling of pulling a developed roll of film out of the developing cannister to see the images created. Shooting film will certainly test your knowledge of proper exposure and composition because the negative does not lie about what you have produced.”

Guilden, along with another local photographer made a decision, two years ago, that they will teach photography because to have gained so much knowledge over nearly 40 years of photograph and not share that knowledge does a dis-service to the art form. The class range from Beginner’s Photography to Advanced Studio and Outdoor Lighting and are held in partnership with Queen’s College Centre for Further Education.

Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. was born and raised in Bermuda in 1966.

His mother says he always showed a fascination for cameras. He did not take photography seriously until at the age of 14, while participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme he needed to chose a hobby, photography was a natural fit. This is where he began to not only shoot but also learned how to develop film and print images in the darkroom. It was at this point where photography became a very large part of his life. Unfortunately, professional photographers were unwilling to teach photography as many feared the student would become a competitor. Guilden learn photography on his own, one image on one roll of film at time, he took notes of each shot he captured and when receiving the film back from the lab he would analyze what he did right and what he did wrong and began to understand why things worked and why they did not, this allowed him to learned the craft of photography. His parents were very supportive, in 1981 they bought him his first 35mm SLR camera, a Canon AE-1 and on this he would shoot between 8 and 10 rolls of film a week. He had this camera and continued to produce images with until it was stolen in 1999.

Guilden relocated to Nassau, the Bahamas in 1997 with his wife of 6 years, they recently celebrated 27 years of marriage and have two children, both born in the Bahamas.

Although much of his work is landscape/seascape, he has become known as a Sports Photographer having been contracted to shoot the IAAF World Relays, CARIFTA Games, FIFA World Cup Qualifier between Bermuda and the Bahamas, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, he also shoots swim events and went home to Bermuda specifically to capture some of the America’s Cup races. He was also recently featured in N Photo Magazine, a Nikon-centric globally distributed magazine for his Sports Photography work. Guilden has also had numerous images selected by Blank Wall, an Athens, Greece art gallery for exhibit. He recently received Honourable Mention in two large global photography contests, the International Photographers Award and the Tokyo International Foto Awards. His work has been purchased and hangs on walls globally.

Guilden is also an executive and photographer with the Bahamian Project, a project designed to capture portraits of average Bahamians with the view to establishing a National Portrait Archive.

Today Guilden has come full circle and is once again shooting and developing film, specifically Medium Format film. He says, “There is just something organic about shooting film and there is nothing quite like the feeling of pulling a developed roll of film out of the developing cannister to see the images created. Shooting film will certainly test your knowledge of proper exposure and composition because the negative does not lie about what you have produced.”

Guilden, along with another local photographer made a decision, two years ago, that they will teach photography because to have gained so much knowledge over nearly 40 years of photograph and not share that knowledge does a dis-service to the art form. The class range from Beginner’s Photography to Advanced Studio and Outdoor Lighting and are held in partnership with Queen’s College Centre for Further Education.

ANTONIUS ROBERTS, OBE (b.1958 Nassau, The Bahamas) has one daughter Ayla Antonia Roberts and is married to Dr Annette Warren-Roberts. Roberts graduated in 1981 from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a BFA in Painting.  As the former coordinator of FINCO Summer Art Workshops and as a teacher and lecturer at Government High School and The College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas), Roberts has mentored a generation of young Bahamian artists.  He conceived of and coordinated the first Junior Junkanoo competition and parade in 1983, celebrating ten years of Bahamian Independence. He served as the Curator of The Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Art Gallery until 2017, and was the architect and coordinator of their annual Competitions and Exhibitions until 2006; and played a supportive role in the restoration of the former Villa Doyle and its conversion to the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.  Additionally Roberts founded The Bahamian Art Gallery in 1991 which was responsible for the reintroduction of master artists Kendal Hanna and Jo Monks – USA Boy. That same year he curated the largest exhibition of Amos Ferguson’s work at The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery and encouraged The Right Honorable Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling to approve the purchase of twenty five (25) paintings from that exhibition. These paintings formed the beginning of the National Art Collection of The Bahamas. In recognition of his contribution to national development in the arts, Roberts was a recipient of a Commonwealth of The Bahamas Silver Jubilee Award and of the E. Clement Bethel Award from The College of The Bahamas, as well as the Ministry of Tourism’s Cacique Award for the Arts in 2000.  As an artist Roberts has participated in exhibitions around the world and has mounted many within The Bahamas.  In 2005 Roberts spent one month in Pietrasanta, Italy working in marble and granite as part of the International Professional Artist Symposium and Exchange. In 2006 he was invited to exhibit in Changchun, China and his 12’ bronze sculpture is permanently installed there.  As a sculptor Roberts is best known for the first Sacred Space project at the historic Clifton Heritage site. This work was expanded by the installation at the Blake Road Welcome Centre.  Another group of Sacred Women travelled to Wiesbaden, Germany for the Funky Nassau Exhibition and then were exhibited at The Nassau Art Gallery of The Bahamas, with a similar installation now forming part of The Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation. On November 3, 2017, The Cove at Atlantis, Paradise Island debuted a permanent art installation “Sacred Space” on the tip of The Cove’s peninsula. This sculpture series, represents seven dancing women who each depict the intention of triumph, hope, determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian Heritage. As an open space designer, in 2009 Roberts designed and directed the creation of the seven acre park at Centreville House, an integral part of the revitalization programme in downtown Nassau. In 2011 he participated in the Master Artists of The Bahamas Exhibition at the Waterloo Centre for the Arts in Iowa. His artwork Bubbles was installed as part of the expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s final phase in 2013. Roberts was the Artist in Residence at Schooner Bay, Abaco, for several years, and in 2017 established a relationship with the Island School in Eleuthera. In 2012, he opened an art gallery and studio on Cumberland Street in a centuries’ old historic building known as Hillside House, which has become an active centre for the creative community. His ethos connecting man’s spiritual and emotional nature and nature itself, and his desire to record and honour Bahamian heritage, is inherent in all of his paintings and sculptures.
A member of The Charitable Arts Foundation for over twenty years, Roberts along with other council members, continue to raise significant funding for the creative community in The Bahamas. These funds are available on an annual bases for art education, grants for short and full length films, art projects, music projects, play writers, poets, musicians and support of national art institutions.

Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. was born and raised in Bermuda in 1966.

His mother says he always showed a fascination for cameras. He did not take photography seriously until at the age of 14, while participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme he needed to chose a hobby, photography was a natural fit. This is where he began to not only shoot but also learned how to develop film and print images in the darkroom. It was at this point where photography became a very large part of his life. Unfortunately, professional photographers were unwilling to teach photography as many feared the student would become a competitor. Guilden learn photography on his own, one image on one roll of film at time, he took notes of each shot he captured and when receiving the film back from the lab he would analyze what he did right and what he did wrong and began to understand why things worked and why they did not, this allowed him to learned the craft of photography. His parents were very supportive, in 1981 they bought him his first 35mm SLR camera, a Canon AE-1 and on this he would shoot between 8 and 10 rolls of film a week. He had this camera and continued to produce images with until it was stolen in 1999.

Guilden relocated to Nassau, the Bahamas in 1997 with his wife of 6 years, they recently celebrated 27 years of marriage and have two children, both born in the Bahamas.

Although much of his work is landscape/seascape, he has become known as a Sports Photographer having been contracted to shoot the IAAF World Relays, CARIFTA Games, FIFA World Cup Qualifier between Bermuda and the Bahamas, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, he also shoots swim events and went home to Bermuda specifically to capture some of the America’s Cup races. He was also recently featured in N Photo Magazine, a Nikon-centric globally distributed magazine for his Sports Photography work. Guilden has also had numerous images selected by Blank Wall, an Athens, Greece art gallery for exhibit. He recently received Honourable Mention in two large global photography contests, the International Photographers Award and the Tokyo International Foto Awards. His work has been purchased and hangs on walls globally.

Guilden is also an executive and photographer with the Bahamian Project, a project designed to capture portraits of average Bahamians with the view to establishing a National Portrait Archive.

Today Guilden has come full circle and is once again shooting and developing film, specifically Medium Format film. He says, “There is just something organic about shooting film and there is nothing quite like the feeling of pulling a developed roll of film out of the developing cannister to see the images created. Shooting film will certainly test your knowledge of proper exposure and composition because the negative does not lie about what you have produced.”

Guilden, along with another local photographer made a decision, two years ago, that they will teach photography because to have gained so much knowledge over nearly 40 years of photograph and not share that knowledge does a dis-service to the art form. The class range from Beginner’s Photography to Advanced Studio and Outdoor Lighting and are held in partnership with Queen’s College Centre for Further Education.

To this day, Jonathan’s desire to recreate the Bahamas on canvas remains, and he has learned that it takes many years to perfect.  Today his paintings realistically capture the majesty and character of Bahamian life and scenery.  Using acrylic paint as his medium, he explores a wide array of subjects, such as historic Bahamian homes and landmarks, colourful native plants, and of course the luminous waters of the Bahamas.

“Collecting is part of the making,” states sculptor Kendra Frorup about her artwork. Frorup was born and brought up in Nassau, Bahamas and uses her memories of this time in her art. After a childhood in the Bahamas, she welcomed the opportunity to study in the United States and began to create representational images that showed a commonality with her culture.

“There is no progress in constantly repeating what has been done.” This theme resonates sharply through the art and life of Bahamian-born Visual Artist- Mr. Allan Pachino Wallace. It’s therefore not surprising that he finds himself as one of the most unique contributors to Bahamian art. At thirty-seven years old, Allan exudes a sense of comfort in the practice of his artistic gift, consistently challenging himself to achieve more. Allan was born March 11, 1979. Just about two years later, inspired by his uncle O’Brian Wallace, Allan picked up an art pencil for the first time, and the two became inseparable.

ANTONIUS ROBERTS, OBE (b.1958 Nassau, The Bahamas) has one daughter Ayla Antonia Roberts and is married to Dr Annette Warren-Roberts. Roberts graduated in 1981 from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a BFA in Painting.  As the former coordinator of FINCO Summer Art Workshops and as a teacher and lecturer at Government High School and The College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas), Roberts has mentored a generation of young Bahamian artists.  He conceived of and coordinated the first Junior Junkanoo competition and parade in 1983, celebrating ten years of Bahamian Independence. He served as the Curator of The Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Art Gallery until 2017, and was the architect and coordinator of their annual Competitions and Exhibitions until 2006; and played a supportive role in the restoration of the former Villa Doyle and its conversion to the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.  Additionally Roberts founded The Bahamian Art Gallery in 1991 which was responsible for the reintroduction of master artists Kendal Hanna and Jo Monks – USA Boy. That same year he curated the largest exhibition of Amos Ferguson’s work at The Central Bank of The Bahamas Art Gallery and encouraged The Right Honorable Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Sir Lynden Pindling to approve the purchase of twenty five (25) paintings from that exhibition. These paintings formed the beginning of the National Art Collection of The Bahamas. In recognition of his contribution to national development in the arts, Roberts was a recipient of a Commonwealth of The Bahamas Silver Jubilee Award and of the E. Clement Bethel Award from The College of The Bahamas, as well as the Ministry of Tourism’s Cacique Award for the Arts in 2000.  As an artist Roberts has participated in exhibitions around the world and has mounted many within The Bahamas.  In 2005 Roberts spent one month in Pietrasanta, Italy working in marble and granite as part of the International Professional Artist Symposium and Exchange. In 2006 he was invited to exhibit in Changchun, China and his 12’ bronze sculpture is permanently installed there.  As a sculptor Roberts is best known for the first Sacred Space project at the historic Clifton Heritage site. This work was expanded by the installation at the Blake Road Welcome Centre.  Another group of Sacred Women travelled to Wiesbaden, Germany for the Funky Nassau Exhibition and then were exhibited at The Nassau Art Gallery of The Bahamas, with a similar installation now forming part of The Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation. On November 3, 2017, The Cove at Atlantis, Paradise Island debuted a permanent art installation “Sacred Space” on the tip of The Cove’s peninsula. This sculpture series, represents seven dancing women who each depict the intention of triumph, hope, determination and a vision to help conserve Bahamian Heritage. As an open space designer, in 2009 Roberts designed and directed the creation of the seven acre park at Centreville House, an integral part of the revitalization programme in downtown Nassau. In 2011 he participated in the Master Artists of The Bahamas Exhibition at the Waterloo Centre for the Arts in Iowa. His artwork Bubbles was installed as part of the expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s final phase in 2013. Roberts was the Artist in Residence at Schooner Bay, Abaco, for several years, and in 2017 established a relationship with the Island School in Eleuthera. In 2012, he opened an art gallery and studio on Cumberland Street in a centuries’ old historic building known as Hillside House, which has become an active centre for the creative community. His ethos connecting man’s spiritual and emotional nature and nature itself, and his desire to record and honour Bahamian heritage, is inherent in all of his paintings and sculptures.
A member of The Charitable Arts Foundation for over twenty years, Roberts along with other council members, continue to raise significant funding for the creative community in The Bahamas. These funds are available on an annual bases for art education, grants for short and full length films, art projects, music projects, play writers, poets, musicians and support of national art institutions.

Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. was born and raised in Bermuda in 1966.

His mother says he always showed a fascination for cameras. He did not take photography seriously until at the age of 14, while participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme he needed to chose a hobby, photography was a natural fit. This is where he began to not only shoot but also learned how to develop film and print images in the darkroom. It was at this point where photography became a very large part of his life. Unfortunately, professional photographers were unwilling to teach photography as many feared the student would become a competitor. Guilden learn photography on his own, one image on one roll of film at time, he took notes of each shot he captured and when receiving the film back from the lab he would analyze what he did right and what he did wrong and began to understand why things worked and why they did not, this allowed him to learned the craft of photography. His parents were very supportive, in 1981 they bought him his first 35mm SLR camera, a Canon AE-1 and on this he would shoot between 8 and 10 rolls of film a week. He had this camera and continued to produce images with until it was stolen in 1999.

Guilden relocated to Nassau, the Bahamas in 1997 with his wife of 6 years, they recently celebrated 27 years of marriage and have two children, both born in the Bahamas.

Although much of his work is landscape/seascape, he has become known as a Sports Photographer having been contracted to shoot the IAAF World Relays, CARIFTA Games, FIFA World Cup Qualifier between Bermuda and the Bahamas, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, he also shoots swim events and went home to Bermuda specifically to capture some of the America’s Cup races. He was also recently featured in N Photo Magazine, a Nikon-centric globally distributed magazine for his Sports Photography work. Guilden has also had numerous images selected by Blank Wall, an Athens, Greece art gallery for exhibit. He recently received Honourable Mention in two large global photography contests, the International Photographers Award and the Tokyo International Foto Awards. His work has been purchased and hangs on walls globally.

Guilden is also an executive and photographer with the Bahamian Project, a project designed to capture portraits of average Bahamians with the view to establishing a National Portrait Archive.

Today Guilden has come full circle and is once again shooting and developing film, specifically Medium Format film. He says, “There is just something organic about shooting film and there is nothing quite like the feeling of pulling a developed roll of film out of the developing cannister to see the images created. Shooting film will certainly test your knowledge of proper exposure and composition because the negative does not lie about what you have produced.”

Guilden, along with another local photographer made a decision, two years ago, that they will teach photography because to have gained so much knowledge over nearly 40 years of photograph and not share that knowledge does a dis-service to the art form. The class range from Beginner’s Photography to Advanced Studio and Outdoor Lighting and are held in partnership with Queen’s College Centre for Further Education.

Guilden M. Gilbert, Jr. was born and raised in Bermuda in 1966.

His mother says he always showed a fascination for cameras. He did not take photography seriously until at the age of 14, while participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme he needed to chose a hobby, photography was a natural fit. This is where he began to not only shoot but also learned how to develop film and print images in the darkroom. It was at this point where photography became a very large part of his life. Unfortunately, professional photographers were unwilling to teach photography as many feared the student would become a competitor. Guilden learn photography on his own, one image on one roll of film at time, he took notes of each shot he captured and when receiving the film back from the lab he would analyze what he did right and what he did wrong and began to understand why things worked and why they did not, this allowed him to learned the craft of photography. His parents were very supportive, in 1981 they bought him his first 35mm SLR camera, a Canon AE-1 and on this he would shoot between 8 and 10 rolls of film a week. He had this camera and continued to produce images with until it was stolen in 1999.

Guilden relocated to Nassau, the Bahamas in 1997 with his wife of 6 years, they recently celebrated 27 years of marriage and have two children, both born in the Bahamas.

Although much of his work is landscape/seascape, he has become known as a Sports Photographer having been contracted to shoot the IAAF World Relays, CARIFTA Games, FIFA World Cup Qualifier between Bermuda and the Bahamas, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, he also shoots swim events and went home to Bermuda specifically to capture some of the America’s Cup races. He was also recently featured in N Photo Magazine, a Nikon-centric globally distributed magazine for his Sports Photography work. Guilden has also had numerous images selected by Blank Wall, an Athens, Greece art gallery for exhibit. He recently received Honourable Mention in two large global photography contests, the International Photographers Award and the Tokyo International Foto Awards. His work has been purchased and hangs on walls globally.

Guilden is also an executive and photographer with the Bahamian Project, a project designed to capture portraits of average Bahamians with the view to establishing a National Portrait Archive.

Today Guilden has come full circle and is once again shooting and developing film, specifically Medium Format film. He says, “There is just something organic about shooting film and there is nothing quite like the feeling of pulling a developed roll of film out of the developing cannister to see the images created. Shooting film will certainly test your knowledge of proper exposure and composition because the negative does not lie about what you have produced.”

Guilden, along with another local photographer made a decision, two years ago, that they will teach photography because to have gained so much knowledge over nearly 40 years of photograph and not share that knowledge does a dis-service to the art form. The class range from Beginner’s Photography to Advanced Studio and Outdoor Lighting and are held in partnership with Queen’s College Centre for Further Education.

A professional photographer since the age of fifteen, Roland Rose obtained his first camera when he was only twelve years old and used it to photograph the delights of Hog Island (now Paradise Island) when it truly was an underdeveloped paradise. He has travelled extensively, often to pursue his interest in food, wine, and classical music, but photography has been Roland’s passion and life’s work.

Born in Italy to British parents, Roland has lived in The Bahamas since 1946. Before establishing his own practice, he worked for some thirty-two years for the Development Board (later to become the Ministry of Tourism), when his lens was directed at visitors, touristic sites, and pretty views designed to please and attract visitors. During this time, he also took photographs of island life that piqued his interest or caught his artistic, albeit self-trained, eye.

Hanging precariously from a tree, a fence or a roof, jumping from a boat, or in the air, he sought the unusual angle or different view that gave his photographs special interest. He moved happily from the dark-room to the world of digital photography and Photoshop™, regularly upgrading his equipment to include the latest, most powerful cameras and lenses with their ever-expanding pixel count and improved image quality.

As a photographer, Roland has expressed his joy in the beauty that he has found here in The Bahamas, both in its people and its natural environment.

Painting has always been a means of self-expression. I started out drawing and painting portraits, emulating my teacher Stan Burnside, in 1988-1991. But over time I started to experiment with different methods of painting, a natural evolution…..for me the psychology of making images has limitless possibilities. The art world can definitely mess with one’s head at times, but expression has its way of coming out the way it wants to. So with my portraits, to landscapes, to my current elusive abstractions, I am just painting.

Kendal Hanna (born 1936, Nassau, The Bahamas) is one of the country’s earliest abstract expressionists.  In his early career,  Hanna worked figuratively,  but as he progressed,  his work became increasingly abstract and self-referential.  He characterizes his work as his “subconscious mind expressing itself on the canvas.”  Hanna went through a phase of painting using only black and white, but after treatment for illness, he began using color more extensively.  Today, he paints in both colour and black and white, and alternates between pure abstractionism and capturing subjects, often himself or close friends, in a more realistic style.   

Hanna always dreamed of being “trained in art” and left for New York City in early adulthood to study fine art, but had to return to Nassau to look after his ailing mother and was never able to realize his dream of attending art school.  Later, Hanna studied marine biology and then worked in the post office in Nassau.  During his breaks, he visited Nassau’s fabled Chelsea Pottery and soon became one of their first apprentices, along with Max Taylor and Brent Malone.  An avid reader of the art books found at the Pottery,  he learned about the work of European artists and was inspired to turn to painting. Hanna also met many visiting artists and sculptors who came to Nassau, among them Hildegard Hamilton and famous American muralist John St. John.  Hanna was influenced by their work and they encouraged him to pursue his art.   

His first exhibition was held in 1992 in Nassau and then at The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas,  a restored colonial mansion formerly known as the Villa Doyle.  Hanna remembers accompanying his mother to work and looking at the Villa Doyle opposite. “I would never realize that my paintings would be shown in this place, you know it’s sort of unbelievable,” he says about seeing his work hanging in the Gallery now.  Hanna had exhibitions at the new Providence Art and Antiques Gallery in 2005 and 2006, the second exhibit showing many of his self-portraits.  He moved into Popup Galleries in 2007 where he is still the artist in residence. In 2011, a major retrospective of his life’s work was shown at the NAGB.   In 2015, Hanna was selected to exhibit at Volta Art Fair in NYC.  A documentary, Brigidy Bram, tells the story of Hanna’s life and working processes.

Delton Barrett grew up in The Bahamas as a child completing his last year in school from C.R. Walker Senior High in 2008 where he found his interest in art. After leaving school he began spending his time painting sceneries from old magazines of The Bahamas.
Barrett’s ultimate goal is to reflect himself within the landscape that surrounds him; to mirror his masculinity within the foliage that he blends his body into. He asserts his oneness with the roots of trees that stretch far underground. His intentional placement within the untouched landscape communicates a need to be seen deeply, intrinsically apart of the land in a way that brings to the forefront the question of his own freedom – his body, like the land once colonized, now a prop for rebellion against the colonial gaze.

To this day, Jonathan’s desire to recreate the Bahamas on canvas remains, and he has learned that it takes many years to perfect.  Today his paintings realistically capture the majesty and character of Bahamian life and scenery.  Using acrylic paint as his medium, he explores a wide array of subjects, such as historic Bahamian homes and landmarks, colourful native plants, and of course the luminous waters of the Bahamas.

To this day, Jonathan’s desire to recreate the Bahamas on canvas remains, and he has learned that it takes many years to perfect.  Today his paintings realistically capture the majesty and character of Bahamian life and scenery.  Using acrylic paint as his medium, he explores a wide array of subjects, such as historic Bahamian homes and landmarks, colourful native plants, and of course the luminous waters of the Bahamas.

In high school I gained an appreciation for photography as an art form while learning the intricacies of the field; rolling, shooting, and developing my own black and white film, preparing prints for a weekly class critique. After graduating from college I moved to Alaska for a summer job and ended up staying for almost 7 years. I spent winter months of each year traveling and volunteering throughout Latin America. As a solo traveller I used my camera as a tool to connect and share with people along the way, telling stories of lives different than mine. In 2008 I spent a year living in Palermo, Sicily and decided to get serious about photography as a career. Afterwards I published four images with National Geographic including its “Life in Color” book and series in 2009. A portfolio of images from Sicily titled “Sicilia Bellina” was also published in Descant Magazine in 2011. After a short stint at an office job with a travel company,

I decided to work independently as a freelance photographer shooting weddings while working with clients such as Harvard University, McKinsey and Company, Mystic River Watershed Association, and Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS. In 2012 I was offered a job at The Island School, a non-profit organization on a remote island in The Bahamas. I jumped at the opportunity at doing more purposeful work. I was put in charge of telling the stories of scientists, educators, sustainability specialists, and students. There I captured images of educational hands-on experiences involving scuba diving, field research, renewable energy production, and survival kayak trips.

I now work as a freelance photographer and stay-at-home father based in Nassau, The Bahamas. I am now accepted as a representative of Junkanoo media with the Bahamas Ministry of Culture and a contributing photographer of The Bahamian Project.

Melissa Alcena is a portrait and documentary photographer born in 1988 in Nassau, Bahamas. She attended Lyford Cay International School and graduated from St. Andrew’s International School in 2006. In 2010 she enrolled at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, and completed a two year Applied Photography course in 2012. Alcena was invited to exhibit for her first solo show, “Some (re)assembly required” at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas in 2017 and in group shows at The Central Bank of The Bahamas for ‘The Bahamian Project’, ‘Diversions’ for The D’Agulair Art Foundation and most recently for The National Art Gallery’s NE9 ‘The Fruit and the Seed’ in 2018.

Daniel Belton was born in the United Kingdom to an English Father and a Bahamian Mother.  He moved to Nassau when he was a young boy and graduated from Kingsway Academy.  Belton was the recipient of the Best Performance Award for Carpentry and Joinery during the 2000 BGCSE Examinations from the Ministry of Education and Youth Testing and Evaluation Section.  He went on to study abroad at Lynn University and received a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management with a Specialization in Sports and Recreation Management.  Belton uses reclaimed wood as his primary material, transforming found and discarded pieces into finished furniture, sculpture and wall decor. He strives to conserve the character of the used material, leaving what others deem as ‘imperfect’: knots, spiral nail holes, cracks, warping and browning. He masterfully incorporates and preserves these wooden ‘scars’ into vibrantly colored, sculptural and functional furniture pieces.