Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

VisualArt Galleries’ latest exhibition, Emergence Group Art Exhibition, is currently taking place at the UTT NAPA Campus, Keate Street, Port-of-Spain. The exhibition, which runs until June 30, showcases the work of 26 emerging artists.

The artists whose work is on display include: Andrew Fitt, Annalise Dos Ramos, Dunieski Lora Pileta, Douha Aboud, Enaldo Byno, E.R.R, Hubert Jones, Jacob Cino, Joy Luk Pat, Kajal Madho, Kevin Vincent, Mario Blades, Mark Joseph, Micheal Boothman, Michelle Boyd, Nalini Singh, Nickolai Salcedo, Nickolas Peeteman, Nicole Tang, Omar Jarra, Omesh, Onica Singh, Peter Samanek, Paulette Narinesingh, Reanne Williams and Roger Bissoon.

The gallery was founded by young entrepreneurs Jonathan Mora and Joshua Persad in the wake of the death of their friend Wesley Kanhai, a Trinidadian creative genius who founded Art 6 Gallery Ltd, managed by Kanhai and Mora at #6 Scott Street, St. Clair. Mora said, “Wesley’s aim was to give young artists a space that accommodated them rather than shut them out. His experience as a young brilliant artist in T&T was a bittersweet encounter, as he experienced firsthand the oppressive system that young artists have to go through to be seen and heard. Kanhai, who was a graduate of the UWI Visual Arts Certificate programme, received a national award for his art and was an experienced designer, having worked for roughly a decade on an array of residential and commercial interiors with Brian MacFarlane and Roger Myers. His spirit has helped us through this transition.”

Mora said the Emergence exhibition was built as a portal between the emerging artist, emerging and established collectors and general public, “bridging the gap from the normal conventional gallery setting by utilising state of the art lighting technology, theatrical dance, an incredible artist/set designer, Enaldo Byno, who created the decor for the opening night, digital renders all created in-house and projected by our friends at North Eleven projection company who believed in our vision and brought it to life. It’s being held at UTT because we believe in giving back to the community and we especially want to help build the education of film and social media management into the curriculum at UTT. The new gallery is also a response to a power play associated with space. Wesley said it is the product of the outrage of a young artist trying to do his stuff and get out there, yet being turned down because everywhere is booked. The market is also structured in a way where it is about who knows who. In many ways his presence and mission has lived on vicariously through myself and Joshua, who have worked hard to find ourselves in a position to give back to the greater good of society, to create safe spaces for all artists in the Caribbean and beyond.”

Mora said there was a massive response to the call to artists made for the show. “We carefully examined the work presented and began the curation process of the show. The process was difficult as we wanted to accommodate as many artists as we could in the space but still wanted the paintings to tell a story on the walls. Coming down to the actual hanging, it was really incredible to see how they organically worked in their own amazing way. The exhibition began on June 14 and was packed to capacity by the time we unveiled the gallery. We are closing the space to the public on June 30 while we prepare for our next show coming soon. Visualart has a standing gallery collection with works from iconic artists such as Jackie Hinkson, Alfred Codallo and Louise Kimme. We will be adding the work from EMERGENCE to this standing collection that will be available soon online while some of the artwork will be consigned by artists to Visualart Galleries to be mounted in several spaces within the UTT Academy walls.”

Mora said the duo are currently planning the gallery’s next show and “will continue to take on the mission to help build the larger art community, representing artists by reproducing their work in the form of prints and merchandising and helping build artists through international marketing and relations. Our aim is to launch a global marketplace for our original works of art but will also supply prints and merchandise for our signed artists. Visualart Galleries is a registered entity for art dealership. We are here to serve as a platform for both emerging and established artists to show their work in a premier space. We urge artists and collectors to contact us.”

For more information on VisualArt Galleries, go to www.visualartgalleriestt.com, email info@visualartgalleriestt.com and find them on Facebook and Instagram @visualartgalleriestt.