It has been a busy summer of art making here at the Bermuda National Gallery as we continue to develop our series of artist-led masterclasses. Most recently, New York-based Bermudian artist Jon Legere led a multi-media collage workshop.
Attendees explored techniques including collage, painting, image-transfer and gestural mark-making, encouraged by Jon to let loose and embrace the unexpected.
Don’t miss out on upcoming classes and programming: become a BNG member today for priority registration and discounts on gallery events and workshops. Click here to take out a membership today.
Join us this Saturday for the first BNG Urban Sketch session of 2022. Artists of all levels are invited to join this free, drop in programme. Meet Education Officer Rehana Packwood in the gallery at 11am and then head out to visit different locations across Hamilton to sketch from life.
This week, the group will be exploring the Par-La-Ville Sculpture Park. All you need is a sketchbook and pencil, but you can bring any supplies you would like to work with. Please note that BNG members now receive a 10% discount on art supplies at the Stationery Store.
Click here to be added to the BNG Urban Sketch mailing list to be kept up to date with the new locations that the group will be exploring each week.
Artist Led Classes
A new series of Draw and Explore begins on January 19 with a 6 week programme led by three former Bermuda Biennial artists who will be sharing their diverse approaches to art making.
BNG Founding Committee Member, BNG Architect and past-Trustee, artist John Gardner will introduce a discussion and exercises regarding drawing as a fundamental vehicle for invention, discovery, observation, communication and expression in weeks one and two.
This will be followed by two sessions with multi-media artist and educator Vaughan Evans, who will be bringing pen and ink into focus. He will introduce ways of looking that involve both architecture and the figure through the use of single line drawing.
The programme will conclude with two sessions led by artist and spoken word poet Tiffany Paynter, who will be presenting different examples of blackout poetry and art before giving the students the opportunity to create their own and illustrate them.
Classes take place in the gallery on Wednesday evenings from 5pm – 7pm. The six week programme, which begins January 19, is open to BNG members and costs $125.
Due to the delay to the start of the school year for many, we have pushed back the start of our youth programmes through to February. These will now begin after the mid-term break. Spaces are limited. Register now to avoid disappointment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Drawing for Animation is an after school programme for students age 14 to 18 which meets twice a week to explore the principles of animation. Classes are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 3.45pm to 5.15pm. The cost is $325 per students (for 16 classes). The new semester begins on February 15. Click here to register.
The BNG Youth Arts Council is a free programme for students age 13 to 17. Students meet in the gallery every Saturday morning for gallery tours, artist talks, critiques and team building. The new semester begins February 19. Click here to register.
Click here for further information on all BNG education programmes or email Education Officer Rehana Packwood at education@bng.bm.
Congratulations to BNG Alumni Gherdai Hassell, DaeLyn Saint-Surin and Naimah Frith, who have each received a 2021 Bermuda Arts Councilstudent grant award. Bermuda Arts Council Chair, Ms. Jennifer Phillips said, “Each year, Bermuda Arts Council awards educational grants to students furthering their studies in all genres of the arts. The 2021 BAC student grant recipients represent Bermuda’s next generation of visual artists, graphic designers, filmmakers, dancers and theatre lighting designers. We congratulate the successful awardees, and look forward to following their artistic achievements.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Gherdai Hassell, who exhibited in the 2020 Bermuda Biennial and whose first solo show is currently on display at BNG, received $5,000 towards her final year at the China Academy of Art where she is completing a Masters programme. DaeLyn Saint-Surin, an executive member of the BNG Youth Arts Council between 2015 and 2019, received $5,000 towards a degree in Graphic Design at St Lawrence College. Naimah Frith, who also exhibited in the 2020 Bermuda Biennial and has assisted on our Art + Tech summer camp programme for the past two years, won $10,000 towards completing her Masters in Teaching Fine Art at Kean University. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport,Dr the Hon. Ernest Peets, who opened Gherdai’s exhibition earlier this year, said, “We are incredibly pleased to be able to once again support a number of talented young Bermudians who are making such significant impacts in so many areas of the arts. I have had the opportunity to view some of the creative works and talents of some of our recipients. And I can truly say that Bermuda’s culture and arts are alive and thriving with this next generation of innovative, young creatives.”
Top: Bermuda Arts Council Chair Jennifer Phillips (left) with artist Gherdai Hassell (centre) and Dr Kim Dismont-Robinson, Director of the Bermuda Department of Culture (right). Above: Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, Dr the Hon Earnest Peets at the opening of Gherdai Hassell’s exhibition at BNG.
Classes for the Bermuda National Gallery Youth Arts Council resume this Saturday, 27th February. Led by artist and educator Sarai Hines, the free programme, which is aimed at students age 13 to 17, provides teens with opportunities for creative and independent thinking by engaging with the arts and culture of today.
Students explore the topics of the day through the lens of art and art making, meet artists and makers and learn to creatively problem solve. This semester, the focus is on the elements of art making that go beyond the gallery and exhibition space.
The goal is to provide an understanding of the many varied roles that are found behind the scenes and support artists in their vision: from the studio to the printers, how an exhibition is curated and the research and writing that go into it.
The programme aims to show students that there are many ways to be involved with the arts, wherever your artistic strengths and interests may lie.
The class meets in the gallery every Saturday morning from 10am to 12.00pm. Registration is free. Click here to sign up.
Our most recent exhibition, A Source of Inspiration: St George’s as Seen Through the Bermuda National Gallery Collection, was curated by Alice Moniz as part of the BNG Internship Programme.
For the history of art graduate, who will shortly be going on to a second internship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the exhibition marked the culmination of a 3 month placement in which she shadowed the BNG team in all aspects of museum operations.
We caught up with Alice, who recently spoke to the Royal Gazette about her experience, to discuss what she learnt from the internship and why hands-on experience is key within the arts and culture sector.
Alice Moniz works on the installation of A Source of Inspiration:St George’s Through the Bermuda National Gallery Collection.
BNG: You recently completed a 3 month internship programme with us after previously shadowing our curator for a week. How similar were your actual assignments to your expectations?
AM: I was involved with more than I had hoped for! I had expected to get a taste of various aspects of the organisation and help out in certain areas, however the range and depth of my involvement as an intern at the BNG exceeded my expectations. The way that I was treated as an active participant in the team – who was given responsibility and whose contribution was valued – also went beyond my expectations.
BNG: How did your experience provide information about your chosen field?
AM: My experience at the BNG was incredibly insightful and informative. Through the range of aspects I was exposed to – audience engagement, memberships, volunteers, planning and programming, the collections database, the storage rooms, the exhibition install – I feel I acquired a well-rounded understanding of a museum, and the national gallery as a cultural institution more broadly.
Having studied Art History much of my knowledge of the creative and cultural industries in general is very theoretical, so the real-life experience was incredibly informative, and I was able to make sense of many aspects of my degree.
Alice Moniz hangs The Entrance to the Harbour of St George’s Bermuda by Edward James, 1869, which opens the exhibition.
BNG: What was the worst part of your intern experience?
AM: I wouldn’t say there was a worst part because these often turn out to be the most formative, and through measure of growth, the best. I would say the most challenging part was going out of my comfort zone doing tasks I’d never done before.
The most challenging tasks were giving a tour and curating the exhibition; being a bit of a perfectionist I knew these would not be perfect and was scared to mess up. The team was very supportive and kind with me and the open communication that they facilitated really helped me. Through these experiences I learnt valuable skills and developed a greater understanding of myself in a working environment and I am grateful for the challenges.
BNG: Would you recommend the Bermuda National Gallery Internship Programme to other students?
AM: Absolutely! It is a brilliant opportunity to integrate into and learn about the art and cultural scene of Bermuda, as well as the museum as an institution. It is also character-building and there is the scope for interns to find their strengths and weaknesses, whilst being challenged and supported.
The BNG Internship Programme focuses on providing on the job training to individuals between 18 and 25 in all aspects of museum operations. The programme’s goals are to provide paid opportunities for young people within the arts and culture sector and provide training and career development. Click here for further information.
