Holly Bynoe and Annalee Davis of Sour Grass have invited a group of nine contemporary visual artists from across the wider Caribbean region for their dynamic contribution to the virtual Atlantic World Art Fair (AWAF) hosted by Artsyâthe leading marketplace to discover, buy, and sell fine art. Running from June 1st until the 21st, this is the first time this global powerhouse will be focussing on artists from the Caribbean. Sour Grassâs booth will exhibit 36 works including paintings, prints, photographs, videos and mixed media works, with a varied price range produced by artists who are nationals of, or reside in Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, St. Maarten, Trinidad & Tobago and the diaspora.
This inaugural transnational collaboration, coordinated by the Bermuda-based Black Pony Gallery, will facilitate Sour Grass in growing its art communities while showcasing an under-represented, dynamic region of innovation. Engaging with Artsyâs international platform will rapidly expand the visibility and awareness of cultural production emanating from and concerned with the Caribbeanâs position within the global geopolitical framework.
Sour Grass will contribute to the larger AWAF public programme through several live conversations, fostering a deeper understanding of the contemporary art market in the region. The panel on Friday, June 4th at 11 am EST in collaboration with Suzie Wong Presents (Jamaica) and TERN Gallery (The Bahamas) is titled âArtists in Dialogue: Moving in, through, and across Landscapes, Waters, and Memories.â Four guest artists will address the intersections in their work and speak about how complex histories, places, colonisation, nature, and spirituality have influenced their practices. The artists are LaVaughn Belle (USVI), Edouard Duval Carrie (Haiti/USA), Deborah Jack (St. Martin/USA), and Tessa Whitehead (The Bahamas).
On Wednesday, June 16th at 11 am EST Sour Grass will present âLive from the Studio”, a conversation between two Dominican LGBTQIA+ artists Eliazar Ortiz and Franz Caba. Moderated by Dr. Ian Bethell-Bennett (The University of The Bahamas), these two artists will give a tour of their working spaces, share ongoing glimpses into their processes, and introduce their thematics which including addressing the queer body present in their practices.
Sour Grass welcomes the following artists – Franz Caba (Dominican Republic), Ronald Cyrille (Dominica/Guadeloupe), Deborah Jack (St. Martin/USA), Abigail Hadeed (Trinidad & Tobago), Katherine Kennedy (Barbados), Lisandro Suriel (St. Martin), Joiri Minaya (Dominican Republic/USA), Eliazar Ortiz (Dominican Republic), and Samuel Sarmiento (Venezuela/Aruba) to the Sour Grass Artsy booth.
Sour Grass is a curatorial agency founded by Holly Bynoe and Annalee Davis in 2020. This venture seeks to work with artists and creative practitioners from the Caribbean and across its diaspora, to build relationships with museums, cultural institutions, collectors, publishers, biennales, and both private and public entities.
To view the Sour Grass booth on Artsy: https://www.artsy.net/show/sour-grass-sour-grass-at-atlantic-world-art-fair-2021
To learn more about building an art collection and ways to support artists in the Atlantic region, please follow the Atlantic World Art Fair on Artsy.
Follow Samuel Sarmiento of Aruba on his Instagram page instagram.com/samuelsarmientostudio/.
