The established artists did not have things their own way when the prizes in the 2012 Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition (GVACE) were announced at the Awards Ceremony on Friday night last. As predicted in a previous column, the work of the newer artists seriously challenged those of the established artists. This is a very good development in our art. An interesting and pleasing blend of established artists and newcomers made the final list of awardees.
The GVACE has 6 categories – painting, drawing, ceramics, textiles, sculpture and photography. The inclusion of textiles, ceramics and photography helps to open the competition to more artists and reflects our effort to recognize and promote areas of artistic creativity in Guyana.
Likewise, although the GVACE is designed to be a biennial competition, for this year artists were allowed to submit work they had done up to five years ago.
Special features
The 2012 GVACE had a number of noteworthy special features. Instead of an exclusive focus on awarding prizes, the competition tried to make some input into art education and development, which it believes are important. It therefore held workshops in Painting, Drawing, Ceramics and Textiles for the up-coming artists, and two master-classes – in Sculpture and in Painting and Drawing – for the senior artists.
There was also a Public Lecture, ‘The Jury is Out: Problems in the Interpretation of Caribbean Art,’ which was delivered by one of the GVACE’s judges, Therese Hadchity, on December 12. This was well attended by local artists and generated strong discussion.
At the Awards Ceremony, apart from the presentation of the Judges’ Report by Chairman Stanley Greaves, and the announcement of the winners in the various categories, the late Philip Moore was honoured posthumously with a Lifetime Award for Achievement in Guyanese Art, which was presented to members of his family. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony also announced that one million Guyana dollars has been set aside to document Moore’s work.
The management committee is also currently producing a special commemorative catalogue which will feature artwork from all the artists in the competition, along with brief information on all these artists.
Prize winners
Awards were given for the first, second and third prizes in each of these categories. The first prize is worth $500,000 and a gold medal; the second prize, $300,000 and a silver medal, and the third prize $200,000 and a bronze medal. The Promise Award carries prize money of $200,000 and a gold medal, while the Judges’ Special Award is worth $200,000 and a silver medal.
The competition received 204 entries, and although this number was eventually reduced to 163 after pre-judging, the entries overwhelmed the exhibition space at Castellani House. Consequently, Painting, Drawing and Photography were housed at Castellani and Sculpture, Ceramics and Textiles were housed on the ground floor of the Guyana National Museum.
Painting, Photography and Sculpture were the most popular categories. In Painting, 60 entries were received. In Drawing, 25, in Sculpture 33, in Textiles, 8, and in Ceramics, 16 entries were received. Photography was the healthy newcomer with 52 entries.
Gary Thomas showed that he is still ahead of the game with his massive yet subtle wood carving ‘Lifeline Integration‘ which won the First Prize in Sculpture. In its concavities and subtle surfaces, this work is a departure from Thomas’s better-known work which has inspired many other artists since the 1980s. Desmond Alli’s Model of the ‘Regional Integration Movement’ which is done in his distinctive style, won the Second Prize while Winslow Craig’s large, delicate and usually well-formed piece ‘Saving Seeds’ won the Third Prize.
In Painting, the first of George Simon’s threes pieces in homage to Wilson Harris, ‘EBESO #1’, won the First Prize. Betsy Karim won the Second Prize for her detailed and large work ‘We are the World’ which teems with images of schoolchildren. Third Prize went to Carl Anderson’s photorealistic ‘Indo, Afro Caribbean Carnival Beauty Queens.’
Anderson won another prize – Second – in the Drawing category for his ‘Mash, Mass and Samba Carnivals’ and was the only artist to win a prize in more than one category. The First and Third Prizes went to two newcomers, Michael Griffith (‘Through the Canvas‘) and Paloma Bristol (‘Men on the Otherside’) respectively.
Again, while the photographers are all relatively new to Guyanese art, Sharon Ramkarran (‘Mangrove Seedlings,’ Second Prize) split the two more-known photographers Nikhil Ramkarran (‘Shipwreck,’ First Prize) and Michael Lam (‘Final Entrance Opening,‘ Third Prize).
The Promise Award, which is a developmental award conferred on an artist who is not a prize-winner but whose work shows exceptional promise, was won by Aneeza Coelho, a young painter and sculptor.
The Burrowes School of Art should be well pleased, since many of the selected artists such as Winslow Craig, Aneeza Coelho, Paloma Bristol, Michael Griffith and Kimone Romascindo are students or former students of theirs.
Ceramics and Textiles were not well-represented in the competition and did not win any prizes.
The judges, eminent Guyanese artist Stanley Greaves who chaired the panel, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, Ras Camo Williams, Daphne Rogers and Therese Hadchity of Barbados, spoke highly of the general quality of the work, and were particularly impressed by the entries in Sculpture. So impressed were they by the entire competition that they awarded an additional prize, The Judges’ Special Award. This went to University of Guyana Visual Arts Lecturer Akima McPherson whose entry was a multi-media work in Sculpture.
Shortlists
The blend of the established and newcomer artists is also seen in the other works that were shortlisted in the different categories. UG Art student Shimuel Jones’s ‘Queh Queh’ and Merlene Ellis’s ‘Old Crimes’ were shortlisted in Painting. In Drawing, Vandyke David’s ‘Birth Tree’ and Kimone Romascindo’s ‘Flourish’ made the cut, as did Akima Mc Pherson’s ‘Walk with Me’ and Ras Iah’s ‘Emancipate Yourself from Mental Slavery’ in Sculpture. In Photography, Jamilia Huntley’s ‘Mode 1’ and Roshana Mohadeo’s ‘Parked’ were shortlisted.
A success
From all accounts, the 2012 GVACE was a success. This success should be measured by the fact that it competently managed a national competition with the kinds of features such as the various educational activities and the special honour to Philip Moore which showed its seriousness about helping the development of Art in Guyana, and that it reached out to many artists and institutions. Indeed, the competition benefited from linkages with institutions such as the Burrowes School of Art, the Guyana National Museum and Castellani House, and members of the Guyanese corporate community. In addition, all of this was achieved with a good degree of credibility which is necessary for the future development of the competition.
The 2012 GVACE may well be a turning point in Guyanese art. The Awards List shows many well-known names in art such as George Simon and Gary Thomas, yet there are so many newer artists such as Griffith, Coelho and McPherson. Being winners at the GVACE has given these newer artists some stature, and this can now set them up to become the great Guyanese artists of the future.
The exhibition of the artwork continues at Castellani House and the National Museum until December 31.
