Alim Hosein is an artist, a linguist, a literary and art critic. He is Dean of the School of Education and Humanities at the University of Guyana; Chairman of the GVACE Committee and a member of the Guyana Prize for Literature Management Committee.
By Alim Hosein
The Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition (GVACE) enjoyed a highly successful inauguration in 2012 with one of the largest art competitive exhibitions seen in Guyana. The competition was launched in July 2012 by President Donald Ramotar, after many years without a national art competition in Guyana. Before the GVACE, the National Exhibition of the Visual Arts had been held for many years until it began to encounter difficulties in the 1990s and eventually ceased after many fits and starts, in 1994.
It was some surprise, therefore, that the first GVACE in 2012 attracted 204 pieces. These were mostly in painting (65 entries), drawing (30 entries) and sculpture (33 entries), which have long been the strong areas of interest among Guyanese artists. However, the new category of photography also attracted a healthy number of entries – 52. Textiles and Ceramics did poorly, with 8 and 16 entries respectively.
The GVACE is run on a biennial basis, therefore the next competition is due at the end of this year,