Bahamian Artists Offer Honor, Beauty and Revitalization

Bahamian and local artists will transform Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts gallery into a tropical paradise in celebration of The Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival.

Through collaboration between Miami Bahamian Consul General Gladys Johnson-Sands, Executive Director of the Miami Host Committee Cornelia Dozier and artist AnnaMaria Windisch Hunt, Bahamian ceramic sculptor Joann Behagg is displaying her work at Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts until June 7.

“[Bahamian artists] want to come to America to show our artwork,” Behagg said. “The exposure is just incredible.”

Behagg, who owns JB Pottery and Sculpting, will have her souvenir line of ceramic Eleutheran pineapples, Bahamian cottages, junkanoo masks, vessels, teapot cottages and Lucayan historical homes on display in the gallery. Two of the ceramics in the souvenir line include crochet created by the artist’s late mother. Behagg said she embedded the crochet into the clay as a way to honor her mother.

Honoring women is also of major importance to the Greater Miami Host Committee.

“It is women who shape our lives as people,” Dozier said. “We want to promote a creative exchange and we are also looking to promote women and their work.”

In three of her sculptures on display, Behagg interprets the role of a woman and the intricate details of a woman’s body. “Caregiver,” “Comforter” and “Playtime” are made of stoneware and depict a child and a full-figured mother.

“I like to work with full-figured women,” Behagg said. “In Caribbean countries, especially in the Bahamas, they command attention. They are not embarrassed or inhibited.”

On top of honoring women of all sizes, Behagg’s artwork is also environmentally friendly. She only uses methods that do not use fuels, such as gas kilns and smoking the ceramics by burning office paper or sawdust.

Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts will also display the artwork of two other Bahamian artists. Cherie McCartney-Gilbert of Creations by Cherie creates decorative picture frames, ornaments, mirrors and hair accessories using only indigenous Bahamian seashells and straw, which is a rarity in the art world. The artwork of Genele Delancey provides a realistic take on the beauty of the Bahamas with her brightly colored tile images of a flamingo, coconut tree, turtle and fish.

The works of local Miami artists Lisa Remeny, Carol Garvin and Eileen Seitz, who have all lived in the Bahamas, will also be on display at the gallery throughout the weekend along with a Poinciana show and artwork by Fred Hunt. Each artist will have a couple of piece exhibited.

On June 5 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Behagg will occupy a stall at the Bahamian Cultural Village and Straw Market at the Mayfair Center. She will have jewelry, brooches, hair clips and pieces from her souvenir line available for purchase. At 8 p.m., performing artist Cheeta will provide the musical sounds of the Bahamas at Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts.

Gallery owner Windisch Hunt has never missed a Goombay Festival in her 20 years in Coconut Grove.

“I love this festival and I’m always excited,” Windisch Hunt said. “People are really happy and at their best.”

But beyond the excitement of the festival, the artwork being displayed in Coconut Grove is a celebration of the Bahamian history rooted in the neighborhood and offers an event which can lead to further progress in the community.

“Our junkanoo experience is also making ourselves ‘junkanew’,” Dozier said. “The artists are leading charge to lead [Coconut Grove] to revitalization.”

For more information on Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts visit windisch-huntfineart.com.