Suriname 2023
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE TO SURINAME
From Thursday, March 30 – April 8, 2023, Readytex Art Gallery in Paramaribo Suriname will host an International Cultural Exchange Project (ICEP) in association with Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator of Miami, Florida. This is a unique experience, in which artists from diverse backgrounds, working in various media, converge to explore the concept of ‘cultural Diaspora’, intellectually and creatively. This is the 24th exchange organized by Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, and it is the third exchange with Suriname, as the host country. We welcome the partnership with Readytex Art Gallery.
Through workshops, chat sessions, studio visits, and cross-cultural dialogue centering around Caribbean identity, the exchange will serve as a forum for artists speaking with artists about issues confronting their professional and artistic development now and in the future. There is the Diaspora Vibe team of 13 visiting artists and 4 arts professionals from Miami-Dade County, USA.
Key components of this unique artist exchange are exhibition, all-day workshops, studio and gallery visits, artists’ talks, presentations on intellectual property protection and licensing presentation, documentation, museum curatorial participation, and career development sessions for artists. The Exchange will address all genres of artworks in our discussions, multimedia installations, video, sculpture, printmaking, photography, ceramics, painting, and performance – with the aim to dispel the impression that art from this region is limited to folk styles and traditions. Artists will talk with artists about, hyphenated existence, the challenges encountered while producing artwork in the Diaspora, and border communities, creating and documenting generational memory, and documenting the process in Paramaribo, Suriname, side by side with Suriname contemporary artists and student artists.
The accompanying exhibition “CULTURAL CURRENTS: Miami Meets Paramaribo” showcases work from the visiting artists, and continues the work with Kurt Nahar, a Surinamese artist, and Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts scholarship graduate. The exhibition is scheduled to open at the Readytex Art Gallery on Thursday, April 6,2023, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, and will be on view for one month.
A one-day workshop has been organized to delve deeper into artists-to-artists conversations about exhibitions and structures of support for under-recognized artists who operate outside of the university undergraduate and graduate art programs, commercial galleries, or museums. The workshop will occur on Saturday, April 1, 2023, from 9:30 am – 4:00 pm. All events are held at Readytex Art Gallery, and sites designated by Readytex Art Gallery. Events are free for artists and students.
Since its inception in 1996, Diaspora Vibe has functioned as a laboratory to promote, nurture, and cultivate the vision and diverse talents of emerging artists from the Caribbean Diaspora and other artists of color or from immigrant experiences. This project was conceptualized as an extension of DVCAI’s programming goals to provide artists with a contemporary visual sensibility and a safe space to explore and experiment with new forms and themes without having to deny or downplay strong connections with their countries of origin and the immigrant experience.
“This arts and culture exchange demonstrates that artistic expression transcends borders. Being Jamaican-born and raised, I am proud to curate this nationally recognized program. We are looking forward to the homecoming with Kurt Nahar and providing a platform for the artists to interact and showcase their work,” stated Rosie Gordon- Wallace, Director.
ICEP is supported in part by Miami -Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, The Miami-Dade County Mayor, and Board of County Commissioners, The Jorge Perez CreArte Award, The Readytex Art Gallery, the Consulate General of Suriname, Miami, The_Hongs, and the Greater Miami Conventions and Visitors Bureau, Art of Black Miami.
