Artists Explore Expressions of Spirituality and Religion Across The African Diaspora

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International Communications Association. Inc is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, titled “Spirituality & Ritual in the African Diaspora”, which will feature the work of nine Caribbean artists examining traditional spiritual practices of the African descendants of the Caribbean diaspora, and their attendant rituals, in the context of such practices in our contemporary Western society. The exhibition is curated by Anderson M. Pilgrim of Barbados and New York City. The exhibition is the second part of a series that was launched at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in November 2022. Described as “a tour de force” and “brilliant in its conception” by the St. Croix Avis (11/20/22), the initial exhibition featured 6 of the 9 participating artists scheduled for the Dwyer exhibit. The opening reception will also feature a video tribute to the late Donna Mason, a Jamaican-born dancer, photographer, and curator who was part of the formative years of Caribbean Fine Art Fair Barbados as well as a vital member of the Harlem Fine Art Fair organizing team.

Anderson Pilgrim is a noted curator and is President of Diaspora Now Inc., an artist management and exhibition production company. He is also the Executive Director of the Caribbean Fine Art Fair Barbados (CaFA), the Caribbean’s only fine art fair held within the region. Pilgrim describes the focus of the exhibition, “As African people were scattered across the New World during the Middle Passage and 400 years of human trade, so too were many of their cultural practices, modes of worship, and rituals surrounding life moments. These ancestral elements manifest themselves in religious movements, cultural expressions such as dance, visual arts, and carnival arts, many of which have entered the mainstream, while some others have been maligned in popular culture.”

The artists featured in this exhibition have made a practice of exploring various aspects of this ethereal energy that manifests itself throughout the African Diaspora. Arlette St. Hill (Barbados) and Bernard Stanley Hoyes (Jamaica) both capture those elements of spirituality which express themselves through dance, song, and the drum. The rituals of the various Spiritual Baptist sects in the English-speaking Caribbean are of particular interest. Ademola Olugebefola (USVI/NYC), Diogenes Ballester (Puerto Rico), Marlon Forrester (Guyana), and Michel Rollock (Cuba) each powerfully fuse disparate ancestral and cultural symbols into their own unique visual language. The late Earl Etienne (Dominica) celebrates the ubiquitous Sensay character which has become an integral element of so many Caribbean festivals across the Americas. Patricia Brintle (Haiti) and Jorge Valdes (Cuba) explore a level of syncretism between mainstream religion and the deities of traditional Diaspora practice.

This exhibition will celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month 2023 and concludes during the festivities for Harlem Week (Month) in August 2023.

The Dwyer Center welcomes the public to meet the curator and artists at the opening on June 8 and return for the presentations on June 25, July (date TBD), and August (date TBD).

Special Event – Sunday, June 25, 2023, 3-5.30 pm

Panel Discussion/Presentation – The Caribbean and its impact on the World of Music

Special Event – July 2023, Date TBD

Panel Discussion/Presentation – Spirituality and Ritual in the African Diaspora (exploring elements of worship across the Diaspora) – Exhibition curator and participating artists

Special Event – August 2023, Date TBD

Preparing for Caribbean Fine Art Fair Barbados 2024 – A presentation by travel representatives about options and packages; Art Fair organizers will discuss scheduled art events, activities, and opportunities to explore the island of Barbados.

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