‘AT LONG LAST’ OPENS THIS WEEK

CHOCOLATE AND ART & STORY SLAM

CREATIVE NASSAU NEWS & NEW ITEMS

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© DOONGALIK STUDIOS ART GALLERY NEWSLETTERDOONGALIK STUDIOS ART GALLERY NEWSLETTERDOONGALIK STUDIOS ART GALLERY NEWSLETTERDOONGALIK STUDIOS ART GALLERY NEWSLETTER February 2014 February 2014 February 2014 February 2014 ———— Volume 8 Issue 2 Volume 8 Issue 2 Volume 8 Issue 2 Volume 8 Issue 2 ———— HAPPY VALENTINE !HAPPY VALENTINE !HAPPY VALENTINE !HAPPY VALENTINE !

20 Village Road Open Mon-Fri 9am – 4pm ▪ Saturday 9am—1pm P.O. Box N-1207▪ Nassau, Bahamas ▪ Tel (242) 394.1886 ▪ Email:doongalikart@batelnet.bs

Web blog: doongalik.blogspot.com ▪ Website: doongalik.com ▪ We are also on Facebook—facebook.com/doongalik PROMOTING THE VISION: ”By the Year 2020 more visitors will be attracted to The Bahamas by Bahamian Art,

Culture and Heritage than by sun, sand and sea.”

The following is a special Exhibition review by Sonia Farmer

Observing the body of realist paint-ings by Malcolm Rae in his first solo show in a decade, “At Long Last”, opening at Doongalik Studios on Thursday, February 20th, viewers may wonder what they have been missing. Reflected in The Artist Mal-colm’s watercolor seascapes, land-scapes and figures is a new reality within our existing world, accessible only through his particular translation

from his eye to the canvas. “I firmly believe that artists see the world differently—I see things and wonder why other people can’t, so then I paint it,” says The Artist Malcolm. “I believe artists should be painting what people

don’t see—capturing the spirit of the world before you.” The Artist Malcolm is a well-known staunch supporter of realism, both in his practice and in his own studio and exhibition space Stingrae Studios, which offers a much-needed refuge for contem-

porary artists engaged with the practice today. Behind his realist motivations lies the pervasive dismissal of the craft that all contemporary realist artists struggle with today—do paintings capturing the beauty of a landscape or its diverse peo-ple fade into the background in today’s art world? Or do they offer, in their still and mighty beauty, a new perspective to open

the eyes of their viewers to the world around them? In The Artist Malcolm’s case, the answer lies in his stunning port-folio of work, developed over his life-long love affair with the country since he moved to Nassau in 1958 with his parents. De-spite the lack of gallery spaces on the island, The Artist Malcolm continued to paint, draw, and exhibit, inspired by the beauty around him. He also learned how to capture the human figure through interacting with cadavers during his medical studies—a

field he eventually left behind.

His resulting body of work stands as the best argument against real-ism’s supposed redundancy—they offer in themselves a particularly engaging translation of realism through careful compositions and experimentation with stylistic de-partures such as pointillism and simultaneous contrast, ultimately highlighting overlooked everyday

beauty. “The Bahamas is so beautiful, why not capture it?” says The Artist

Malcolm. “I hear people say that you can’t paint a sunset every day. Why not? A sunset is different every day, and I see no problem with sharing that. The biggest shame is that the very people who live

here never seem to notice.” On a deeper level, The Artist Malcolm’s pieces offer both pause and refuge for viewers disillusioned with a current world destroyed in the name of progress. His glimpses of the natural beauty of the landscape invite a bittersweet nostalgia for things we have lost and a fierce recommitment to our beloved home before the remains slip out of our grasp, available only to visit in the very art pieces before

us. “I paint the beauty of The Bahamas before we destroy it,” says The Artist Malcolm. “It’s a disappointing thought, but there’s almost nothing about The Bahamas left, especially here. It’s very difficult

now to find something to paint here in Nassau.” “I hope my paintings inspire nostalgia and inspire us to wake up,” he adds. “If we don’t focus on the past, we will lose the vision of it,

the beauty of it, the sacredness of it.” ‘At Long Last’ will be on display until Friday, March 7.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

THE ARTIST MALCOLM’S ‘AT LONG LAST’ EXHIBITION

opens Thursday, February 20, 6-9pm—please join us!

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Last month’s highly successful initial launch of Story Slam, the novel event which was

created by Orchid Burnside who is assisted by Sonia Farmer, was won by the talented

Jonico Pratt (shown above receiving his prize). We invite you to join us at Doongalik on

Friday, February 28 at 6pm for Round 2 “Puppy Love: Stories about my first crush”

For more information check out the facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/illiteratibs

BOOTLEG CHOCOLATES HAS A DELICIOUSLY

DELIGHTFUL DEBUT AT DOONGALIK

Patrons were treated to an evening to remember last week —one that titillated all of their senses! Whilst sampling delicious, decadent dark chocolate and caramels, and sipping chilled Young’s champagnes and wines, nestled amongst seductive ‘love themed’ art courtesy of the D’Aguilar Art Foundation, the Dawn Davies Collection and the Pam Burnside Collection, pa-trons totally enjoyed the engrossing environment! Can’t have enough chocolate or could not make it out opening night...?? ….not to worry, there are still more chocolates available for sale at Doongalik!!

Bootleg Chocolate www.bootlegchocolates.com owners,

Daphne Ormerod Cates and her daughter Amanda

(centre) pose with Maitland Cates (left) and Tru Baha-

mian Food Tour owner, Alanna Rodgers (right)

www.trubahamianfoodtours.com

Two new children’s books—SAMMY THE SNAIL. a touching story by Allie MacPhail and SIAMAN’S TALE by Robert Goldbach based on a true story of a ‘catnapping’ in The Bahamas with all sales proceeds being donated to the Baha-mas Humane Society!

NEW DOONGALIK ITEMS

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE

GRAND GO LIVE

CREATIVE NASSAU LAUNCH

Friday, March 7, 2014 - 6-9 pm

Pam Burnside being interviewed at Doongalik by Sherman Brown and Felicity Ingraham of Bahamas National News for a segment on Creative Nassau, Bahamian culture , arts and crafts

stick o’ fire* news *Bahamian colloquialism: years ago in the “Out Islands”, (i.e. the other islands of the Bahamian archipelago other than the capital, Nassau, which are now referred to as the “Family Islands”) keeping your fire lit was crucial especially for cooking purposes. When someone’s fire went out they would go over to their neighbor to ‘catch a stick of fire’ in order to rekindle theirs. This is a symbol therefore of the Bahamian community spirit. Each month we will be sharing how quickly the CN fire is catching on!

Patricia Glinton Meicholas and Pam Burnside recently shared the

CN vision with the Board and members of the Straw Market Author-

ity with whom they will collaborate in promoting Bahamian straw

products

Pam Burnside was recently invited to be the Guest Speaker on the

topic “Exploring the Wonders of Art and Design” at the 16th Annual

Public High Schools’ Visual Art Exhibition Awards Ceremony which

was held at the Mall at Marathon, Nassau. The event is sponsored

by the Royal Bank of Canada

BAHAMAS SKETCHBOOK a fabulous collection of watercolour sketches of Bahamian architec-ture by Graham Byfield with text by Larry Smith. These books were kindly donated by the D’Aguilar Art Foundation with proceeds earmarked for the Jackson Logan Burnside III Design Library and Research Centre

BACKYARD GARDENING

by Cynthia Ferguson Fowler with information and tips for starting your own home garden in The Baha-mas

H A N D M A D E WOOD SPINNING

TOPS– these popu-lar childhood toys are in constant de-mand from skilled local artisans. Can you still remember how to ‘sleep’ and ‘peg’?