Artist Talk and Collage Workshop at CARIFESTA XV: Barbados
In 2017, I was proud to be a featured artist during CARIFESTA XIII in Barbados, participating in the national visual art exhibition, The Impression. It was a formative experience that affirmed the power of Caribbean artists gathering in a shared space to express, question, and celebrate our multiple identities. So I’m equally thrilled to be invited back for CARIFESTA XV, also in Barbados, to take part in the artist talk “Fragments & Futures: Collage as Radical Reclamation,” alongside Florine Demosthene and Gherdai Hassell. I’ll also be leading a workshop titled “Archive the Self: Collaging Personal Cartographies.”
CARIFESTA (Caribbean Festival of the Arts) has its roots in the 1952 gathering of regional artists in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but it was formalized as a biennial event in 1972, with the first modern-era festival held in Guyana. As Caricom.org notes, “This first CARIFESTA attracted the participation of 1000 plus artistes from over 30 Caribbean and South American countries, giving expression to their creativity in music, dance, drama, painting, sculpture, folk art, photography, and literature.” The 2025 festival kicks off on August 22 and runs through August 31 under the theme “Caribbean Roots; Global Excellence.” , which speaks directly to the festival’s mission: to nurture sustainable creative economies for Caribbean artists well beyond the 10-day event.
I’ll be participating in the artist talk “Fragments & Futures”, which will explore collage as a method of reclaiming personal and historical narratives. Collage has always been central to my practice, not just as an aesthetic form but as a radical act of construction and refusal. It allows for the layering of ideas, identities, and stories in ways that resist fixed interpretations. I’m looking forward to being in conversation with Florine and Gherdai, whose work I deeply admire, as we explore how collage can serve as both mirror and map for contemporary Caribbean art.
My workshop, “Archive the Self,” will offer participants a chance to create personal cartographies using collage. Through prompts, discussion, and hands-on exploration, we’ll think about the self as an evolving site shaped by geography, memory, movement, and transformation. Participants will be encouraged to work with both found and personal materials as they build their visual narratives.
As CARIFESTA returns to Barbados, I’m honored to contribute to a creative space that centers Caribbean voices, fosters dialogue, and supports artists in building sustainable futures rooted in shared heritage and artistic excellence.
