BAHAMAS RESIDENCY
2022
"This wonderful partnership with Project I.C.E. and the University of the Bahamas allowed participants an opportunity to explore themes of decoloniality using a studio research creative model. The curriculum was designed to encourage students to learn on land and from land with people who had common histories of colonial impacts. Withing the curriculum they were able to hear from artists and create work in response to sacred historical spaces. Focused on contemporary art practice—research, education, and production—this residency was an invaluable vehicle for faculty and students to exchange ideas and to develop broader awareness of best practices in art-making within a frame of decolonization." - Ilene Sova, Ada Slaight Chair of Contemporary Drawing & Painting, Faculty of Art, OCAD U
“The Decolonizing Art from the Turtle Island to the Islands of the Bahamas is a project that offers significant opportunities for professional development for our faculty and artistic growth for our students. One of the reasons that this is the case is because the OCAD professors have developed this project as a partnership, This will lead to artistic and academic partnerships that will benefit both institutions. The students exposure to a variety of aesthetic points through their exchange with OCAD visitors will also validate their own concerns and interest in decolonization, diversity, equity and anti-oppression. At the Faculty of Liberal and Fine Arts, we view this project as an important foundation to build many future collaborations between our instructors and a long-lasting partnership between our two institutions.” - Douglas Barkey, Dean, Liberal and Fine Arts University of the Bahamas
Left to right: Ilene Sova (OCAD U), Antonius Roberts (Project I.C.E.), Elder Liz Ozawamick, and Indigenous Community Relations Advocate, Nadia McLaren
Students working in their Project I.C.E shared studios
Students preparing for their closing exhibition
Off-site Experiential Learning
Community Building
Material Explorations
