Caribbean Linked VI is virtual, this year

Irvin Aguilar, La Línea de la Memoria

The regional artists’ residency takes place from July 30 to August 31, 2021.

Dominique Hunter
Dominique Hunter (2016)

The regional artists’ residency Caribbean Linked VI, co-managed by Ateliers ’89 (Aruba), The Fresh Milk Art Platform (Barbados) and ARC Magazine, is changing its focus this year, due to the global health situation and particularly in the Caribbean and the serious impact of this Covid-19 pandemic on the lives of artists in the region. The organizers therefore decided that Caribbean Linked VI, which runs from July 30 to August 31, 2021, will virtually carry out all of its programming to support artists from the French, Spanish, English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.

The live public conversations between artists will take place on Wednesday August 11 and Tuesday August 31 from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm (Atlantic time).

Nine artists are participating in this edition of Caribbean Linked VI : Arnell (St. Martin), Taisha Carrington (Barbados), Romelinda Maldonado (Aruba), Akley Olton (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), Susana Pilar (Cuba), John Reno Jackson (Cayman Islands), Sarabel Santos Negrón (Puerto Rico), Samuel Sarmiento (Aruba/Venezuela) and Béliza Troupé (Guadeloupe). The participating artists will meet physically in August 2022 at Ateliers ’89 in Oranjestad, Aruba.

“(…) Now more than ever in light of Covid-19, it is critical to mitigate isolation and use available technologies to advance creative production, critical thinking and engagement. This preliminary remote encounter is focused on provisioning artists with dedicated studio time to make new works, while reinforcing the value of Caribbean artists’ practices and enabling their growth and development”, the organization explained.

Samuel Sarmiento
Samuel Sarmiento

The writer-in-residence for this virtual edition is Ethan Knowles, originally from the Bahamas, who is currently studying in Rome, Italy.

The guest curators are Sofia Olascoaga, an academic curator at the Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) in Mexico City, where she coordinates Campus Expandido, an academic programme of critical theory, and Miguel A. López, former chief curator of TEOR/éTica and now an independent curator who lives and works in Lima, Peru.

This month-long residency will be supported by BankGiro Loterij Fonds, Mondriaan Fonds and UNOCA.

Note that Caribbean Linked VI defines itself as a space to raise awareness among disparate creative communities of the Caribbean by finding ways to connect young emerging artists. Founded by Ateliers ’89 (Aruba), The Fresh Milk Art Platform (Barbados) and ARC Magazine, this regional residency project focuses on sustainable development, regional integration and critical education of younger artists while exposing English, Spanish, French and Dutch speaking Caribbean to each other.