Caribbean Linked V Public Exhibition in Oranjestad, Aruba

Gwladys Gambie in the studio

Ateliers ’89 in partnership with The Fresh Milk Art Platform and ARC Magazine is pleased to invite you to the opening of the public exhibition for Caribbean Linked V, which will take place Saturday, August 25th, 2018 across two spaces: Caya Grandi (Main Street) and Ateliers ’89, both in Oranjestad, Aruba.  This year, the Caribbean Linked V regional residency programme seeks to take the concept of connectivity locally and regionally a step further by adding a focus on public art and community engagement. Artists have been invited to engage with Caya Grandi as a communal space, inserting pieces and performance art throughout the street while creating a platform for contemporary art and everyday life to seamlessly intersect. Creating the space for cultural exchanges and encounters to take place both in and outside of a gallery setting helps to dispel the myth that contemporary art is inaccessible, bridging the perceived gap between art and society. We hope this approach will generate greater interest in the artists' practices and invite rich dialogue with the general public.

Studio Visit to the Ateliers '89 Gallery

The opening of the public aspect of the exhibition will take place at 5:00 PM in the plaza in front of Aruba Trading at the beginning of Caya Grandi. The audience will then make their way down the street to view the public artworks & live performances on display all the way down to Plaza Niki Habibe. There will be champagne and music along the route by live DJs Nanof and Masbango in front of Aruba Trading and BonBini Bazaar respectively, and Massive the Brass Band will perform on the street’s tram.

There will also be a show by Crea Arte on at Maggy’s Perfumery, which the audience will make its way through between 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM. Buses will be waiting behind Maggy‘s to transport the audience to Ateliers ’89, Dominicanessenstraat 34 for the rest of the exhibition, refreshments, more drinks  and celebration!

Caribbean Linked V Group 

Participants this year include Irvin Aguilar (Mexico/Aruba), Franz Caba (Dominican Republic), Kriston Chen (Trinidad & Tobago), Sharelly Emanuelson (Curacao), Gwladys Gambie (Martinique), Adam Patterson (Barbados), Velvet Zoe Ramos (Aruba), Averia Wright (The Bahamas, supported by the Charitable Arts Foundation of the Bahamas) and Raily Stiven Yance (Venezuela). This year’s writer-in-residence is Marina Reyes Franco (Puerto Rico) and the two visiting guest curators have been Alex Martínez Suárez (Dominican Republic) and Miguel López (Perú/Costa Rica).

Caribbean Linked is an initiative by Ateliers '89, ARC Magazine and The Fresh Milk Art Platform, generously supported by core sponsors BankGiro Loterij Fonds, Mondriaan Fonds, Vertegenwoordiging van Nederland in Oranjestad (VNO), The Tourism Product Enhancement Fund (TPEF), The Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA), UNOCA , SETAR, Garage Centraal, Elite Productions, the Department of Public Works (DOW) in Aruba and Aruba Bank, as well as number of local sponsors in Aruba

For more information, call Ateliers ’89 at (+297) 565 4613, email caribbeanlinked@gmail.com or visit the Caribbean Linked website at caribbeanlinked.com, and follow the Caribbean Linked Facebook and Instagram pages for regular updates on the residency!