Since its establishment the Central Bank has positioned itself as a patron of the arts. Through the outreach activities of the museum, the bank has brought together practitioners of the visual arts with other creatives with the intention of continuing this work by introducing emerging artists to various topics of interest that will help them in their practice, promotion of their work and general advancement of their careers.
The 2023 Art Swap, Share With an Artist Partner was a continuation of the inaugural event, which took place in 2019. This year’s event at the Central Bank Auditorium was designed to provide greater value to the participant, who included emerging artists, educators and art curators.
[caption id="attachment_1040589" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Cross section of the attendees at the 2023 Art SWAP Event. -[/caption]
Facilitators in the fields of ethics in business, contemporary marketing and five local contemporary visual artists took part in panel discussions and interviews to share their knowledge of their craft and the state of art on September 28.
Speaking on the event, museum curator Nimah Muwakil-Zakuri said, “Building off the 2019 event and the relationships formed since, we designed this year’s event to meet some specific targets, the main one being the topic of social awareness of the emerging artist (the main target group of the event).
“Participants were encouraged to bring along artwork which was then displayed on the auditorium stage, creating a backdrop to the conversations that included paintings from across the artistic movements, including sculptures in wire and concrete.”
The day was structured around four main presentations delivered as open feedback sessions:
What’s in your Portfolio: A 45-minute presentation by Muwakil-Zakuri, and museum research and education officer Al Alexander, in which veteran artist Jackie Hinkson was interviewed on his work. This session discussed what a portfolio should demonstrate and say about the work of the creative, using Hinkson’s body of work as a demonstration. His insights elicited questions from the museum team and the participants in the audience that are believed to be topics that are in need of further discussion.
What is your Process: A lively and interactive discussion between veteran Sundiata, Adele Todd, an established artist and educator, and Marinna Sheriff, an emerging artist who has recently exhibited a body of work that explores the human paradigm. This group was selected to give insights into their process, practice and how they approach and create their work at the stages of their artistic careers/journey.
The Socially Responsible Artist: This session addressed ethics in art, presenting the artist as a socially responsible professional who uses art as a channel to reach and re-present resolved ideas to the public, thus creating work that is of high social significance. This session was presented by Wilson Henderson Jr, a lecturer in ethics and management. Henderson is also a corporate management trainer and
