By Charminae George
“I fully endorse Art Week, and I certainly hope that it’s going to be something that is constant on our calendar of events in Antigua,” stated Mark Brown, a noted artist and teacher.
Running over the span of nine days, from April 16 – April 22 2023, Art Week showcased the finest of Antigua’s art, music, film, and dance.
The events in this festival included a schools’ art competition, and art exhibits at the V C Bird International Airport, and the Boom at Gunpowder House.
Brown, who commented on The ABAW Schools’ Art Competition highlighted the benefit of the competition: “I know how important it is that young people are exposed to an art education, and so it’s something I fully endorse. I’m very happy to see that that was included in the Art Week.”
Meanwhile, in referencing areas for improvement in the next staging of the event, artist, Dylan Elias Phillips, recommends more meticulous planning in how artwork will be laid out. However, overall, he believes the event was successful,
“Based on the end result, I would say it was a success,” Phillips said.
One of the pieces that Mark Brown displayed in the festival was a portrait. His muse, the lady proudly standing next to it, is Celene Senhouse.
Brown was inspired by the artist who painted the famous ‘Girl With A Pearl Earring’ (Johannes Vermeer), and he created his piece with the goal of capturing Senhouse’s ‘strong identity, beauty and resistance to operating within the boundaries drawn by colonialism’. (Facebook comment)
‘Endurance’, the title of the one of the pieces submitted by Dylan Phillips.
“This is a self-portrait, a testament to the trials and tribulations of a young artist, and all the struggles that come along with it. It is not an easy path, but one must have the will power to keep moving forward,” he commented.