Grenada to Aiud Romania: Art Residency
Donation protected
Meet SUELIN, a Caribbean visual artist with a burning passion for all things artistic. Hailing from the island of Grenada, she has managed to carve out a 30 year career in a space where art is not generally considered culture and where there is very little tangible appreciation for those who heed its calling.
In the Caribbean, art is a love thing, embraced by the artist who shows us the beauty of our Caribbean imagination, and helps shape the consciousness of the Nation, despite the lack of progressive cultural policies or philanthropic support.
SUELIN lives in a small one room house, most of which is dedicated to cultivating her craft. Her happiness comes through the joy of painting and creating, though there have been times when she almost gave up to do a 9 to 5 to make ends meet. She is resolved to stay true to her craft despite its lack of financial benefit. Through the grace of God and the support of family and close friends, she still manages to churn out a body of work that reflects the great history and richness of Grenadian culture and by extension, the wider Caribbean.
She has depicted the ravages of Hurricane Ivan, as well as images that speak to the daily life, trials and tribulations of the common man on a small island that best known for being invaded by the USA in 1983. However, it is her exploration of Grenada's carnival folk characters, and in particular the ShortKnee, which has inspired works shown in Ordino, Andorra (2008), Shanghai, China (2010), and a solo exhibition ICON in Grenada (2011).
In the Caribbean, art is a love thing, embraced by the artist who shows us the beauty of our Caribbean imagination, and helps shape the consciousness of the Nation, despite the lack of progressive cultural policies or philanthropic support.
SUELIN lives in a small one room house, most of which is dedicated to cultivating her craft. Her happiness comes through the joy of painting and creating, though there have been times when she almost gave up to do a 9 to 5 to make ends meet. She is resolved to stay true to her craft despite its lack of financial benefit. Through the grace of God and the support of family and close friends, she still manages to churn out a body of work that reflects the great history and richness of Grenadian culture and by extension, the wider Caribbean.
She has depicted the ravages of Hurricane Ivan, as well as images that speak to the daily life, trials and tribulations of the common man on a small island that best known for being invaded by the USA in 1983. However, it is her exploration of Grenada's carnival folk characters, and in particular the ShortKnee, which has inspired works shown in Ordino, Andorra (2008), Shanghai, China (2010), and a solo exhibition ICON in Grenada (2011).
SUELIN has taken indigenous performance art from the street and laid it onto canvas (and wood and bottles and other surfaces), opening the dialogue about contemporary art in Grenada. This dialogue opened further when the ShortKnee was the central figure in several of her Caribbean studies conference papers, two of which have been published.
Still the struggle is real every day for this small island artist. Not one to complain, she makes big things happen with the very little she gets, and she manages to share her gifts with all who come in contact with her.
Recently she engaged a young Haitian artist for 12 weeks in a mutually beneficial cultural exchange with several Grenadian artists, re-establishing links between Haiti and Grenada.
SUELIN's next adventure is to bridge Eastern Europe with Grenada. She has been invited to the 19th Inter-Art Foundation's International Art Camp in Aiud Romania, from 10-25 August.
This is BIG news.
In all, 39 artists will represent 27 countries with SUELIN being the only one from the southern Caribbean. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for any artist, but it can only happen with your help.
The Aiud camp is hosted but SUELIN is responsible for travel and visa expenses. To take up this opportunity, she needs to raise USD 2000 over the next couple of weeks, to offset the cost of a return ticket directly from Grenada to Romania, which costs roughly USD 3400.
BENEFITS OF BEING A SPONSOR
Should you choose to support SUELIN in this worthwhile endeavour, be assured that she will represent Grenada in the highest fashion, and will bring the Romanian experience back home to share with the local artistic community.
As a Thank You for your support, all sponsors will have special invites/advanced viewing, in person or online, of a post-Romania art exhibition to be held in Grenada.
Additionally, for support of USD 50 to USD 100 or more, sponsors will receive one of SUELIN'S original unstretched, unmounted paintings created in Romania.
All supporters will be listed as sponsors of her residency, in addition to receiving their rewards. Sponsors will also receive a link/pdf of daily blog posts made during the art camp, including the artworks created.
SUELIN will also be happy to be a human advertisement, by wearing sponsored t-shirts during her stay in Romania.
Please contribute to this worthy cause between now and 25 July and let's send SUELIN to Romania.
Thank You.
Still the struggle is real every day for this small island artist. Not one to complain, she makes big things happen with the very little she gets, and she manages to share her gifts with all who come in contact with her.
Recently she engaged a young Haitian artist for 12 weeks in a mutually beneficial cultural exchange with several Grenadian artists, re-establishing links between Haiti and Grenada.
SUELIN's next adventure is to bridge Eastern Europe with Grenada. She has been invited to the 19th Inter-Art Foundation's International Art Camp in Aiud Romania, from 10-25 August.
This is BIG news.
In all, 39 artists will represent 27 countries with SUELIN being the only one from the southern Caribbean. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for any artist, but it can only happen with your help.
The Aiud camp is hosted but SUELIN is responsible for travel and visa expenses. To take up this opportunity, she needs to raise USD 2000 over the next couple of weeks, to offset the cost of a return ticket directly from Grenada to Romania, which costs roughly USD 3400.
BENEFITS OF BEING A SPONSOR
Should you choose to support SUELIN in this worthwhile endeavour, be assured that she will represent Grenada in the highest fashion, and will bring the Romanian experience back home to share with the local artistic community.
As a Thank You for your support, all sponsors will have special invites/advanced viewing, in person or online, of a post-Romania art exhibition to be held in Grenada.
Additionally, for support of USD 50 to USD 100 or more, sponsors will receive one of SUELIN'S original unstretched, unmounted paintings created in Romania.
All supporters will be listed as sponsors of her residency, in addition to receiving their rewards. Sponsors will also receive a link/pdf of daily blog posts made during the art camp, including the artworks created.
SUELIN will also be happy to be a human advertisement, by wearing sponsored t-shirts during her stay in Romania.
Please contribute to this worthy cause between now and 25 July and let's send SUELIN to Romania.
Thank You.
Organizer
Suelin Low Chew Tung
Organizer
