“Bloko” is a play on a word that’s associated with a carnival party within a community. Thusly, we have invited artists from the visual arts community to produce work reflecting a carnival theme. We asked them to present works on a canvas block (unframed). Approx. 20 artists also participated in a Papier Mâché Workshop. Some of those works will be worn by those artists at the opening reception. Over 65 new, emerging and established artists are exhibiting new works in a variety of media and using a variety of techniques: 100 exciting works in clay, papier mâché, acrylic, oil and photography; to name a few. The images reflect iconic historical images from our National Festival, Carnival, and make a perfect addition to a collector's private collection or to a company's corporate offices. In 2014, the Art Society of Trinidad & Tobago was invited by the National Carnival Commission and the Carnival Institute to partner with them in mounting a Visual Arts component to Carnival. There were 5 venues including Southern Academy of Performing Arts, The National Library, The Art Society Gallery, Lowlands Mall in Tobago and at The Carnival Village. In the case of the Carnival Village, students had an opportunity to learn about the style and techniques of our artists in daily visits to the village. Many visitors also enjoyed the visual arts presentations. Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, plans to continue this in 2015 were aborted. The Art Society felt that there is an urgent need for greater support and appreciation of the Visual Arts and pursued the exhibition at its headquarters, thus giving artists another opportunity to have their work seen and hopefully sold. As a non-profit organisation and the oldest Visual Arts organisation in Trinidad and Tobago, we rely solely on the generosity of the public. Companies and individuals wishing to make a donation toward the ASTT exhibitions and programmes can do so by contacting admin@artsocietytt.org Artists ultimately benefit from this as it allows them the opportunity to show their work. We invite all lovers of art to enjoy this exhibition by visiting the Art Society Headquarters between 7th February and 21st February. If you have visitors in town for Carnival, bring them to the best BLOKO in town. Thank you for supporting the Visual Arts. Curated by Peter Sheppard, 1st Vice President Assistant Curator, Wulf Gerstenmaier
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