Art Connects Us In the span of a few weeks, our world has changed. All feels upended. The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced us to rethink much of the way we operate. Furthermore, the recent killing of black men and women in the U.S. has triggered global dissent against racial injustice and intensified a centuries-old cry for structural reforms. This is a time of deep reflection as we consider what it means to be human – indeed as we make a case around the world for being humane. We are refocusing our needs and seeking the means to meet them. Where does art fit in? Thinking about this moment, Darragh Hogan, Director of Kerlin Gallery in Dublin Ireland observes: “The need for connection and communication is amplified now, art has a vital role in meeting that.” Art has a significant function in bridging the spaces between us – those gaps created as we adhere to new social distancing protocols – and in helping us navigate the inner landscape of our mixed emotions. Art offers a language when we are overwhelmed and there are no words. This is the foundational understanding of art that we nurture at the
Marsha Pearce, PhD
Visual Arts Certificate programme at the UWI
Lecturer and Visual Arts Unit Coordinator
Department of Creative and Festival Arts. The work in this catalogue demonstrates our Certificate students’ efforts
The cover of this catalogue features a painting titled “The
in a language; their knowledge of the fundamentals of a
Crowd” by Leonard Lewis. The work evokes a heat and
particular communicative form.
energy reminiscent of recent images flooding our
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