This year, Grenada is making its fifth consecutive appearance with a national pavilion at the prestigious Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia), which runs until November. We spoke to artist and Grenada Pavilion Commissioner Susan Mains to find out more
Why is Grenada such a regular visitor to this great Italian festival?
This presence in Venice – in the heart of Europe – at the oldest art biennale in the world gives us a seat at the table. It gives voice to our authentic stories. This allows our work to be seen. It shows that the Caribbean is much more than the sand and sun used to promote our tourism. It’s a civilization made up of real people, with real struggles and — in many ways — real solutions. Our artists have benefited immensely, using it as a springboard for other biennials, art projects and exhibitions.
What has been your journey to do this work?
When you attempt something that has never been done before, that others tell you is impossible, there is a lot of fear and dread. I tend to believe that if your dreams and goals don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough. This has been a huge learning curve for me, and along the way I have met many people who are willing to help. Our curator, Dr Daniele Radini Tedeschi, has provided tremendous support and he has a very wide depth of knowledge from which we draw.
What has it taken for Grenada to have such a lasting presence in Venice?
The initial goal was to strengthen our contemporary art scene in Grenada by gaining international partners. Cuba is the only other Caribbean island with a pavilion this year, and of course we used Cuba as a model from the start of our trip. Their support and friendship over the years has been invaluable. We do not have strong institutions for the arts in Grenada, but there is a growing recognition of the value of the creative arts. It took a lot of persistence. This year we have had the support of the Grenada Ministry of Culture, the Grenada Tourism Authority, Start Abroad Italy and many others.
What can people see at this year’s Grenada Pavilion?
The title of this is An unknown that does not terrify, taken from the writings of the Martinican poet and philosopher Eduoard Glissant. The visual focus is the very unique carnival ritual of Shakespeare Mas from Carriacou, our smaller sister island. In this speech, usually two characters recite Shakespeare’s lines Julius Caesar, loudly in the street. If one makes a mistake, the other can take a bullwhip and give him a whipping. Grenada’s Cypher Art Collection spent almost two years in Zoom meetings discussing the portrayal of this very vibrant traditional mass.
A traditional traditional costume was researched by Angus Martin, our historian, then an actual street theater performance is shown on video. Oliver Benoit painted a series of abstracts entitled Whipping the mind, where he explores the effect of colonialism on our education today. Asher Mains continued his work at The empathy of the country, installing the trash he collects from beaches and the landscape. I made two very large paintings depicting Shakespeare’s Mass Players in mixed media. Ian Friday and Samuel Ogilvie collaborated to create a verbal duel, which was then featured in the video. And director Billy Gerrard Frank produced a short film, revealing the life of Ottobah Cuguano – enslaved in Ghana and brought to Grenada as a child, worked in the studio of [Richard] Cosway (portrait artist of the royal family) in England, then wrote about the evils of the slave trade.
Each artist reflects elements of the group’s work in their individual pieces. Several international artists also joined and worked on this theme – showing a pavilion of unity.
To learn more, visit grenadavenice.org
