Episode 02: Collectively Radiate: Intentional Messaging in Art with Calix Smith

In this episode of Art Affects, we sat down with Bermudian Contemporary Conceptual Artist Calix Smith.

His works add to the tapestry of cultural experiences that make up the African Diaspora, by creating art through an Afro-Bermudian lens. He investigates through his paintings and installations, divisions and polarity Afro Bermudians navigate, and examines the relationship these dualities have with proximity.  His work is a dialogue that approaches a willingness to broach polarizing issues within the Afro-Bermudian community  with vulnerability, intimacy, and empathy.

 Join us as we discuss the importance of Intentional messaging in art, and how this can be used a powerful medium to communicate thoughts and ideas around social commentary. He highlights How the experiences of people throughout the diaspora are interconnected. we also talk about what it was like for him growing up in Bermuda, and how this has has informed his artistic hand. He also talks about how we can using past experiences of loved ones to understand our current contemporary issues. 

 

Reference Material 

1. April Branco is a Bermudian painter who is known for her narrative painting of Bermuda's Cultural Gombeys 

2. Ernest Cole is South African Photographer who photographed Apartheid South Africa

3. Ai Wei Wei is a Chinese contemporary artist, active in sculpture, installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social-political artworks 

3. Gibbet Island Bermuda is a small island in Bermuda that was used to publicly torture Afro-Bermudians during Slavery

4. SUNU Journal : is a Journal of African Thought, Critical Affairs & Aesthetics