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In order to assist with financing their studies as The revolutionary ethos of the exhibition and well as to affirm and validate their work as the physical presence of Akyem and Ishi had artists, Awon organised two solo exhibitions challenged the social mores of polite society. and secured potential buyers for their work. It Akyem’s visual explorations of the Caribbean was the first time in their careers that the two mindscape and social condition of the displaced “renegade” artists exhibited separately. Akyem’s diasporic African - which is represented exhibition, “Art Animal: Retentions and through his use of primal marks, depictions of Redemptions” opened to critical praise at the amputated and disfigured limbs, and bold Barbados Museum. Although well attended, orchestration of colours and textures - audiences still had difficulty relating to his transgressed the sanctity of the romantic graphic iconography and arresting raw visual picturesque landscapes that had come to define language. the visual arts of the ‘tropics’. The overt message of VEXX regarding the ostracization of In his two-year sojourn in Cuba Akyem’s Rastas and the disregard for the visual arts in unique stylistic disposition was meticulously Barbadian society did not translate into any honed and perfected. However, perhaps the noticeable shift in public perception. most noted change happened off the canvas, for being in Cuba provided a moment for Akyem Even though they had subsequent shows, both to experience living in a country that not only artists had fallen out of favour with certain supported and admired artists, but also circles and the struggle for visibility and a validated their presence as critical to the social consistent economic base from which to pursue fabric of any society. their art would remain a constant battle. Discouraged by the isolation and lack of sales from his painting and desperate to make a living, Akyem turned to ceramics in an attempt to sell his work in the tourist market. It was at this critical juncture that Mervyn Awon entered his life and for the next decade would lend his support through providing professional advice, moral support, monetary assistance, art supplies, in addition to collecting and promoting his paintings and facilitating the further development of Akyem’s craft and international exposure.
Simultaneously, Awon began to develop a reputation as being a renowned collector and arbiter of taste, thus validating his own passions and opening up markets that were hither fore closed to him. Unfortunately, 1996 encapsulated both the peak and eventual demise of such a successful collaborative showing of Barbadian artists on an international scale.
Migration (1996) Oil on Canvas 48" x 52" Private Collection
Art Animal (1994) Oil on Canvas 72" x 52" Mervyn Awon Collection
One of the more noted acts of generosity and support, which underscores Awon’s role as facilitator, if not enabler, was when he secured a two-year (1995-1997) artistic residency for both Ras Akyem and Ras Ishi at the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Cuba. Having exhibited their work to great acclaim at the 1992 and 1994 Santo Domingo Biennial, Awon believed they had developed enough of an international reputation and collection to have their own show.
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What can we glean from this rather abridged account of Awon’s role as supporter of the arts? At one level, patronage in this context cannot be removed from Awon’s sense of moral duty. In his words Awon states, “I am not a patron of the arts, I am a collector…what I do is help and I help those who I feel need it most.” However, this help can only go so far to sustain the growth and development of the arts on a wider Ras Akyem-I Ramsay in his studio. national level. The integrated creative and Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in entrepreneurial approach to funding from the Visual Arts, 2010 private individuals has to be mirrored in some way by the public sector in order to attain any Akyem’s artistic production in Cuba served him sustained impact on the region’s visual arts well when in 1996, Awon, for the third landscape. consecutive time selected paintings by Akyem and Ishi in addition to works of art by several One of the critical consequences of Awon’s other Barbadian artists (e.g. (Arthur Atkinson, intervention was his ability to identify Akyem’s Alison Chapman-Andrews, Annalee Davis, raw talent and the subtext of his work beyond Nick Whittle and Santley Greaves) to be judged its aesthetic value to its broader existential at the Santo Domingo Biennial. By this time, concerns. This acknowledgement also allowed Awon had developed not only a keen eye for Awon to be recognised internationally. Each in a selecting winning pieces (both Ras Ishi and way thus affirmed the other. The mutuality of Stanley Greaves took home gold in 1992 and their existence benefited Awon and his passion 1994), but also masterfully understood the rules for collection but also contributed to the of engagement involved in selecting works for development of an internationally renowned international biennials. In 1996 the submission visual artist. The question remains, in the entry in its entirety won a gold for Barbados absence of an ???????????????????????????????%?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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