Slave Exhibition opening Thursday

The National Cultural Foundation is lending support to artist Daniel Alleyne, well-known as Ras Daniel, for his upcoming exhibition titled: The Retired Slave Apartheid 1937. It’s being showcased at the Queen’s Park Gallery.

The exhibition, which will open this Thursday, February 9 at 6 p.m., aims to reveal a sepulcher secret of Barbados history – that after the abolition of slavery in 1834 social and economic conditions did not improve in the following 100 years, eventually fomenting the 1937 Riots.

As we celebrate African Awareness Month and delve into our past, there are two-and three-dimensional works, as well as installations utilising mixed media and mundane materials to create this narrative. 

“The collection tells the tales of this dare nightmare of human suffering: hunger and attendant health conditions, horrific housing, child labour, rape, legal injustices and overall inhumanity,” Ras Daniel said.

The seasoned artist has been a part of several successful art exhibitions locally and regionally. Ras Daniel focuses on themes relating to slavery and Caribbean society, aiming to depict his stories through a combination of colour, texture, symbolism and found objects. His works are included in the Ras Ishi Collective Commission in Golden Square Freedom Park.

Other exhibitions he has taken part in include Roots and Branches, Crop Over Exhibition, Barbados Carifesta’s Team, Carifesta, Black History, Not For and Landscape. His art has been on display overseas in Tortola and Haiti.

Ras Daniel holds a BFA from the Barbados Community College (BCC) and continues his education through knowledge exchanges, both as a resource and a participant. He is an art teacher/ tutor who continues to share, receive, and give to his community.

The free exhibition is open to the public, and all are invited. The gallery is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The current exhibition closes on Thursday, March 2, 2023. (PR)