NIFCA visual arts show kicks off

NIFCA SEASON CONTINUED last night as the Visual Arts Exhibition kicked off at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

With 637 entries in the visual arts and 65 in the photography sections, Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley commended the pieces saying “from all reports, these exhibitions continue to encourage signs of creativity and new trends in art and crafts.”

These new trends, he explained, pushed the boundaries of what was considered the norm.

“Indeed an analysis of the major creative trends in this year’s exhibition shows the bold large formats of many young up and coming artists. This, I believe, is refreshing,” he explained.

Chief cultural officer at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Andrea Wells announced the top winners on the night and also commended their work. However, she said that the NCF was very concerned that five participants in the photography section were found to have plagiarised their work.

“This has led to all works by those persons being disqualified from the exhibition and the competition,” she added.

She then made it clear that plagiarism would not be tolerated in a forum such as a national exhibition where people were there to celebrate originality and Barbadian innovation. (AD)