BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE ongoing CXC Visual Arts Exhibition which began on Monday (March 12) and will end Friday, (March 16), consolidates the belief that an Artist can be successful throughout his life.
No longer is Visual Art “just another thing to fill a free period” but it can also have major benefits, as pointed out by Assistant Registrar at CXC with responsibility for Public Relations, Cleveland Sam.
Sam, in an interview with SKNVibes, said that when students produce excellent work they can win awards and even be awarded full scholarships for doing well in Visual Arts and other subject areas to attend the University of the West Indies.
“We also want to showcase Visual Arts as a subject worth studying by students, and to encourage parents and policy makers to see Visual Arts as a viable subject and not just a fill-in or add-on for students,” he said.
Some of the students, Sam said, who have won awards in Visual Arts have gone on to become Animators, successful Fashion Designers and Teachers, “so there’s significant potential for students here - so it’s not just a subject but holds entrepreneurial opportunities,” Sam said.
The Exhibition opened with a ceremony where Sam emphasized that the Region has moved beyond the misguided perception of education.
“…And as our society has become more sophisticated and developed an appreciation of the finer things of life, our concept of Art and Art education will change,” he said.
The Visual Arts Exhibition is said to be showcasing the crème de la crème of work the students produce by taking the CXC Visual Arts Examination.
The objective is to showcase those works and demonstrate to students and viewers what is expected and what CXC considers to be a very high standard.
“We want all students in St. Kitts whether or not they have an interest in Art to come and see the Exhibition; we believe when they see the exhibition they will be convinced that the Visual Arts is something they should do,” the Assistant Registrar said.
Cayon High School Visual Arts teacher, Mikal Manners, has benefitted tremendously from his love affair with Art as a child.
“It’s (exhibition) exciting and not because I’ve been into Art since I was young but there’s not a lot of exposure of Art in St. Kitts, on a daily basis and it’s good to see Art from all over the region and, in addition to that, there are some really good pieces here,” he said.
Manners, who has been teaching for a total of five years, said that his students feel very encouraged by the Exhibition.
“The students feel very encouraged that they can produce work of that magnitude, as you will hear them say, “I can do this or I can do that”,” he said.
The CXC Visual Arts Syllabus was recently revised, and the first exam under the new syllabus was offered last year, May-June 2011. That syllabus is divided into three sections- 2D Expressive Form; 3D Expressive, and Reflective Journal.
The Exhibition is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily until Friday March 16.
