ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

The highly anticipated Antigua and Barbuda Art Week programme has been extended as Art Week celebrations have been announced for Antigua’s sister island, Barbuda.  

To celebrate Antigua and Barbuda Art Week and feature the diverse range of arts within Barbuda, the vibrant art community on the island, will be hosting events from April 16 – April 23, 2023.  

The Barbuda programme offers visitors and residents, the chance to immerse themselves in rich cultural and artistic experiences ranging from a heritage tour, a community dance workshop, an art hop to meet the artists in their studios, crafting and the 1st united exhibition of local professional artists / artisans with a charity event - celebrity paint and sip with the who’s who of Barbuda as the grand finale.  

The coordinators of the Art Week events in Barbuda are Allyson R. Trunzer and Stacie-Ann Shaw aka Artsy Yaadie.  

Allyson R. Trunzer is a dance/ theatre artist of Barbuda and Canada, passionate about community, collaboration and co-creating artistic experiences and programs to support development and wellbeing. Much of her work has been as a performer, instructor, choreographer of Afro-Contemporary dance in the Caribbean, Canada, and the U.S.  

Stacie-Ann is a Jamaican architect and creative who has been residing in Barbuda for the last 2 years. Her work is heavily inspired by life and culture in the Caribbean, contemporary folk art expressed with high colour vibrancy. 

These dynamic women have joined forces with the common goal of helping to develop the creative industry in Barbuda and have also been engaging the youths with workshops focused on developing their creative expression, creative entrepreneurship, and creative career opportunities.  

In a statement, the coordinators of the Art Week programme in Barbuda said:  

“We are grateful for this platform that the Tourism Authority has afforded all creatives to shine on a national level and look forward to future events that include the Creative, Trade and Tourism authorities collectively to strategically develop the orange economy.  

Barbuda’s community has been demonstrating great skills and talents within the visual and performing arts, which needs to be further recognized and fostered. There’s also significant individual and communal value in arts engagement and practices, which we plan to facilitate during the upcoming Art Week and beyond.”  

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BARBUDA PROGRAMME INCLUDE:  

BarbudanGo Heritage Awareness - Run/ Cycle to tour the historically relevant and heritage sites in Barbuda. Contact T: 268 780 7773 

Community Dance Workshop - Join in the fun for a free, all ages Afro-fusion movement/ dance workshop taught by Allyson R. Trunzer at the Fisheries Outdoor Complex in Codrington. Contact T: 268 714 2880 for more details. 

Art Hop - meet 3 artists working in their studios at Barbuda Emblem (T: 268 728 4567), Art Cafe (T: 268 726 9118) and Artsy Yaadie (T: 268 722 2921) all located on google maps. Call whatsapp / ahead for your best experience. 

Sip & Craft - Join Odelia Deazle of Barbuda Emblem for a special Sip & Craft event hosted at the store location in Codrington. Call 268 728-4567 to book your spot. 

Artists Unite - The 1st group exhibition from the best of Barbuda displaying fine art, photography and jewellery (Artsy Yaadie, Mohammid Walbrook and Barbuda Emblem’s Odelia Butler). Also listen to the spoken word by Empress Authentic and get your own art on with eat, sip and paint at Uncle Roddy’s Restaurant. 

Celebrity Sip & Paint - The who’s who of Barbuda will top it all off while producing their own works of art which will be auctioned to benefit the development of other art programs in Barbuda at Uncle Roddy’s Restaurant.  

For the full details of the Barbuda events for Antigua and Barbuda Art Week, and travel to Barbuda go to: www.visitantiguabarbuda.com