contemporarycaribbeancreatives

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Creative Director: George McCalman

The #Grenada-born, San Francisco-based artist grew up in New York City and received his BFA in philosophy at St. Johns in Queens, NY. Having worked for publications like ReadyMade, Mother Jones, and AFAR Magazine (a personal favorite) as an art director for over fourteen years, he opened his own design studio, MCCALMAN.CO. More recently, he has ventured into painting and illustration often capturing the style and personalities of Bay Area residents.

Images: Backyard Bill, A Photo Editor, MCCALMAN.CO Twitter

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #creativedirector #artist #grenada #caribbeandiaspora #design

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Street-Style Photographer: Tamu McPherson

#Jamaica-born and #Milan-based street-style photographer Tamu McPherson has been organically building up her fashion media empire over the past decade. Tamu launched her blog All the Pretty Birds a few years after moving to Milan in 2005 when she was introduced to then Senior Editor Luca Lanzoni who commissioned her to photograph street style fashion for Glamour.it. From there, her career blossomed to writing feature pieces for Vogue Pelle and Elle Italia, leading to her eventual position as Editor-in-Chief of Grazia.it – a position she held for two years. It was only a matter of time before Tamu found herself in front of as well as behind the camera when her unique style caught the eye of her street photography peers. Her insta account is inspiring!

Images: H&M Magazine; Tommy Ton, June 18, 2016; Tommy Ton, September 11, 2016.

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #caribbeandiaspora #fashion #jamaica #photography #milan #street-style

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Photographer: Wayne Lawrence

St. Kitts-born documentary photographer, Wayne Lawrence is best know for his series, ‘Orchard Beach: The Bronx Riviera,’ photographed over a period of six years. Like what you see, you’re going to love the other series on his website.

Images: Lensculture, “Orchard Beach”. National Geographic, “Intimate Portraits of Flint Show Frustration, Fear, Perseverance”. Wayne Lawrence Photographer.

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #stkittianartists #caribbeandiaspora #art #photography

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Artist: Jasmine Thomas-Girvan

#Jamaican-born Jasmine Thomas-Girvan is a mixed media artist who started off her career on the island by creating one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry for exhibition. Last winter, she exhibited ‘Dreaming Backwards, the Magic of Breaking the Spell’ at the Y Art Gallery, Trinidad. ‘Parallel Realities, Dwelling In The Heartland of My People’ was installed at the Devon House for the Jamaica Biennial 2017 and won her the 2017 Aaron Matalon Award. This work, a commentary on the epic histories of the Caribbean and its people is set against the Devon House mansion, built in 1881 by George Stiebel, Jamaica’s first black millionaire.

Image: Yello Jamaica

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeandiaspora #jamaicaartists #art #caribbeancreatives #mixedmedia

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Magazine Editor: Shala Monroque

St. Lucian-born Shala Monroque is editor-at-large for Garage Magazine, a bi-annual contemporary art and fashion publication.

Images: Street Peeper, New York Times, Caribbean Style & Culture

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #fashion #caribbeandiaspora #blackwomendidthat #stlucia

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Artist: Christopher Cozier

Trinidad-born Christopher Cozier is an artist, curator and writer who developed his skills in the US (MICA, Rutgers) and established his practice in Trinidad. Cozier is one of the founders of Alice Yard (alongside architect Sean Leonard and writer/editor Nicholas Laughlin). Recently, I attended a group exhibit at the Museum of African Diaspora called, Where Is Here. 

Images: Attack of the Sandwich Men, installation, Rows and rows of packaged sandwiches in wax paper with flags on toothpicks stuck on them, 2004. Courtesy: Africannah

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives caribbeancreatives trinidadartists caribbeandiaspora art

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Sharmadean talks about using virtual-reality in the beauty industry.

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #jamaica #fashion #britishnailart #blackwomendidthat #blackmagic #caribbeandiaspora

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Creative Consultant & Fashion Editor: Shiona Turini

Shiona Turini was born and raised on the island of #Bermuda. Her career in fashion began as a Public Relations Coordinator at Yves Saint Laurent. She then moved onto editorial as an Accessories Editor for W Magazine and Teen Vogue. Her follow on role involved working with Carine Roitfeld on CR Fashion Book, there she held dual titles of Fashion Market and Beauty Director before finally landing at Cosmopolitan, as Fashion Market Director. These days, she consults for luxury brands like Dior, Fendi, and Salvatore Ferragamo, freelance edits for The Cut and styling Solange Knowles for music videos and appearances like the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Gala. Shiona is a fashion influencer and her instagram is an inspiration.

Images: New York Times, Style Domination, Fashion to Max

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #bermuda #caribbeancreatives #fashion #caribbeandiaspora #blackwomendidthat #solange

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Editor: Georgia Popplewell

Georgia Popplewell is the Managing Director of Global Voices, a Netherlands-based international citizen media project founded at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Previously in her career, she started Caribbean Free Radio, the Caribbean's first podcast, as a means to diversify the archive that exists about the Caribbean online. Listen to her TEDxPortofSpain talk about Caribbean social media where she discusses the Caribbean-wide campaign #PR9Anya that propelled former Miss Trinidad & Tobago, Anya Ayong-Chee to win the Twitter fan-favorite award on Project Runway, and how to harness that energy to drive positive change. How to help people pay attention to information that is not inherently popular or familiar?

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #literature #caribbeandiaspora #blackwomendidthat #trinidadandtobago

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Stylist & Costume Designer: Ayanna James

#Jamaican-born Ayanna James is the costume designer for the HBO hit, Insecure starring Issa Rae. Ayanna started her career as a stylist by launching a fashion blog with her friends, though she had been slowly gravitating towards this role since high school. Now, she is a stylist to celebrities and the costume designer for an HBO TV show. Inspiring, huh? Check out her insta for #BTS in the life of a travel-loving stylist or her Facebook page for insight into her costume choices and where to buy the clothes Issa Rae wears on Insecure.

Image: The Snobette

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #caribbeandiaspora #fashion #insecurehbo #blackwomendidthat #jamaica

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Art Dealer: Nicola Vassell

#Jamaican-born art dealer Nicola Vassell is a former model and current owner of the art ideas consultancy, Concept NV. There, she has architected several collaborations including curating the artworks for Season Two of ‘Empire’ with works by artists such as Wangechi Mutu, Kudzanai Chiurai and Karry James Marshall. At Concept NV, Vassell curates exhibits that disseminate important messages about contemporary issues of race and identity.

Credit: Vogue. Wangechi Mutu, You are my Sunshine (2015); collage painting on paper.  

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The Art of Wire Bending

Narcenio 'Senor' Gomez, was one of the leading wire benders (sculptors) in #TrinidadandTobago. He built costumes for many bands and was best known for creating the ‘head mas.’ Watch him and his mentees speak about the craft.

Mentoring by the Masters 2015 Wire Bending Workshop

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #trinidadandtobago #caribbeancreatves #wirebending #reblog

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Fashion Designer: Aisling Camps

#Trinidadian Aisling Camps (pronounced Ash-ling) is a Brooklyn-based knitwear designer. The road to launching her own fashion line started after studying mechanical engineering at Columbia University. She started taking fashion design courses for fun at FIT which led to a degree and eventually her own line. Her FW16 collection of dark, rich hues was inspired by and called ‘Caves’ ( seen above, photographed at Gasparee Caves in Gaspar Grande, Trinidad) while her SS17 collection is light and all about layering, mixing and matching pieces. 

Image: No More Fashion Victims The Style Line

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #trinidadandtobago #fashion

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Fashion Designer: Stella Jean

Have you heard of Stella Jean? No? Then you are surely missing out. This Rome-based, #Haitian fashion designer’s clothing line fuses Italian style with a strong African and Caribbean aesthetic. This winter, Jean has teamed up with the socially-conscious Italian brand, United Colors of Benetton to create a knitwear-focused winter capsule collection; the partnership complements her own commitment to ethical fashion. Shop the collection online.

Image: Griot Magazine, Vogue DE

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #fashion #italy #haiti #StellaJeanForBenetton #caribbeancreatives #caribbeandiaspora #haitiandesigners #italiandesigners

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Poet: Andre Bagoo

Andre Bagoo is a poet and writer currently working in Trinidad & Tobago. His poetry has appeared in several literary journals and he was shortlisted for a Derek Walcott Writing Prize. His most recent book of poems is called, BURN (2015).

Pitch Lake

life on another planet things we can’t explain   black tarpaulin       quicksand              skin    sulfurous mother   times change they stay the same    the lake won’t end

- Poems from Pitch Lake (Peepal Tree Press, 2017) in the latest issue of Vivek Narayanan’s Almost Island, alongside work by Jee Leong Koh, Jibanananda Das and much good company. http://bit.ly/2gklreN

#literature #contemporarycaribbeancreatives #trinidadandtobago #caribbeancreatives

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Designers: By Making Studio

By Making Studio was founded in 2010 by #Trinidadian designer, Marlon Darbeau. Over the past few years he has grown his studio into a four-person operation including Melissa Darbeau, Melanie Archer, and Gareth Jenkins (L to R). Highlights of their furniture line include Peera, a multi-purpose object made of powder coated aluminum and cedar that is at once a toolbox and portable bench (seen above, the Peera-H Stool). The studio is already set to charge into the international design scene starting with their presence at this year’s Milan’s Design Week. Check their instagram to see what they’re up to #BTS and their furniture #inthewild

Image: Nadia Huggins

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #caribbeancreatives #trinidadandtobago #design

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Entrepreneur: Sharmadean Reid

#Jamaican stylist-turned-entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid is owner of the Dalston-based, WAH London Salon. This nail mecca has a cult following with a long-standing pop-up shop in Topshop Oxford Street, shelf-space in Boots and two published books. As if we needed additional proof of her badassness, she was awarded an #MBE - Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire - that’s a mouth full - for service to the nail and beauty industry.

Image: ThandieKay

#contemporarycaribbeancreatives #wahnails #jamaica #london #UK #caribbeancreatives #caribbeandiaspora #jamaicanentrepreneur #fashion #britishnailart #blackwomendidthat #blackgirlmagic