For the past three years, ‘The Print’ gallery show, hosted by The Grove Gallery, in Limegrove Lifestyle, has been growing. Not only in number but the variety of work shown, becoming a show that spans generations. It was only inevitable, with this continuous growth, that the introduction of virtual elements to the gallery should come.

 

There is no hiding that the sudden introduction of Covid-19 to our lives changed the way we view art and it’s availability. It changed the way we interact with each other, the way we conduct our lives, it changed the way we produce art and the way we share it.

 

‘The Print’ has always been about making art available to the general Barbadian public. It’s centred on the idea of affordable art for the Bajan home yet with it has always come questions.

 

“Do reproductions lessen the value of art?”

“When I buy a photograph can I truly consider it original if another can be printed?”

“Should an artist limit the run of their prints?”

“Is Digital Art as valuable if there is no ‘original’?”

 

There isn’t a single answer to these questions, but I believe the true value lies in the questions themselves. In having a discussion with the community around us. So as we push our show to the virtual level let’s add another set of questions to this list.

 

“What is the role of the gallery in the ever-expanding virtual world?”

“How has the role of the artist changed, from creator to manager?”

“How can I make the virtual world work for me?”

 

As you experience this year’s show we ask that you take in the work on the walls, yes, but also that you consider the artist outside of what you see hung, or the prints on display. We ask that you consider the person behind the work and the process that goes into it. We ask that you consider those who have made this their lives and are taking that virtual landscape via social media, blogs, websites, podcasts etc. and are shaping it into what they want to see. These artists are not just producing art, they are producing communities, and this show is merely a single part of it.

 

 Consider making these communities your own as well.