ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Typically it’s a must to journey throughout the Caribbean to go to the Bahamas, however not on Friday as a result of the Bahamas is coming to St. Pete. From the music to the drinks to the tradition, it can all be occurring at The Museum of Fine Arts on Friday.
The dance party coincides with their latest exhibit, Gio Swaby: Fresh Up.
“I didn’t grow up going to museums or galleries, I didn’t visit any museums until I think I was 19-years-old, so I found art a little bit later,” mentioned Swaby.
Walking by way of her first solo exhibit, Swaby mentioned she isn’t simply proud of her paintings; she’s proud to be from the Bahamas.
“One of the greatest honors to be able to represent my country in this way,” mentioned Swaby. “Up to the day before the opening, I was like, ‘is this really happening.’”
The exhibit, co-organized by MFA and the Art Institute of Chicago, is characterised as love letters to Black girls. It will probably be touring to Chicago subsequent yr.
“They are about showing one’s vulnerability but also showing off one’s personal style,” mentioned Curator of Contemporary Art Katherine Pill.
Each work has a chunk of clothes that simply pops off the canvass as a result of its shade scheme.
“That definitely is a Bohemian thing. People wear like green pants, yellow shirt, orange shoes, color is such a big part of our lives that I really wanted to infuse this exhibition with that,” mentioned Swaby.
Just about each textile portrait represents a buddy or member of the family within the artist’s life or, in some instances, Swaby herself.
She is especially proud of a wall the place portraits of her three older sisters are on show.
“I wanted to be able to capture them in a way that really felt authentic and true to who they are,” mentioned Swaby.
Swaby mentioned a Bohemian-themed dance party named after her exhibit, Fresh Up, is the proper solution to promote her imaginative and prescient.
“Fresh up is a term from the Bahamas, and it just means, ‘when you have on a really nice outfit, a fresh haircut,’ you’re looking really good,” mentioned Swaby.
The dancing begins Friday evening at 7 p.m. Then, on Saturday, guests are inspired to ship in pictures of their very own relations to be made into their very own textile portraits, identical to Swaby’s.
For extra information on tickets and occasions for both of these occasions, go to the Museum of Fine Arts St. Pete here.