A landmark moment for Grenadian cultural diplomacy unfolded this week in Washington, D.C., as the island nation formally gifted a groundbreaking new artwork to the permanent collection of the Art Museum of the Americas, which operates under the auspices of the Organisation of American States (OAS).
Selected via an open juried competition organized jointly by Grenada’s Permanent Mission to the OAS and the museum, the two-panel mixed-media piece *Salt of the Earth, Daughter of the Soil* (2026), created by Brooklyn-based Grenadian artist Shervone Neckles-Ortiz, marks the first work by a Grenadian creator to enter the museum’s permanent holdings. The formal handover ceremony brought together senior diplomatic and cultural leaders from across the hemisphere, including OAS Assistant Secretary General Her Excellency Laura Gil, Art Museum of the Americas Director Adriana Ospina, and Grenada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OAS His Excellency Tarlie Francis. Senator the Honourable Adrian Thomas, Grenada’s Minister of Tourism, the Creative Economy and Culture, presented the work on behalf of the government and people of Grenada.
Neckles-Ortiz’s assemblage, crafted entirely by hand from handmade paper, centers the enduring legacy of Grenadian women who have sustained intergenerational community bonds while safeguarding centuries-old ancestral knowledge and cultural traditions. The first panel, *Salt of the Earth*, draws from the artist’s personal family archive, integrating locally harvested sea salt and a repurposed vintage table covering to evoke intimate memories of domestic life and intergenerational inheritance. The second panel, *Daughter of the Soil*, weaves Grenada’s iconic agricultural exports—nutmeg, mace, clove, and bay leaf—into its composition alongside a rare 1940s photographic portrait of the artist’s maternal grandmother, who lived and worked in Grenada. Combined, the two panels offer a layered celebration of Grenada’s distinct cultural and agricultural heritage, the foundational contributions of women to the nation’s social fabric, and the quiet transmission of family traditions across decades and borders.
In remarks delivered during the handover ceremony, Minister Thomas emphasized that the placement of this work in the OAS museum reflects Grenada’s deliberate policy approach to centering creative industries as a core driver of national progress. In recent years, the government established a dedicated ministerial department focused explicitly on the creative economy, a move that signals official recognition of culture and artistic innovation as key contributors to sustainable national development and inclusive economic opportunity. Thomas also outlined Grenada’s ongoing commitment to preserving its rich cultural heritage, protecting historical artifacts, elevating the traditions of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, and expanding professional opportunities for contemporary Grenadian artists working at home and abroad. He extended formal congratulations to Neckles-Ortiz on her selection, and commended the Art Museum of the Americas and Director Ospina for their ongoing work to amplify the cultural diversity of the Americas and expand representation for Caribbean creators in major hemispheric institutions.
Neckles-Ortiz, who currently resides in Queens, New York, has built an internationally recognized career over decades of practice. Her work has been shown across the globe, including as a featured artist in Grenada’s national pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale. Her past achievements include high-profile public art commissions across New York City and the 2025 Brendan Gill Prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to the city’s cultural life. Ahead of the formal handover to the OAS museum, Neckles-Ortiz presented the finished work to Minister Thomas in a private viewing at Grenada’s embassy in Washington.
This cultural initiative marks a major step forward for Grenada’s cultural diplomacy efforts, securing a permanent, high-profile space for Grenadian artistic expression within one of the hemisphere’s most prominent cultural institutions. While in Washington for the ceremony, Minister Thomas is scheduled to lead Grenada’s delegation to the annual United States–Caribbean Dialogue, set to take place on October 15, 2026.
This release was issued by the Embassy of Grenada and Permanent Mission of Grenada to the OAS, Washington, D.C.