For years, the idea of a dedicated permanent space to elevate interconnected Caribbean art across island nations existed only as a distant vision. That vision became a tangible reality in 2024, thanks to the relentless drive of veteran art collector and former banker Rae Skinner, who opened Caribbean Brushstrokes gallery in Bridgetown, Barbados’ Pelican Village.
Skinner’s connection to Caribbean art stretches back decades. During her years working in international banking, she traveled regularly across the Caribbean region, and carved out time on every trip to seek out local creative work. She built personal connections with hundreds of artists long before launching her gallery, often growing familiar with their pieces before meeting them in person. Her core mission for the new space emerged from a common gap she observed across the regional art scene: Caribbean creators and audiences rarely get the chance to engage with work from artists across neighboring islands. “We don’t see enough of each other’s art,” Skinner noted, a gap she set out to close with her new venue.
Caribbean Brushstrokes’ first major exhibition, titled “Ties that Bind”, opened to an overwhelming turnout of art enthusiasts from across the region and beyond. Centered on the theme of intergenerational and familial artistic heritage, the show gathers work from 17 family groups of Caribbean creators hailing from four islands: Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad and Grenada. The lineup includes multi-generational pairs and groups, from mother-son and mother-sister duos to grandfather-grandchild lineages, with some families featuring work by deceased creators whose legacy is carried forward by younger generations.
Despite the wide range of creators and mediums represented, the entire exhibition feels intentionally cohesive, unified by bold palettes, striking contrasts and deeply personal explorations of familial and regional identity. Notably absent are the overused, romanticized tropes of Caribbean art crafted for international tourism; equally absent is the frantic search for cultural identity that marks many regional creative projects. Instead, every piece is rooted in a clear, unapologetic understanding of self, with each family sharing a one-of-a-kind narrative that resonates across island boundaries.
Standout works span generations and mediums: the late iconic Barbadian sculptor and painter Karl Broodhagen features alongside work from his son Virgil and nephew Jabari; the Scott family contributes four creators working across a diverse range of techniques; the Rowley family’s collective of mother, sister and niece displays harmonized canvases in warm, earthy tones; 95-year-old Goldie Spieler showcases delicate watercolors while her son David exhibits hand-thrown pottery; Ras Akyem-I Ramsay, a creative stalwart with more than 50 years of practice, introduced work from his son and granddaughter; even exhibition writer Susan Mains participated, showing pieces alongside her son Asher Mains.
The push for greater regional artistic unity is not a new one: upcoming major regional events including 2025’s Carifesta in Barbados and the 2026 Grenada pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia already center cross-island collaboration, with the 2026 pavilion set to include creators from Barbados and Trinidad alongside Grenadian artists. But cross-island exhibitions remain rare due to steep logistical and financial barriers. Shipping art between small island nations is slow, logistically complex and exorbitantly expensive; flying artists between islands for exhibition openings is even more out of reach for most creators, with high airfare and accommodation costs, and limited affordable access to islands geared toward high-end tourism. While regional sports teams regularly attract corporate sponsorship to support cross-island travel and collaboration, artistic collectives have almost never received the same support.
Against these long-standing odds, “Ties that Bind” stands as a landmark moment for Caribbean art. The exhibition offers a tangible, visual vision of what free movement of Caribbean people and creative work could look like, proving that shared regional identity runs far deeper than the small differences that separate individual island nations. It embodies the core synthesis of Caribbean identity: people drawn from every corner of the globe building a harmonious, shared culture rooted in mutual respect and shared experience.
During the post-opening artist talk, Trinidadian creator Sean Peters summed up the exhibition’s core mission: “My purpose is to make art that looks like us for us.” With the launch of Caribbean Brushstrokes and this landmark first exhibition, Rae Skinner has turned that shared mission into reality. The “Ties that Bind” exhibition runs at Caribbean Brushstrokes until 8 August 2024, and followers can keep up with the gallery’s upcoming programming via Instagram and Facebook.
