SVG donates to Art Museum of the Americas

The Organization of American States (OAS) says the Mission of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the hemispheric body has donated a painting by artist Calvert Jones to the Art Museum of the Americas, the Caribbean country’s first donation to the permanent collection of the OAS museum in Washington, D.C.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said on Friday that the aesthetic and content diversity of modern and contemporary Caribbean arts “presents a free and unrestricted creative expression that exemplifies the OAS mandate of ‘More Rights for More People’ in the form of ‘More Art for More People’, helping to pave the way for a deeper dialogue among the peoples of our member states.”

Permanent Representative of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Louanne Gilchrist, said the donation “marks a milestone for us, as it promotes the visibility of our Small Island Developing State and manifests the creative genius of our people, evidenced in the work of Mr. Jones.

“The painting itself is a representation of the vulnerability of our islands, but it is also an embodiment of the resilience of our people,” she said.

Ambassador Gilchrist read words from the artist in which he explained that he was inspired by the eruptions of La Soufriere Volcano to create his work.

“I have aptly titled this work, ‘The Prayers of Spring,’ a beacon of the coming of spring, the season of new life, fruitfulness, hope and faith in God,” Jones said.

The OAS said the Art Museum of the Americas is the oldest museum in the United States of modern and contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean.

It said the museum “contains one of the world’s most important collections of works by artists from the Western Hemisphere.”