Kinich Ahau Art Festival opens display at the Image Factory

At the Image Factory tonight, the Kinich Ahau Art Festival is launching a unique art exhibition, special brochure and video documentary on the local wood carving industry. The brochure features the carving industry in the Rock Stone Pond and the Maskall areas while the video shows the process of the art from the planting of trees to the sale to tourists. Works by almost a dozen artists will also be on display. News Five’s Delahnie Bain has a report.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

While paintings and photography dominate the art world in Belize, artists who do wood carvings are taking the spotlight. The Kinich Ahau Art Festival Committee is using a video and brochure to spread the word that the wood carving industry is up and coming.

Wilfred Garbutt, President, Kinich Ahau Art Festival Committee

“The video is actually a documentation of the entire wood carving industry from start to finish. What we are trying to do is cause an awareness to all Belizeans that a wood carving industry does exist. Most people have seen a wood carving but they don’t really realize that it is an industry from start to finish. I would say about eighty percent of the people living in the communities immediately surrounding Altun Ha, which is Rock Stone Pond and Lucky Strike and then we also have Santana and Bomba; eighty percent of these families depend on the wood carving industry.”

The video and brochure are being launched at an exhibit at the Image Factory and one thousand copies of the brochure will be distributed to persons attending festival activities. But first, the artists put their best on display for tonight’s event.

Wilfred Garbutt

Wilfred Garbutt

“We have what we refer to as rustic pieces. A lot of those are portions of wood or pieces of wood that already display a certain image or portray a certain image so a lot of the wood would be left in its natural state where the image could. The other parts of the wood would be sanded. We actually started a program where we are asking or demanding that artists do a certain quality of work and so some of the pieces that will be seen here tonight are some of those more quality pieces. We also have other pieces at different places of business. There are pieces at Bacab Eco Park, also at the Radisson, there are some at the Bliss Center for Performing Arts and these are the quality pieces that the artists ten to make.”

Aside from the display at the Image Factory, different businesses will showcase some of the carvings. Also in the pipeline, is the establishment of an association, which will hopefully place the industry on the international scene.

Wilfred Garbutt

“We believe that visitors, foreigners do not have to come to Belize to see our art, to experience our art. We believe that we should take the art to them. And so the idea of an association is to have as many artists as possible be a part of the association and we get a market started for exportation and any artist that is a part of the association can export their pieces. The “Promote an Artist” event was geared towards getting the artists to put together nicer collections of art and have them on displays at these different places where Belizeans can come and view them and look at these pieces and also meet the artists who are making these pieces.”

The works featured in the “Promote an Artist” competition were judged today and the artist with the best piece as well as the business with the best display will be awarded at an all day event at Alton Ha this Sunday. Delahnie Bain for News Five.