The revitalization of Nassau affects us all – How will you get involved?

By Jon Murray

People have been talking about the revitalization of Nassau for many years. So many years that I can’t even remember when people started talking about it. What I do remember is that while people were talking, small businesses were moving or closing. I remember having fewer and fewer places to enjoy myself as the years went by. I remember realizing that after 5pm bustling Bay Street shut down and the city became part ghost town, part tumultuous club excursion. I remember feeling as though with every passing day, month and year downtown became less my own and more foreign to me.

Finally, I grew tired of the talking and I wanted to make change, to take the city back and make it mine, to become involved and take initiative, but how? Thankfully, I wasn’t alone.

In 2009, shortly after the creation of the Downtown Nassau Partnership (DNP) a like-minded individual conceived an idea and a group was born: Take Initiative Nassau, otherwise known as TIN.

TIN is an NGO volunteer group constructed of individuals who are interested in the redevelopment of downtown Nassau. Our mission is to engender public interest and meaningful involvement in the redevelopment of the city of Nassau, through educational, social, economical and cultural means.

Since our inception we have been actively developing and assisting programs and activities that highlight downtown as a platform for everyone and as a place enabling a variety of local dialogues that can, and should, take place. A few of the projects include bar crawls, public discussions, a scavenger hunt as well as assisting projects such as the Great Bahamian Seafood & Wine Festival, the cross-disciplinary exhibition A Sudden and Violent Change and the East of East Street art project.

Unlike so many other decisions made in our country, with the existence of organizations such as the DNP and TIN we are being provided the opportunity to become a part of the process of rebuilding our city. We are adopting efforts to embrace the chance to change, shape and form the space that was once the heart of Nassau, the center of our national history and a part of our identity. It’s time for us to take initiative and make the city of our dreams our reality.

To find out more about TIN and our projects or to become a part of the dialogue by commenting on our blog, please visit us at http://tinassau.org or e-mail us at info@tinassau.org.

Is Maya Hayuk's mural a part of Bahamian Identity?

The following question was posted last week (July 29th, 2010) on Facebook in preparation for a public discussion on a mural painted on Bay Street and Frederick Street by Maya Hayuk, a visiting-artist. Below the question is my personal response. Please ignore spelling, grammatical and structural errors :).

Who owns cultural expression? If a non-Bahamian paints a mural about Junkanoo, is that art work any less valid? Does culture depend solely on introspection, or is there value in outside perceptions?

First off, I don't think anyone can "own" cultural expression. It's something we do, something that's a part of us that in instances we control (the arts) and sometimes we choose not to (fried food and sweet-hearting). At the end of the day it's an experience, one that differs from person to person but has strong elements that are shared by a collective. We do however posses some form ownership, because culture is who you are and what you do and the individual and the collective are held responsible and accountable for it.

With regards to non-Bahamian art, if developing cultural diversity is the goal, the non-Bahamian perspective is a valid one. It allows us to better understand ourselves by providing a larger context to compare our own cultural development, structure and principals to. In actuality, simply the act of engaging a local community by a non-Bahamian brings about a different type of dialogue and can provide potential learning experiences no matter the intentions of the non-Bahamian. (Non-Bahamian is a strange term though, because what makes a Bahamian, a Bahamian? We live in a culture that has complex relations with the foreigner that skews what it means to be Bahamian or non-Bahamian.)

However, in the context of a touristic perspective (someone with external perceptions and assumptions of the place without any substantial connections with the place) a problem can arise. If a product (in this case a mural) from the a tourist or non-Bahamian perspective is used as a representation of ourselves (Bahamians) then it doesn't become an act of building cultural diversity but an act of distorting cultural identity.

There are many examples of this in formalized Bahamian visual art history. The objects from the tourist's eye become the prize Bahamian possessions and the objects from the Bahamian's eye are often grouped into some cultural abyss and are never claimed. An example of this and the damage it can cause is looking at contemporary Bahamian art.

Contemporary artworks created by Bahamians and speaking to issues Bahamians live with daily are often criticized as not being Bahamian, of being too international or American because of influences of different mediums and styles. Even though the content of the work is often an exploration of Bahamian place and identity, the objects and ideas are ultimately disowned by the masses and often are not recognized as a part of Bahamian identity until a much later date if ever. Yet what is typically considered traditional or "true-true" Bahamian art primarily shows content through the touristic perspective (beaches scenes, sunsets, boats, foliage, etc) and is held at the highest standard of what Bahamian art is and can be. The irony is that in The Bahamas representational and natural art was initially being produced by tourists or non-Bahamians and as more Bahamian born artists began to emerge the content and styles were adapted and claimed not simply as a part of Bahamian history (which it is) but as our identity, dismissing any other forms that challenge it.

In the case of Maya Hayuk's Junkanoo mural on Frederick and Bay, whether it was intended to be a response and/or dialogue to our culture or a representation of it, isn't extremely important. What is important is how we (the Bahamian public) choose to internalize the work and how we decide to place it within the conversation of our identity. The beauty of public art is that no matter the artist's intentions at the end of the day it's how the community responds to the work. It's in our court to decide if it adds to our experience or if it's limiting it...

- Jon Murray

P.S. Please respond

What can YOU do?

Since early 2009, efforts toward the coordinated rebirth of downtown Nassau got a shot in the arm with the formation of the Downtown Nassau Partnership. Haven’t heard of it? Well, following on the nearly 20+ years of fragmented work by interest groups in Government and the business community, it was decided to initiate a vehicle that would drive the revitalization process even further. The public-private partnership that we now know as the DNP came to life, and ever since, there has been growing momentum toward engaging the public.

Intro: Take Initiative Nassau (or TIN)! This group of dynamic young people have decided to jump in and get involved in this once-in-a-lifetime project, with the objectives of putting our stamp on it, adding to the discussion about it, and urging others to get involved. The reality is that our downtown is the result of community. Right now, that community is largely represented by tourist-oriented retail stores (liquor, jewelry, t-shirts, souvenirs and fragrances) and under-performing real estate. I’m sure that I’m missing others, but you get the point.

We believe that our city now needs to cultivate a new community – one that features dynamic entertainment, city dwellers, new restaurants, bars and similar enterprises, appealing public spaces and vibrant artistic expressions. We hope that through our website and ongoing events, we can get you involved in the push toward a better city and by extension, better communities. How can you help?

1. Volunteer! As the year progresses, there will be many opportunities to lend your assistance, either in time or resources to our events/projects and those of other similar community groups

2. Visit the website, Facebook Group and blog! You’ll stay up-to-date on the latest happenings and have a chance to add your opinions

3. Participate! Whether it means showing up to events, spreading the word to your friends, finding ways to use the city more or all of the above, we want you to take action in whatever ways work best for you

In the next post, we’ll give an update on the recent public discussion about the downtown mural project (“Love My Bahamas”), which was held this past Saturday on Frederick Street. There were many great points and we plan to put on another discussion in the weeks ahead. Plan to be there! In the meantime, please visit our brand-spanking-new website – www.tinassau.org - and answer the new poll question:

“Do you think that the new straw market should carry native products only?”


We’d love to get your feedback and opinions!

Thanks for your support!
TAKE INITIATIVE NASSAU