In the wake of the ongoing global climate crisis, cultural institutions have a social responsibility to their publics like never before. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) in its commitment to actively nurturing and provoking a healthy and wholistic cultural ecosystem, engaged in months-long programming after the landfall of Hurricane Dorian, to recover the health, spirit and peace of Bahamians and its migrant Haitian population during a period of trauma, loss and transition.
This presentation will focus on the civic and healing initiative We Gatchu: Sanctuary After The Storm which was developed to support New Providence-based communities with access to alternative modes of healing through art therapy, community therapy sessions, public fora, wellness and mediation workshops and the more esoteric energy work offered by diasporic-based practitioners. The initiative will highlight the critical engagements that region-based institutions struggle with while illuminating the need for innovation, intimacy and social mediation.