The Tribune

A yellow jacket challenged one student’s idea of what art could be. For another, a sculpture addressing pollution revealed beauty in an unexpected place. Across the FUZE Art Fair, students found inspiration in art that invited them to look closer, ask questions and imagine new ways to express themselves.

For the second consecutive year, Scotiabank partnered with the Baha Mar Foundation to support the FUZE school tours during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival at Baha Mar, presented by Scotiabank. The tours gave students the opportunity to experience art from The Bahamas, the Caribbean and around the world, meet artists and discover the stories and ideas behind their work. Scotiabank team members joined the students as tour guides, helping them explore the artwork and connect with the artists.

For ISBET Grade 11 student Takarie Brown, a yellow jacket offered a fresh perspective. “This opened my eyes to realise fashion could be art as well. You get to express yourself,” Takarie said.

The chance for students to discover what is possible through art is one of the reasons Roger Archer, Managing Director, Scotiabank Bahamas, is passionate about the partnership and the school tours. “It is important for us to support the arts within The Bahamas. Art is important in preserving our stories and connecting generations,” Archer said. “Having students here over the week gave us the ability to show them pieces that express who we are as Caribbean people, who we are as Bahamian people, and for them to understand that they have the ability to use art to tell those stories.”

Government High School Grade 10 student J’Leiah Johnson was drawn to an artwork addressing pollution. Its tall structures and burnt materials caught her attention, showing her how an environmental issue could be transformed into something beautiful.

Fellow Government High School student Suze Augustin, in Grade 12, was inspired by seeing how artists bring their ideas to life. The experience encouraged her to put her own ideas on paper and explore her creativity with greater confidence.

As Scotiabank celebrates 70 years in The Bahamas, its continued support for the tours reflects its commitment to investing in young people and creating opportunities for them to learn, grow and explore their potential.

For educators, FUZE offers a valuable opportunity to take learning beyond the classroom. Rashelle Thompson Wright, Visual Arts Subject Coordinator at Government High School, said meeting artists and seeing their work firsthand helped students recognise that they can begin developing their creative interests now. “It is not just something you have to wait to go off to school to do. You can start doing this now in the classroom,” she said.

Cian Sawyer of Holon Learning, who brought students to the fair for a second year, said seeing work that reflects Bahamian and Caribbean culture gives young people an opportunity to connect with their identities and histories. “I hope they take away from it feeling somewhat connected to their own Bahamian roots and the wider Caribbean at the same time,” Sawyer said. “And that they feel inspired, and that they experience beauty, and that it fosters questions.”

Through its continued support of the FUZE school tours, Scotiabank is helping young people experience the arts, connect with their culture and imagine new possibilities for their own creativity.