“I am what I am.
Iam Mai”
-The Artist
About the Artist
Who am I? No…who am I really? For my creative and artistic purposes I am Mai. iam that iam. I am all that I create. I am all that is within me and all that is without. I am a once closeted artist, writer, designer and lyricist. I am an always pensive, contemplative, inquisitive, observer. I am, as has been told to me, an often quiet seemingly passive participant. Yes, I am outing myself. I am introducing me, in part through art, text and song and my hope is that you will engage in my inquiry, artistry, poetry and prose and leave having more insight into you.
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams
Creativity is one of God’s greatest gifts to me. And for this gift, I am truly grateful. It fills me with great joy and happiness at one moment and gut wrenching sadness in the next. Creativity, through grace, enables me to express a plethora of emotions through paintings, designs, words and songs, while inspiration avails me with new avenues to explore and new territories to uncover. Through art I attempt to deconstruct visions, inspirations and dreams and restructure them in new scapes; land or societal or sky, using pigments as my instrument of choice and using fabric or canvas as the receptacle upon which they are held.
As I explore questions through art, it answers nothing. Instead it elevates my queries and leads me into more uncertainty. But I continue to delve into the conversations held between me and the divine in hopes of gaining new understanding and insights into that which is greater than I. The process both invigorates and provokes anxiety in me. I am never quite sure what it is I am doing, or how I will get to where I am led and quite often in the midst of the process, doubt introduces itself and tries to convince me that what lies before me is disastrous. Only with time have I allowed myself to be bolstered with courage which in turn allows me to forge ahead. I have learned that those so called disastrous, unplanned, blemishes on canvas, as in life, are the very things that make art worth loving and life worth living. Though I begin each piece with some inspiration and blind faith, I am not completely without influence on the final product. My outpourings are always a reflection of my inner workings. Everything I create is firstly an interchange between the divine and myself, secondly an attempt at self discovery and thirdly a dialogue with the viewer. I am encapsulated within every piece and the monologue I had prior to the creation of the work begs for the viewers gaze then query…ah, a dialogue has begun.
Events
Accents Bookstore – 2013
• My work was exhibited for the month of April
• I was also asked to do a book talk to promote my two books, Human is the Race, Woman is an Experience and Introducing Medina.
Mackenzie Hospital – 2013
• Hosted its first Black History Month Celebration.
• Several of my works were exhibited at the event.
Colour Blind Garden Party – 2012
• Hosted an exhibit where works by several artists
• Artist belonging to the Association of African Canadian Artists were represented.
Colour Daughter of the Caribbean Art Exhibit: August 1st to September 31st, 2012
Opening Reception: August 14, 2012 – 6:00pm-7:30pm
Closing Reception: TBA – To Be Announced
Maria A. Shchuka Library
1745 Eglinton Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario
M6E 2H4 (416) 394-1000
Play Me, I’m Yours – 41 Pianos – July 2012
Earlier this year, The Arts Committee of the Toronto 2015 Pan/ParaPan Am Games invited me to be a part of the art project “Play Me, I’m Yours”. I was asked to represent Grenada. With 41 countries taking part in the ParaPan Am Games, the idea is for the 41 selected artists who are from Pan Am countries to decorate a piano so that it represents their birth country or ancestral connection. Once completed, these pianos will be located in public parks, train stations, outside galleries, markets and street corners. The pianos are available for any member of the public to sit and play and enjoy throughout the month of July.
For more information follow this link to a news clip from Global TV. Photos of the Grenada Piano can be found at streetpianos.com
More Links:
Gallery Exhibits
Exhibited during Nuit Blanche at the Empire Lounge at 50 Cumberland Street in Yorkville.
Cultural Expressions Gallery in Durham Canada exhibited several of my originals
Brampton City Hall invited me to host my first solo exhibit. Twenty of my paintings were exhibited for Black History Month and were highlighted for their celebration.
Oakville Town Hall hosted a Colour Blind exhibit for Black History Month. “Destinations” was included in the group exhibition.
Mississauga Heritage Centre exhibited the works of African Canadian Artists who had been showcased in the Royal Ontario Museum the previous year with the Association of African Canadian Artists.
Squatters Gallery in Flesherton Canada hosted a fundraising exhibit to raise money for the victims in Haiti. I donated three paintings “Dance of Freedom”, for the event.
Ajax Town Hall hosted an exhibit by Cultural Expressions for Black History Month. Several of my paintings were exhibited.
Whitby Library in Durham Canada hosted an exhibit by Cultural Expressions for Black History Month. Several of my paintings were exhibited.
Gladstone Hotel hosted a solo exhibit entitled Destinations Revisited. It was a retrospective of my body of creative works. Featured in 2010
Royal Ontario Museum Hosted ScotiaBank Caribana’s From The Soul Exhibit. Several of my Paintings were selected for this group exhibit. Modern Batik Art paintings, “Soul Mate Female”, “Soul Mate Male”, “Mother and Daughter”, “Mother and Son” were featured at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2010.
The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto hosted the ScotiaCaribana Art Exhibit from July 23rd to August 3, 2009. My work ‘Destinations’ was chosen for this Exhibit featuring local Artists.
Charitable Givings
• Trinidad and Tobago Association – commemoration Independence – Painting
• Durham Youth Orchestra – fundraiser – Painting
• Africentric School – Toronto District School Board – Painting
• Cancer and Diabetes Association – Trinidad and Tobago – fundraiser – Painting
• Squatters Gallery – Fundraiser for Earthquake Relief in Haiti – Paintings
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health – Monetary donation
• Canadian Diabetes Association – Monetary donation
• Twilight Rotary Club – Scarborough – Paintings