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ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Taisha is a Barbadian multidisciplinary artist working in performance, sculpture, body adornment, and installation. Her work seeks to promote solidarity with the land and investigate the liminality of life in the Caribbean after colonialism and into the anthropocene. Taisha invents ‘devices’ and explores performances for self-healing and facilitation of social dialogue about climate justice while proposing methods for rebirth, reclamation, and reimagining the value of Caribbean people and communities.

Taisha was selected by New York City Jewelry Week for their inaugural One For The Future initiative and awarded as a CFDA+ Design Graduate by the Council of Fashion Designers of America- an award given annually to exemplary new talent from a pool of graduates around the world. Most recently Taisha was named a finalist for Art Jewelry Forum’s Young Artist Award 2022. Her work can be found in the collections of The Dallas Museum of Art and Montreal’s Stewart Program for Modern Design.

Taisha received her BFA from Pratt Institute in 2018 and currently works in Barbados collaborating with biochemists, farmers and medical practitioners to pool knowledge and resources and shed light on social issues. 

 

EDUCATION

2018 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing Pratt Institute, NY

2015 PrattMunson College of Art and Design, NY

2013 Associate Degree,Visual Arts Barbados Community College, Barbados

CERTIFICATES

2020 The Health Effects of Climate Change - Harvard x EdX

COLLECTIONS

Dallas Museum of Art - Texas, US

Stewart Program for Modern Design for Designed by Women Project in collaboration with The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - Montreal, CA

ARTIST RESIDENCIES/GRANTS

2023

  • Le Point Rouge Residency - CaribbeanLinked x Biennale Internationale d’Art Contemporain- BIAC-Réseaux, Fort-de-France, Martinique

2022

  • Pratt>Forward Residency - Newlab x Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

  • Caribbean Linked VI Artist Residency - Ateliers ’89 Foundation in collaboration with ARC Inc.,The Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc., Oranjestad, Aruba

  • CATAPULT Grant - CATAPULT II provided financial support to 300 artists across the Caribbean

 

2021 

  • Arts, Letters and Numbers Residency - Averille Park, NY

  • Caribbean Linked VI Artist Residency - Ateliers ’89 Foundation in collaboration with ARC Inc.,The Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc.

  • BANFF Emerging Visual Artist Intensive - Banff Centre, Canada​

 

2020

  • Catapult Stay Home Artist Residency - Fresh Milk artist Platform x Kingston Creative x American Friends of Jamaica - Caribbean

  • National Cultural Foundation of Barbados Cultural Industries Development Fund Grant- Barbados

 

2019

  • Chautauqua Institute Artist Residency - Chautauqua, NY

 

ACHIEVEMENTS/AWARDS

2022

  • Art Jewelry Forum Young Artist Award Finalist - The Young Artist Award (YAA) competition recognises innovative work created by a jewelry artist early in their career. 

2021

  • Artwork Archive Business Accelerator Grant finalist - 1 of 60 finalist chosen from a pool of 3300 artists.

  • Women in the Arts - Barbados' National Cultural Foundation acknowledged 31 women who have contributed significantly to Barbados' cultural development

 

2019

  • Early Career Presenter, Society of North American Goldsmiths- one of 5 artist chosen to present their work at SNAG’s 50th conference

 

2018

  • One For The Future, New York Jewelry Week- One of 8 emerging artist to be highlighted as the future of jewelry design in New York

  • CFDA+ Design Graduate , The Council of Fashion Designers of America- CFDA annually selects exemplary new talent from a pool of graduate around the world to be featured on their curated platform

  • Pratt Circle Award, Pratt Institute- for Outstanding Academic Achievement, Pratt Institute

  • Outstanding Merit Award, Pratt Institute- Awarded to the student with the highest GPA in each Major of the BFA program

  • Pratt Excellence in Academic Achievement Award

  • Fashion Law Bootcamp Scholarship nominee, Pratt Institute and Fashion Law Institute

  • 1st Prize in Pratt Senior Jewelry Awards Show- most outstanding jewelry collection and presentation

 

2017

  • 1st Prize in Pratt Junior Jewelry Awards Show- Most outstanding work on exhibit

 

2016

  • Designer of Barbados’ 50th Anniversary of Independence National Monument- winner of a national competition to design Barbados’ national monument

 

2015

  • Easton Pribble Memorial Award- Most outstanding student who excels overall, PrattMWP

  • Alfred H. Wardle Memorial Award - Most outstanding student who excels in jewelry/metal arts, PrattMWP

 

2014

  • Freshman of The Year Award, PrattMWP

 

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023

2022

  • Caribbean Linked VI- Curated by Sofía Olascoaga, at Atelier 89' Punto Di Beyas Arte - Oranjestad, Aruba

  • 'Frame' - exhibited with Platina Gallery x Art Jewelry Forum for Munich Jewellery Week - Munich, Germany

  • 'State of Nature' Online exhibition Chautauqua Galleries, Chautauqua, NY 

       https://art.chq.org/exhibitions/state-of-nature/ 

2021

  • Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute 20-Year Anniversary Exhibition, Munson Williams Proctor Art Museum, Utica, NY

  • New York City Jewelry Week 2021 Virtual Booth

  • 'Crucible'- Print exhibition with Current Obsession Mag - Munich, Germany

 

2020

2019

  • "Who Owns The Island?" as part of the Pratt Jewelry x NYCJW Group of Shows, Brooklyn, NY

  • Chautauqua Annual Emerging Artists Exhibition, Fowler Kellog Art Centre, Chautauqua, NY

  • Under Exposed, Adornment and Theory, Chicago, IL

  • Jonathan Adler x NYCJW x NYC Design, Jonathan Adler Showroom, Manhattan, NY

 

2018

  • BFA Jewelry Thesis Exhibition, Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

  • MADE: Makers Across Disciplines Engage - Juried Student Slideshow, SNAG Conference Portland, OR

  • Pratt Design Show (As Part of NYC x DESIGN), Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

  • Breaking Bread on MLK Day: a juried presentation of Pratt students work for unity empowerment and activism. Higgins HallAuditorium, NY

 

2017

  • Drawing Installation Open Studios Exhibition, Machinery building, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

  • Nexus: SNAG Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Sheraton Hotel, New Orleans, LA

  • Junior Jewelry Show, Design Center Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

 

 

PROFESSIONAL  ACTIVITY

​2022

  • Guest Critic - Senior thesis presentations, Pratt Institute Jewelry Program, Brooklyn, NY

  • Curator - Metalsmith Magazine Vol 42 No. 1, ‘Escape Artist’ exhibition

2021

  • Visiting Artist Lecturer - RISD Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

  • Visiting Artist Lecturer - Metropolitan State University Denver, CO

  • Art Jewelry Forum - AJF Live virtual presentation, San Antonio, TX

 

2020

  • Teacher of Art and Design,  Combermere School, Barbados

  • Art and Climate Change: Bridging the Gap - Walkers Institute for Regenerative Research, Education & Design, Barbados - Lecturer

  • Visual Diaries, Chatauqua Visual Arts Institute- Visiting Lecturer

2019

  • "Conversations on Autonomy Through Wearing- Image attitude and creating space" panel discussion, Brooklyn, NY

  • "Who owns the island?" Solo performance- Bridgetown, Barbados

  • VACI Lecture series- Artists in residence works- Co-presented with artist Kris Rumman, Chautauqua, NY

  • "Dinner" R and Company x NYCJW- Manhattan, NY

      "Dinner" was a presentation of my work in a four course meal consisting of materials, concepts and accompanied by scents.

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

2022

2021

  • Crucible x Current obsession Mag, Munich Jewellery Week 2021

2020

  • American Craft magazine, December/January 2020 Issue 

2019

  • Caribbean Beat Magazine, November/December 2019 Issue

  • 2018 Jewelry and Metals Survey (JAMS), Vol. 2, December/January 2019, p. 78, 177,178

 

2018

  • CFDA+ 2018 DESIGN Talent Book , p. 6, 36,37,38,39

  • Barbados consulate honors Diasporans during Black History Month, Caribbean Life News online

 

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