A new exhibit showcasing 23 Caribbean-born contemporary artists has just opened in Miami. The exhibit, titled The Global Caribbean, has been curated by Miami-based Haitian artist, Edouard Duval-Carrié who said in a recent interview that “it’s not folk art. It’s not souvenirs. It’s real art based on very deep historical, psychological, social, economic upheavals and movements that make this region quite a fascinating one.”

The exhibit opened last Friday as part of Art Basel Miami Beach, the annual four-day contemporary art fair that draws collectors to the Miami area. “The Global Caribbean” is being staged in a new cultural center in Miami’s gritty Little Haiti district.

Caribbean contemporary artists are seldom seen in the international art market, and “The Global Caribbean” presents their work both to regional communities and to a wider audience, said officials from Culturesfrance, a French government agency whose initiatives in the islands led to the exhibit. The 23 artists are linked by their Caribbean heritage – hailing from Cuba, Martinique, Haiti, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad, Guadeloupe, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico – though many now live in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The exhibit includes photography, paintings, sculptures and video installations. Duval-Carrie said each artist was selected to illustrate the region’s diverse talents, connections and experiences with natural disasters, colonization and migration.

“The Global Caribbean” runs through March 30 and then travels to France.

For more go to http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1365103.html

Image is from Martinican artist Jean-Francois Boclé.