The Fearless Nomad Art Series
On January 9th, 2021 I curated and opened a group art show at the Tropical Nomad Coworking Space in Bali. It was a project months in planning. As many of you who read ‘TFN Talks’ know, The Fearless Nomad community brand is about showcasing and encouraging talent. It brings me great pleasure to seek out and feature pioneers and changemakers, people who create positive ripples in their local or the international community. My pilot project preceding the art show was a ‘Writers and Poets’ Evening I hosted at The Istana in Uluwatu, where guests had a chance to participate and share their written works with the audience.
The Fearless Nomad Art Series was the first installment of a pop-up-gallery art series featuring local and international visual artists: painters, mixed media artists and illustrators based in Bali. Our first group show featured six artists from six countries: Evy Novita (Indonesia), H.A. Gold (Australia), Andrea Gloves (Italy), Izi (Chile), Nikeeta Lakhiani (India / Indonesia) and Deniz Reno (myself / Canada). I chose this particular group for the exhibition after witnessing the artists’ work in the community over the past few years. The pieces presented by these artists worked incredibly well together visually and I felt was a fantastic representation of some of the fantastic international talent living on the island of Bali.
Our partner Tropical Nomad Canggu graciously offered to host the show in their new co-working gallery space which had just opened up a month prior to the show. I initially had the idea to put together an exhibit after being interviewed there for a videocast and noticing how perfect the space would be for showcasing artwork. After a brief chat and a brainstorm with the head of Tropical Nomad we agreed that hosting an art show was a fantastic idea and I got to work on inviting the talent and curating the exhibit. Two months later the show opened and was an enormous success. The whole community showed up to support the first Fearless Nomad art Series exhibit and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. I stood back and watched as visitors would spend a considerable amount of time with the pieces, discussing their meaning and enjoying each other’s company. It took me back to my childhood when I used to attend my parents’ shows and my own, wondering what it would be like one day to curate an art exhibit and create a space for people to enjoy teh art of others. Well, I can say that it turned out to be an immensely gratifying experience for everyone.
INTRODUCING THE ARTISTS
I would like to thank the wonderful artists who have presented their artwork at the exhibit. A special thanks to the Tropical Nomad team: Ichi, Bela, Putu, Kadek, Adit and Gusmang for spending over six hours installing the pieces with me. I could’ve never done it without you (literally … my right hand was in a sling following a motorbike accident three days prior to the opening of the show). The team did such a wonderful job. I am so proud of what we have collectively accomplished and I hope to curate more events like this in the future. Watch this space!
In Partnership with Tropical Nomad Coworking Space