Beyond Imagination: Art Extravaganza is open to the public. This exhibit is a collection of artworks from past students and adult artists, all participants in the Primary and Secondary Art Skills Training Project, led by artist Fiona Huang. The artistic works of seventy-five Belizeans are displayed at the Mexican Institute in Belize City, showcasing the origins of their creative journeys and the evolution of their craft. News Five’s Britney Gordon was there to witness the unveiling of the pieces. Here’s the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Art exists everywhere. It reflects society through the artists’ eyes, allowing others to resonate with them or view life from a different perspective. Today, around seventy-five students shared their pieces in an exhibit titled Beyond Imagination: Art Extravaganza at the Mexican Institute in Belize City. The display is a culmination of the ten years the students have worked with art instructor Fiona Huang. Christine Huang, Fiona’s daughter and fellow instructor, tells us about the showcase.
Christine Huang, Instructor, Art Skill Training Program
“So, this exhibition is showcasing the work of our students for the past ten years that we are working in Belize, and these are the works that they continue to do even through the pandemic. So I hope to show everybody their passion and also for the youth that came to visit the exhibition for them to have a platform to exchange maybe their interest, the hobby, the techniques, different things.”
Huang explains that many students have grown with the program, developing into artists who inspire the next generation of creatives.
“In the beginning. We started with primary school students and then like you said they grew up and they continue on to learn their arts. So we provide the courses for high school and all the high school students graduated. So we have actually, from primary school all the way to adults to teachers or past students who wish to become art teachers that they came back to the studio and asked for trainings for maybe the visual arts CXC teacher or, different kinds.”
Isabella Waldman, Art Student
“There are some pencil drawings of some busts, like marble statues we have in the studio that I’ve done that I’m extremely proud of. But I’d say there are two paintings in there that I am definitely the most proud of. One of them is a street study that I did in watercolor. Both of them are in watercolor, by the way. It’s my preferred medium. And it’s of a street study and it took a lot of time. It took about three sketches, two of which failed, of bigger canvases because I did it in too much detail. And it took about four tries for me to get the sketch right. And then having to modify as I go along. And it was took a long time to finish. But I think that’s why it’s one of the ones I’m the most proud of. It took so much hard work to do. And the one I am for sure the most proud of is a painting I did. It’s a watercolor painting of Saint Joan of Arc. And it is like this full scale. It’s it was a replica of one of, like a, I believe a renaissance painting. But it is one of the bigger paintings I’ve done in watercolor.”
The program was created after Fiona Huang observed that most primary schools did not have a robust art program. Jayra Young has been part of the program since its inception ten years ago, while she was attending St. John Vianney RC Primary School. She told us about the four pieces she has on display.
Jayra Young, Art Student
“Two of them were a part of my SBA. One of them was one that I did from a long time ago. And then one was a peace poster that I won first place on a couple years ago in standard six.”
Britney Gordon
“And what was the creation of these pieces like and what do they mean to you?”
“Okay, so the ones for the SBA, those are what I did in third to fourth form, what I sent for my CXC. Those ones, my theme was life and death. And so I did two that were basically, one was an anorexic woman and the other was a woman trapped inside an hourglass. And it was just basically showing the fragility of life, seeing that at any time, life could just go like that. The one behind the peace poster, the theme of it was peace, so I just went and I thought about something that is, how peace should look in beliefs. And then the first one, that was just a little crazy one that I did when I was younger.”
Britney Gordon
“As an art teacher, how rewarding is it for you to see your student’s art displayed and appreciated by other people?”
“Extremely rewarding, especially for Miss Fiona. I know you never see her on TV. It’s always me on the TV, but she wished to let you know that she prefers to sit at the back. But she wants her students to shine and that’s her whole purpose in Belize, to help the students to find their passion and help them to give them opportunities, to help them find a career path in art and, to let them shine.”
The display shines a light on the multitude of artists in Belize waiting for an opportunity to showcase their talents.
Christine Huang
“The art program’s actually very important because if you may say, oh, it’s art, what can you do with it? A lot of things, book illustration, advertisement, all of that. And that’s what Miss Fiona wished to bring to the students in Belize. It’s not just about doing painting as an independent artist, but there are a lot of other works that involve art, like design, graphic designs especially. Even videography, that’s one of them as well.”
Britney Gordon for News Five.
