On the surface, Richmond's Shockoe Bottom and North Caicos Island are opposites. One is completely urban, the oldest neighborhood in this city and currently filling in with residential development and plans for more commerce and tourism. North Caicos, one of the Turks and Caicos "out islands," is still quiet and mostly rural, only on the edges of the TCI tourism juggernaut known as Provo (Providenciales).
Yet their people are joined by an interest in art, culture and the future, as I am finding out as I try to put together an exhibit and sale of silk paintings from the island that were done in the late 1990s (see my 3/28 blog).
Finding a way to share the beauty of these works by North Caicos residents, mostly children, has uncovered extraordinary generosity and excitement among people from both places.
Here in the Bottom, Genet Semere, owner of C'est le Vin Wine and Art Gallery, will provide space for the paintings in the second week of July. And Mary Fender, owner of Frame Nation framing shop, has offered to matte all 50 paintings as a donation to the cause of raising money for a playground on North Caicos.
Excitement on the island is equally high. Donna Gardiner-Neely, district commissioner for North and Middle Caicos, is looking to arrange followup exhibits on North and Provo. Her efforts have caught the eye of Susan Malcolm, permanent secretary to the Office of Public Service Management, who has also put herself behind the cause. We have an unlikely coalition of Bottom businesses and TCI government officials.
There's a lot of work ahead, but it's thrilling to see these neighborhoods coming together. In my head, I keep hearing Wings singing, "Hands across the water."
Yet their people are joined by an interest in art, culture and the future, as I am finding out as I try to put together an exhibit and sale of silk paintings from the island that were done in the late 1990s (see my 3/28 blog).
Finding a way to share the beauty of these works by North Caicos residents, mostly children, has uncovered extraordinary generosity and excitement among people from both places.
Here in the Bottom, Genet Semere, owner of C'est le Vin Wine and Art Gallery, will provide space for the paintings in the second week of July. And Mary Fender, owner of Frame Nation framing shop, has offered to matte all 50 paintings as a donation to the cause of raising money for a playground on North Caicos.
Excitement on the island is equally high. Donna Gardiner-Neely, district commissioner for North and Middle Caicos, is looking to arrange followup exhibits on North and Provo. Her efforts have caught the eye of Susan Malcolm, permanent secretary to the Office of Public Service Management, who has also put herself behind the cause. We have an unlikely coalition of Bottom businesses and TCI government officials.
There's a lot of work ahead, but it's thrilling to see these neighborhoods coming together. In my head, I keep hearing Wings singing, "Hands across the water."