The art world’s growing focus on the Caribbean found a vibrant anchor in Nassau as the fourth edition of the FUZE Caribbean Art Fair unfolded at Baha Mar. Staged alongside the fifth edition of the Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival, the 48-hour event brought together more than 100 artists representing over 20 galleries, museums, and cultural institutions from upwards of 10 Caribbean nations, the wider Americas, Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Organized by Bahamian artist and cultural producer John Cox, FUZE seeks to position the Bahamas as a regional meeting point where Caribbean artists and institutions can secure international visibility. Despite a population of fewer than half a million people, Cox noted that the country punches above its weight creatively. The fair operated under the theme “Coming Home,” reflecting both a physical and emotional return for artists building careers abroad and a broader contemporary desire for community and identity.
Among the notable figures participating in the event was Lavar Munroe, a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow dividing his time between Baltimore and Nassau. Represented by Chicago’s Monique Meloche gallery, Munroe showcased mixed-media works rooted in Caribbean mythologies. Barbadian photographer and fashion designer Junior Sealy presented vividly staged collages celebrating Rastafarian identity, while young Bahamian artist Yutavia George, presented by downtown Nassau’s Sixty2Sixty gallery, explored the visibility of labor through abstract gestures.
Other notable presentations included the ICE Gallery, which paired the ceramic practices of Ricquel Rolle and Jamaican ocean activist Anna-K Cuffe. The Central Bank of The Bahamas featured a multilayered exhibition celebrating jazz trumpeter Giveton Gelin’s new album alongside works from its extensive art collection. TERN, a leading contemporary gallery co-founded by Amanda Coulson, Lauren Holowesko Perez, and Jodi Minnis-Rolle, showcased artists such as April Bey, Blue Curry, Steven Schmid, and Anina Major, whose solo exhibition “Soon Come Home” examined traditional straw-plaiting techniques.
Institutional anchors such as the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB), led by curatorial director Minnis-Rolle, contributed vital historical context through exhibitions like “A Sum of Parts” and “The Gaulin Woman,” housed within the historic Villa Doyle. International partners also made significant contributions, including Baltimore’s Galerie Myrtis, New York’s Richard Beavers Gallery, and U.K.-based DēpART Consultancy, which featured Royal College of Art graduate Emily Alice Mitchell.
Logistical hurdles remain significant across the region, with Cox noting that complex customs regulations and transportation barriers can make it easier for a gallery from Canada or Belgium to exhibit in the Bahamas than for one from a neighboring island. To mitigate these disparities, FUZE covers a substantial share of participation costs, offering free booths to help lower barriers to entry. Partnerships with organizations such as Miami’s SCOPE art fair continue to expand cross-border exchange, creating a continuous pipeline between local studios and international art markets.
