Veni Mange celebrates culture with art

VENI MANGE restaurant will host a group art exhibition featuring ten local artists in a range of media including photography, oil, watercolours, charcoal, styrofoam, acrylic and other materials.

Some of the those exhibiting include Ajay Rameshwarsingh, Enaldo Boyce, Marisa Young Lee, Teneka Mohammed, Sarah Burrows, Damian Moore, AJ Rogers, and Nicholas Banraj.

A media release said the exhibition space chosen was deliberate, to give the effect that, "from the moment you enter the restaurant, you feel as though you are transported to another dimension."

On the curating of the exhibition, restaurant owner Rosemary “Roses” Hezekiah notes, in the release "that within TT lies an abundance of creativity, culture and passion, if only we open our eyes and appreciate the beauty of our islands and talent that surrounds us."

This beauty and creativity will be portrayed from April 10-30 at the restaurant, 67A Ariapita Avenue, Port of Spain.

In a brief on the exhibitors the release describes Rameshwarsingh as a photographer "who has taken a hobby and made it into a business with a voice, where he works on taking things that we see everyday, giving us another vantage point so we would stop taking for granted that beauty and environment around us."

It notes that craftsman and decorator Boyce's work has been featured via some of the statues and monuments created for the last Carifesta, hosted by Trinidad and Tobago in 2019.

In the artists' line-up the release says fine artist Young Lee tells a story with each brush stroke, while Burrows, who is a self-taught, mixed-media artist, specialises in colour pencils and more recently acrylics. Mohammed is also an artist and producer at local web show – The Light Box.

Artist Moore's range of talent includes fashion designing, original paintings, hand-made bags, fashion accessories, and decorations. "His diversity has led his works into many directions focusing on his culture and human nature," the release said.

On the hybrid artists: coming from Mayaro is Rogers, who is described as a young artist with a unique aesthetic and a background in art and animation, while it says Banraj's abstract work speaks to mental health, culture and has several meanings based on the viewer.

The exhibition opens from 4 pm-8 pm on April 10, and continues daily from 12 pm-6.30 pm from Monday to Saturday.