BJ Boulter shows «Colours of Zanzibar» in Silves

BJ (Barbara Jane) Boulter is a multicultural Algarve

The Center for Luso-Arab Studies in Silves (CELAS) holds a painting exhibition entitled colors of zanzibar, by BJ Boulter, which will be inaugurated on the 17th of June, at 16 pm, at its headquarters, at the Casa da Cultura Luso-Arabe e Mediterrânica, in Largo da República, in Silves.

The event will be open until the end of August. Admission is free.

BJ (Barbara Jane) Boulter is a multicultural Algarve graduate, trained at Saint Martin's College of Arts and the Lucie Clayton School of Design in London.

In 1962, he came from Tanzania to the Algarve with his parents, where he still lives today.

Her work is figurative: stories of people and wild animals, the myriad of culture, inspired by her world travels and regular safaris to East Africa and her adopted country, Portugal.

Her professional career has allowed her to travel all over the world as a set designer and film producer.

Behind the scenes behind the cinematographic camera, she created the scenes, developing a work in which drawing and painting is an essential element. This series, Colors of Zanzibar, is dedicated to the peaceful years of the Nineties, before internal conflicts and the arrival of tourism.

The author says about Zanzibar: «Its very name evokes charm; pearly beaches shaded by palm trees, washed by a pale, transparent blue sea; the island of spices that enriches our palate with exotic fragrances that color people».

«I see life in images. People fascinate me; life, time and place, full of meaning, lead me to record moments, images and experiences in my sketchbook. From there, I create a work of art with a story to tell», he adds.

«The inhabitants of Zanzibar are engraved in my memory. In my studio, I have a collection of colorful sarongs with proverbs in Kiswahili that challenge me to tell their stories», he says.

“Zanzibar is the capital of a group of islands off the coast of Tanganyika, where I grew up. These works portray the year 1990. With great enthusiasm, I obtained the first commercial authorization to film in Zanzibar since independence, and crossed the Indian Ocean on the ferry from Dar es Salaam. Stone Town did not disappoint me. Recently opened to visitors, the people of the island were very helpful, happy to be involved in the film».

«I walked through its narrow streets, the large carved doors that opened onto high and bright courtyards, the dark and tiny shops full of antique items, the baskets of spices in the market, the catch of the day delivered to the harbor master, the bustle of business, artisans and seamstresses willing to tell their stories in the island's pleasant and humming Kiswahili. I rented a small motorbike and drove through the spice fields, the banana and corn plantations, the rammed earth and palm villages and the Koran schools, past the boat builders who worked on the silver beaches. It was a joyous experience that I try to capture creatively with the texture and color of these beautiful fabrics,” concludes BJ Boulder.

The exhibition, organized by the Center for Luso-Arab Studies in Silves, is supported by the Association for Studies and Defense of the Historical-Cultural Heritage of the Municipality of Silves, Silves City Council, Rotary Clube de Silves, Urban Sketchers, Algarve Artists Network and Grafisul.

 



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