NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (November 23, 2020) – The perimeter fence of the Pinney’s Beach Park will soon be transformed into a mural of Nevisian art and culture.

The Ministry of Tourism on Nevis has teamed up with local artists to paint the expanse of the Galvalume fence at the entrance of Pinney’s Beach.

At a ceremony on November 19, 2020, Mr. John Hanley, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism in the Nevis Island Administration, announced an initiative aimed at beautifying the area even while the project is still in the construction stage.

“We are delighted to be here to participate in a new initiative which we call ‘Art in the Park’…

“The Pinney’s Park project started several months ago and as part of this project we are trying to get some of our local experts and other individuals involved in the project…We thought that it would be a good idea to decorate the fence with some local art and we’ve invited some of our most illustrious and celebrated artists to join with us,” he said.

The first tranche of artists to come on board are Mr. Gary Wade, Mr. Dinzey Ryan, Mr. Vaughn Anslyn, Mr. Lukianos Freeman, Mr. Leon Silcott and Mr. Jimmy Simmonds.

“We are looking forward to the wonderful art that they are going to put on the fence as decoration. They are going to be putting various aspects of our culture, our folklore, our scenery,” Mr. Hanley said.

Mr. Vincent Lai, consultant with the Taiwanese Technical Mission for St. Kitts and Nevis, conceptualised the initiative.

“I want to thank Mr. Lai, who happens to be the landscape designer for Pinney’s Park, for the wonderful idea to get the locals involved, and I want to assure you that based on the panel of artists that we have to start this project, that we can look forward to something really wonderful,” Mr. Hanley said.

Mr. Lai said coming out of the economic shutdown due to the novel coronavirus, he thought painting the fence with eye-catching artwork would signify to persons on Nevis as well as visitors that tourism activity on the island had resumed.

Visitors would be able to capture some of Nevis’ culture for their memories by taking pictures of the murals, which are expected to be completed before the end of December 2020.

Others including persons from government departments and schools are expected to participate. Drawings and artwork from students in Nevis and the Republic of China (Taiwan) will also be printed on ceramic tiles which will be put in the visitor centre at the park.

Mr. Lai noted that the project is progressing apace and his team will do all it can to ensure the park is finished by its target completion date of December 2021.