The inaugural “Drawing Self-Emancipation” Youth Art Competition and Exhibition concluded in August 2026!
The competition, which was announced at the start of the Season of Emancipation celebrations, invited young artists to create 2-dimensional artwork that reinterpreted advertisements for “self-emancipating” people (so called “runaway slaves” in colonial newspapers) through a lens of agency, resistance, and possibility. A booklet with a selection of such advertisements was provided to facilitate the work of the artists. The competition challenged young creatives to disrupt the historical narratives within these notices by reimagining the individuals described not as fugitives, but as self-emancipating people who courageously pursued freedom.
At its core, the competition demonstrated HeritEdge’s commitment to strengthening connections between youth, and history and heritage.
Submitted artworks were judged by a panel of esteemed judges, experts in their fields: Mr. Russel Watson, multimedia artist, filmmaker, and educator; Dr. Henderson Carter, historian, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus; Ms. Oneka Small, Art Curator, National Cultural Foundation; and Dr. Natalie McGuire, Curator, Barbados Museum and Historical Society.
We are grateful to The Office of Pan African Affairs and Heritage, Office of the Prime Minister, for their generous support, and to the Barbados National Library Service, and the Gallery of Caribbean Art.
Competition winners
Click on the names of the winners to learn more about their winning entry, and read about the bios of the artists and their statements.
Winning Entries
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- 1st Place winner: Safía Stoute, “I Do Not Serve”
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- 2nd Place Winner: Celine Cashier, “Ripped Open: Possibilities”
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- 3rd Place Winner: Zaria Dowell, “Visionary”
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- 4th Place Winner: Robin Griffith, “Destiny’s Metamorphosis”
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- 5th Place Winner: Miracle Rosemond-Johnson, “Evolution”
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- Special Entry: Grace Blai, “Away from the Bay”
