back to archiveBlack Pony Gallery Debuts at Cambridge Beaches
Partnership debuts art gallery celebrating local and Atlantic World artists - Article By Lisa Howie - Black Pony Gallery and Atlantic World Art Fair
(Main Image - Nasaria Cholette, Oshun Rising 1, 2022)
This month 100 years ago the Cambridge Beaches hotel opened. In celebration of the property’s centennial anniversary, Black Pony Gallery has recently opened an exhibition in the hotel's reimagined reception area. This marks the first ‘brick and mortar’ landing for a gallery that has lived online since 2019.
This development follows the good work of Cambridge Beaches’ owners, Dovetail + Co., collaborating with Black Pony Gallery to co-curate artwork in each of the hotel’s guest rooms. For those reading who are designers, you know that this poses an interesting challenge: to marry design aesthetics with the artwork inventory of a gallery. The results are gratifying. The rooms and reception area are dynamically enhanced.
In case you are not aware, Black Pony Gallery exclusively presents contemporary artwork by emerging and established artists from the Caribbean mid-Atlantic region. The Azores, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Cuba, Cayman, and Turks & Caicos are the islands represented in the gallery’s cohort of talented artists. Now we can see and feel a full complement of art and design in the re-imagined hotel. It’s beautiful and refreshing. 
(Meredith Andrews - Solitude from the Island Obscura Series, 2016)
For this, the gallery’s first exhibition at Cambridge Beaches, you will find original paintings and limited-edition prints by five Bermudian artists including Meredith Andrews, James Cooper, Graham Foster, Teresa Kirby Smith, and Charles Zuill, as well as work from Cayman artist, Nasaria Chollette. As the fates would have it, we will have to wait a bit longer to appreciate the beautiful woodblock prints by Cuban artist Osmeivy Ortega as his artwork shipped to Madrid instead of Bermuda.
(James Cooper, The Deep (Clarence Hill), 2023)
The hotel has placed signs giving direction to the gallery now so everyone can discover the artwork on their way to the new first-class restaurant Sunken Harbour, or when checking in for a stay-cation.
I am honoured to work with a hotel partner who appreciates the visual art talent on island and who respects my mission to present contemporary artwork from the mid-Atlantic region. This partnership is as much about engagement with guests and residents, as it is a conversation on investment. This region is on the edge of expansion within the context of the global art market and for all savvy investors, this is the time to buy. Beyond that, this is also time to lean in and support our creatives while beautifying our spaces and enriching our lives.
I hope you enjoy your art experience at Cambridge Beaches. Please be in touch if you have questions, wish to make a purchase, or inquire about a commission. 
(Graham Foster, Last Train Home, 2022)
ABOUT CAMBRIDGE BEACHES
Originally opened in 1923, Cambridge Beaches in Bermuda is a storied property that has been completely reimagined. Set on a 23-acre peninsula surrounded by ocean and bay waters, the hotel is the first of its kind on the island made up of unique, freestanding cottages positioned along the coast for maximum privacy and unparalleled ocean access. Led by Phil Hospod of hospitality group Dovetail + Co, with interior design by Kellyann Hee (formerly of Soho House), and creative work by Paris-based Saint-Lazare, the property features a new refined perspective, immersive dining experiences, and expanded amenities. Working with existing architectural details dating back to the 17th century, the restyled cottages are whimsical and tropical, featuring a mix of Portuguese, Spanish and British aesthetics. All 86 guest rooms are set in cottages with expansive outdoor patios and panoramic water views. This new chapter for the property - in its 2023 centennial - also offers new dining experiences, each accessible by land and sea including Breezes, an alfresco restaurant serving elevated island cuisine; Pastel, a casual poolside restaurant; and Sunken Harbor Club, an immersive cocktail bar by the award-winning mixologist and restaurateur, St. John Frizell of Sunken Harbor Club in Brooklyn. https://www.cambridgebeaches.com/
ABOUT BLACK PONY GALLERY
Led by cultural entrepreneur Lisa Howie, Black Pony Gallery is an online art platform that presents a perspective on contemporary art makers from the Caribbean and mid-Atlantic Islands. Black Pony Gallery intends to gain awareness of and appreciation for these artistic talents by featuring emerging to established artists who reside in the Azores, Bermuda, Cuba, The Bahamas, Cayman, and Turks & Caicos. To further her vision, Lisa has also created the Atlantic World Art Fair, the only annual online art market dedicated to contemporary visual art makers in the region. https://www.blackponygallery.com/
FOR FURTHER DETAILS OF THE EXHIBITION, ARTISTS, ART WORKS & PRICES, CLICK ON THE PDF BELOW
