Arts & Culture
(VIDEO) Behind The Scenes - The Historic Journey of Freetown, Grand Bahama
Nov 10, 2009 - 11:04:06 PM

Grand Bahama Island - This engaging 8:20 video presentation produced by Mackeymedia, takes you behind the scenes for a birds eye view of the creative process involved in the production; "A Question of Faith: The Journey of Freetown," an historical perspective told through fibre art and an exhibition scheduled for November 13th in Grand Bahama. The exhibition gives the descendants of that old eastern settlement a quilt with enough warmth to cover their expansive histories as we journey from New Freetown, to Infantview Cemetery to Water Cay and on to Sweeting's Cay; where we spoke with healthy 104 years old resident, Firstina Baillou.

A project of the Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation, the exhibition is the result of a seven-month artistic process, historical documentation and cinematic recording of the history of the old Freetown by the inhabitants of new Freetown. Once located by the coast, all that is left of old Freetown is a cemetery called Infantview for its first inhabitant – a baby – and the ruins of an old house. The settlement was one of the first known communities of freed slaves on the island.

Old Freetown is one of the oldest freed slaves settlements on Grand Bahama Island. After the Grand Bahama Port Authority restructured the area in the 1960's, the people of Old Freetown moved to New Freetown.  Old Freetown still holds remnants of the foundation stones of some of the earliest homes on Grand Bahama Island.

In 2007, in commemoration of  the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade act, The Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation presented an art Exhibition entitled Freedom Call . "As we were doing our research, we found it extremely difficult to obtain written information about Old Freetown , we then made the decision that we would begin our exploration and research in Old Freetown."

In this video you will see and/or hear from artist in resident, Lauren Austin; artist Chantal Bethel, Co-Chair of Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation; Laurie Tuchel, Co-Chair of Grand Bahama Heritage Foundation;  Mrs. Robin Symonette, wife of DPM Brent Symonette; Genius Cooper, and you will see locations such at Zion Baptist Church,  and Freetown Primary School.

This video is only a small taste of the approximately 30 hours captured for this project. Be sure to catch the exbit

Special thanks goes to Susan Clegg-Missick, Robbin Whachell, and Lyndah Wells.

Be sure to take in the EXHIBIT from November 13th through to the 28th at the Gloria Banks Gallery, Rand Nature Centre, Bahamas National Trust.