In the art world, the Venice Biennale remains one of the highest stages an artist can reach. Every two years, countries from around the globe present exhibitions that introduce audiences to the ideas, histories and creative voices shaping their cultures. This year, The Bahamas exhibited at the 61st International Venice Biennale for the first time in more than a decade with a pavilion that looked inward before looking outward. Supported by Baha Mar Following renowned artist John Beadle’s death in 2024, his work became one-half of The Bahamas’ national pavilion at this year’s Biennale. Rather than treating his absence as an obstacle, curator Dr. Krista Thompson embraced it as part of the story, pairing Beadle’s work with internationally acclaimed artist Lavar Munroe in an exhibition that honors one moment in time, while looking toward the next.

For Thompson, selecting the artists was never about finding two people with similar résumés. It was about showing visitors how Bahamian artists have long drawn inspiration from the same cultural source while arriving at very different destinations. “John was one of the few people who I knew I could pick for the Venice Biennale and no one would query it because he was such a stellar artist, really across communities was seen to represent the best of Bahamian art,” Thompson told ESSENCE. “Lavar really represents a younger generation from John, but again, operating at the top levels of the art world.”

Both artists found lasting inspiration in Junkanoo, though neither approached it the same way. Beadle transformed cardboard and other overlooked materials into sculptural works that reflected the traditions of his homeland. Munroe, whose work has been exhibited internationally, continues to build on lessons learned inside Junkanoo shacks as a child. “I learned art through Junkanoo,” Munroe explained. “I learned line, I learned color, I learned structure, I learned engineering, mathematics, research. All of this, as a result of me being a little boy in a Junkanoo shop.”

Thompson views Junkanoo as one of the country’s most influential artistic traditions, one that has informed generations of contemporary artists without always receiving recognition in international art spaces. “I also liked the idea of pairing their work together because both of them kind of come out of the same tradition,” she said. “Both of them worked in contemporary art and also in the Junkanoo shacks.” Ironically, the connection that Thompson spoke of became even more meaningful after Beadle’s passing.

Long before plans for the pavilion came together, Thompson had admired Beadle’s work and believed he deserved to represent The Bahamas on one of contemporary art’s biggest stages. Building the pavilion meant relying on years of conversations, archival material and the people who knew him best. “When I started putting together the exhibition, people would just come to me with these John stories,” Thompson said. “Some of the John stories were also scary because they were about how exacting he was in terms of how he wanted his work shown. One curator told me how he walked out with his work out of an exhibition a week before the show was supposed to open because he didn’t like the way it was hanging.” Some recalled his high standards, while others remembered how deeply he cared about every installation decision—those stories became guides throughout the curatorial process.

Instead of imagining what Beadle might have created for Venice, Thompson focused on presenting work that reflected both his artistic vision and his lifelong curiosity about materials often dismissed as ordinary. Cardboard, which serves as the unseen foundation of Junkanoo costumes, became one of the exhibition’s recurring threads. In Beadle’s hands, it became sculpture, but in Munroe’s practice, discarded materials continue finding new purpose through layered installations and assemblage.

John Cox, Executive Director of Arts and Culture at Baha Mar, believes presenting those ideas on an international stage carries significance well beyond the exhibition. “I hope that people see the true events of heightened complexity and nuance and modernism and Caribbeanness itself,” Cox said. “I hope the people who are discovering us and discovering The Bahamas for the first time through the pavilion see a level of sophistication, humanity, community and just a sense of aspiration to the future.”

National pavilions often serve as introductions for countries whose contemporary artists remain unfamiliar to international audiences. Cox’s goal is that visitors will leave Venice with a broader understanding of Bahamian creativity than the images typically associated with the islands.

“I want to dispel the myth of Bahamianness and Caribbeanness that people from the outside world have,” he said. “They kind of project these notions of their European definitions of primitive life on us, that we’re not a sophisticated humanitarian kind of globally conscious or globally contributing society.”

“We’re bigger than sun, sand and sea, even though that’s what we are usually sold on touristically,” Munroe said, sharing Cox’s optimism. “But also, we are a city of real thinkers, like thinkers and storytellers. We grew up in an environment where stories are always told. That’s how we are understanding life through folklore and mythology.”

While the exhibition celebrates Beadle’s legacy, neither Thompson nor Munroe views it as solely backward-looking. Both see it as evidence of an artistic lineage still evolving through younger generations, and creating opportunities for emerging artists remains one of the pavilion’s lasting responsibilities. International recognition matters, but so does building pathways home.

“I’m sure that there’s not going to be another 14-year span between this Biennale and the next one,” Cox said. “We’re already thinking we have to try and get ready for 2028. We just need to get our acts together because I feel like this is the platform that will help us reshape our identity.”

As the pavilion welcomes visitors from around the world, Cox hopes the exhibition sparks curiosity about the generations of Bahamian creatives whose work continues long after Venice closes. Returning to the Biennale is an important milestone, but he sees it as part of a much longer journey for the country’s arts community.

“You just get to tell a different story,” he said. “You get to expose yourself, and your people, to the world in a much different way.

‘In Another Man’s Yard’ is on view through November 22 at The Bahamian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Dorsoduro 947, San Trovaso Art Space, Venice, Italy.