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WHERE ARE THE LOCAL ARTISTS?
Turks and Caicos, March 18, 2026 – Across the Turks and Caicos Islands, the skyline is changing. New resorts rise along the Northern coastline of Providenciales, promising luxury, exclusivity, and world-class experiences designed for the global traveler. These developments are often celebrated as progress, as evidence of economic growth and international relevance.
But beneath that narrative lies a quieter question: who is this development truly for, if it does not meaningfully include the culture of the place it occupies?
More specifically, where are the local artists?
Modern tourism is no longer defined by architecture alone. Today’s traveler is not simply purchasing a room. They are seeking experience,
Encouragingly, there are emerging examples within the Turks and Caicos Islands where this principle is present. Recent developments such as Beaches Resort’s new village extension, Treasure Beach and The Strand TCI have made intentional efforts to incorporate local visual artists into their properties, signalling an understanding that art is not an accessory, but an essential component of place-making.
These efforts demonstrate what is possible. Yet, across many developments, this level of integration remains inconsistent or non-existent. In comparison, the yet to open properties like the Andaz feature videos claiming to be rooted in culture while promoting Nigerian-Canadian and Trinidadian artists; whose work will adorn its walls and shape the narrative of “local culture” to its visitors. There are whispers of developments transporting artists all expenses paid to create and outfit their properties with art.
Instead of commissioning local artists, properties also rely on imported, mass-produced décor or artwork sourced from overseas. The result is a visual identity that could belong anywhere. A resort may sit on TCI Soil, but its interiors frequently tell no story of the islands themselves. This is more than an aesthetic oversight. It is a missed cultural and economic opportunity.
Local artists are not merely decorative contributors. They are interpreters of place, translating the land, its flora, and its lived experience into visual form. In a destination like the Turks and Caicos Islands, where identity is deeply tied to landscape and memory, art plays a critical role in shaping how a place is understood and remembered.
To exclude local artists from major developments is, in effect, to remove one of the most direct expressions of national identity from the visitor experience.
There is also a clear economic cost.
When developments bypass local creatives, funds that could circulate within the domestic economy instead flow outward. This is a form of economic leakage that is rarely discussed but widely felt. Commissioning local artists, licensing their work, and integrating it into design and branding are not acts of charity. They’re investments in a local creative economy with the potential to grow alongside tourism itself.
There remains an outdated assumption that meeting international standards requires looking outward rather than inward. But globally, the opposite is increasingly true. The most competitive destinations are those that embed local culture into their offerings in meaningful ways. Authenticity is no longer optional; it is expected.
The Turks and Caicos Islands should not aspire to look like everywhere else. Its value lies in being unmistakably itself. The positive steps taken by developments such as Beaches’ Treasure Beach and The Strand TCI should not be viewed as exceptions, but as a model. They show that integrating local artists is both achievable and beneficial, enhancing the guest experience while supporting the domestic economy.
This raises an important question for policymakers and developers alike: what would it look like to make this approach standard practice? Practical solutions already exist. Development frameworks/agreements can encourage or require a percentage of project budgets to be allocated to local art. Our newly launched national artist registry by the Department of Culture could streamline procurement and ensure professional standards. Partnerships between developers and cultural institutions could allow artists to be involved from the earliest design stages, rather than as an afterthought.
Hotels themselves can play a role by hosting exhibitions, supporting artist residencies, and incorporating locally produced work into their guest experience. Beyond one-time purchases, licensing agreements can allow artists to benefit from the continued use of their work across branding and digital platforms. None of this is radical. It is standard practice in destinations that understand the long-term value of cultural identity.
At its core, this issue is about more than art. It is about how a country chooses to represent itself, and who is included in that representation. The Turks and Caicos Islands is not simply a collection of beaches and luxery buildings. It is a living culture, shaped by its people, its history, and its environment. Its artists are part of that fabric, producing work that reflects and preserve what makes these islands distinct.
To build a tourism industry that does not meaningfully include them is to create a version of the country that is incomplete.
As development continues, the question is not whether the islands will grow. Growth is already underway. The question is whether that growth will be rooted in the identity of the place, or whether it will continue to operate around it.
In a global market where authenticity carries increasing value, the answer should be clear.
I leave you to ponder:
Turks and Caicos, where are YOUR artists?
About HezronH:
“We are all blended with a swath of experiences; walking, breathing, and thinking creatures full of insight and emotions expelled through every single pore. Our aura illuminates spaces of darkness and drives ideas through vision, endowing minds with fragments of personality shimmering through a kaleidoscope of colour.”
Turks and Caicos Islands’ artist Hezron Henry’s work is an exploration of this concept, via his practice. His body of work consists of oil stick, oil pastel and acrylic on paper, canvas, and digital painting, adapting both traditional and modern painting mediums to his signature style. His art is laden with vibrant colours and a link is established highlighting the emotive power of colour. Drawing inspiration from his youth, collecting comics, and his everyday interactions as an adult, he bridges youthful vibrancy and rule-breaking with the depth of an individual’s search for belonging in a region, still underrepresented, and overlooked.
Hezron infuses his portraits with introspection and longing while vivid colours harken to a palette present in Fauvism.
His passion is honest artistic expression, creating an experience people can enjoy and connect with on an ethereal level.
As one of Turks and Caicos’ most prolific artists he has exhibited in cities across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Trinidad & Tobago at CARIFESTA, Portland (USA), and at Art Takes 2021 (NYC). Hezron has also had the pleasure of being featured in several publications: Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Wacom’s “The Next Level,” Turks and Caicos Magazine, and selected as “Curators’ Picks: Emerging” on international art platform Artsy.
Select Achievements/Exhibitions/Publications/Projects
2024 – Indelible Imprints, Group Show, SaveArtSpace x Gallery 90220, Los Angeles
2024 – Feature, Cacique (interCaribbean In-Flight Magazine), Apr – Jun
2024 – Interview, Up and Away (Bahamasair In-Flight Magazine), Apr – Jun
2023 – Curators’ Picks: Emerging – Artsy
2023 – Curators’ Choice: Atlantic World Art Fair
2023 – Print It!, Group Exhibit, Leeds, UK
2022 – Caribbean Metaverse Art Week, Decentraland
2022 – Deus: The Quest for Divinity, Solo Show, Black Pony Gallery, Artsy Viewing Room
2021 – Expression Against Oppression, Group Exhibit, SaveArtSpace, Portland
2020 – Drawn Vol. 4: Leaders in Contemporary Illustration
2020 – Exclusive Evening of Art Exhibition, Group Show, Providenciales
2019 – Across Boundaries Exhibition, Group Show, Trinidad and Tobago National Museum
2019 – Apparel Collab, Konk
2018 – Fabric Prints, bēchë 2019 Collection
2017 – EP Cover, Maskanoo, Lady Livz
2017 – The Next Level Exhibition, Group Show: Sydney, Melbourne & Auckland