Tropical Is Political: Caribbean Art Under the Visitor Economy Regime

The Americas Society exhibition Tropical Is Political: Caribbean Art Under the Visitor Economy Regime showcases the work of 19 contemporary artists from the Caribbean and its diasporas. In this video, we hear from artists Abigail Hadeed and Darién Montañez, curator Marina Reyes Franco, and assistant curator Rachel Remick.

"The idea of the tropical is something that has been weaponized," explains Reyes Franco of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in Puerto Rico. While the Caribbean is a tourist attraction often seen as paradise, Tropical Is Political conveys the opposite. The exhibition focuses on the effects of tourism and the visitor economy. For example, Abigail Hadeed photographs the treatment of workers on a ship during a storm near Trinidad Tobago, and Darién Montañez experiments with campaigns that promote tourism in Panama through audio-visual artwork. "It is trying to compare versions of this vision of the tropical seen through the eyes of artists who live and work in the area," concluded Montañez about the works in the exhibition.

The exhibition is on display from September 7 to December 17, 2022. View gallery and visitors information.