The local arts community is mourning the loss of one of its revered critics and reviewers.
Carolle Bourne died on Sunday morning at her Bank Hall, St Michael home following complications due to diabetes. She was 74.
Bourne’s youngest son Ian, told the MIDWEEK NATION his mother was a tower of strength for the family.
“I think one of the things that I loved about her and also that frustrated me most about her was her strong will. She would argue with God, if she had a chance. We loved her and that strength of character that she exuded,” he said.
“Her appreciation for the arts and also her love for writing, I can honestly say, are the reason why I am where I am today.
“She was a tower of strength for our family and we will miss her dearly. But we will also be the richer for knowing and growing up with Carolle Bourne.”
Tributes have also come from Chief Executive Officer and Publisher of the Nation Publishing Company, Vivian-Anne Gittens, who expressed shock at the news of Bourne’s passing.
“My heart goes out to her sons, particularly Ian who would have been living with her and would have been taking care of her coming on to the end. We at the NATION depended heavily on Carolle for her critique of art,” she said.
“She had her column Artifax which would come in the WEEKEND NATION . . . . Carolle was a reliable and competent art critic. She even had her submission for this Friday’s paper already in. It is sad to say goodbye,” Gittens added, extending condolences to her family.
Former cultural officer with the National Cultural Foundation, Katy Gash, described Bourne as “brilliant in every way”.
“I had greatly appreciated her talent, her wit, her sense of fairness and her high standards of excellence. She will be missed and fondly remembered by all who knew her,” Gash commented.
These sentiments have been shared by artist Nick Whittle who said Bourne was a committed advocate of the arts in Barbados and would be missed by all.
Artist Susan Alleyne Forde said: “The art community has lost a real champion. I have been on the receiving end of great artistic exposure because of Carolle.”
Carolle Bourne was born in St Vincent and the Grenadines. She moved to Trinidad as a young woman and later enjoyed a career composing advertising copy before going on to journalism in the United States.
After returning to the Caribbean in 1974, she settled in Barbados, concentrating on short fiction, poetry and art reviews for the local Press, including The Advocate and THE NATION newspapers.
She won the Kamau Brathwaite Award for Poetry in 2002.
The previous year, Saraband, her book of poems, won second prize in the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Awards, Barbados’ most prestigious arts awards.
She is survived by her three sisters and two sons. (ROG)
