Crafted Kinship - Caribbean Voices

Crafted Kinship - Book Review

Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers by Malene Djenaba Barnett

Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers by Malene Barnett is a reclaiming, a reworlding, and a reimagining: it is a celebration of over sixty Black Caribbean diasporic voices within the spheres of craft, art and design. As an artist, art journalist, curator and practitioner engaging my Indo-Caribbean heritage, I am thrilled that this book has made its way into the public realm. It fills a void. It is a critical curricular resource, a knowledge source, as well as a source of inspiration and understanding of the nuanced complexity of Black Caribbean identities. The interviews with the artists are interspersed with essays by collectors and curators which makes it a “drop in” book, you can begin anywhere, each text offering different points of views from the source and a range of authorities. For example, Michelle Williamson, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, references a number of artists in the book, mapping her unique path through the book. 

Malene Djenaba Barnett in the studio

Barnett, visionary author and producer of Crafted Kinship circles back to a set of themes that weave in and out of the practices, politics and polemics of each artist featured, ranging from ancestry and origin, to colonial histories, and touching on memory, spirituality, and sustainability. Materiality takes centre stage. Barnett chose to include architects and designers alongside traditional craft and fine craft artists, photographers and multi-media makers. She believes that the space that holds the cultural memory and objets d’art is just as important as the objects themselves. Part of this book is about rewriting the narrative of the origin stories, and debunking the myth that all art and craft is euro-centred at its genesis. This decision begs the question about the relationships between craft, art and design. Barnett feels they are all part of the same continuum, and encourages readers and artists to continue to question the inter-play between the different areas. In Barnett’s words, “Craft is defined as a way of making; not relating to materials or discipline. I’m also interested in blurring the lines between art, craft, and design by including makers of various disciplines to show how we work in synergy in our making practices.” [1]

The “feel” of the book is impressive in every way: its large, bold and colourful full-bleeds boast rich and joyful design that screams of ebullience and vitality. Barnett, an entrepreneur and artist herself, had a hand in every detail of its realization. Shout out to Alaric S. Campbell, the principal photographer, who captured the essence of each artist with creative flare and sensitivity. The content is organized in alphabetical order by first name – a pushback against the inherent colonialism of the surname, and each artist is identified geographically with their location at the time of publication, crossing continents to place the artists in the diasporic Caribbean community/communities with which they identify. The interviews, conducted by Barnett, begin with core thematic questions and organically delve into the specific offerings of each maker. I find this extremely grounding as a way-finding mechanism, supporting as it does, the books’ function as reference and resource. The content is interlaced with essays by academics, collectors, and experts in the field who intentionally speak from the voice of the Black Caribbean community. Taking the work of Andrea Chung, a multi-disciplinary artist who embeds landscape within her toolkit – she uses melted sugar to cast objects that speak to colonization and the British Empire on a number of levels. The essays contextualize and breathe life into the experience of the artists’ contributions. 

Malene Djenaba Barnett. Photo: Alaric Campbell

Chicago-based Black art-star and community trailblazer, Theaster Gates, challenges us to consider if, as artists, we are the person who makes the thing, or the person who makes the thing who makes the thing. Barnett is both. Not only does Barnett consider this compilation volume the first of many, she is already crafting the future, anticipating the next edition. She is also manifesting the book as a catalyst for future exhibitions. The experience of this compendium of artists with such bold, clear and confident commentary around their art will make any reader crave to see the work in person. Crafted Kinship is unto itself an invitation to be seized by community and, to continue to come together to be seen, heard, recorded, and celebrated.

[1] In conversation by email with the author on April 21, 2025.