Rivers — they occupy a special place in human consciousness and in our art. They are sources of life, means of travel, and settings of healing, rejuvenation, and fellowship. What could be more quintessential to T&T than a river lime? So when an art competition in late 2024 called for pieces that represented community and culture, Department of Creative and Festival Arts student L’Shaun Cato chose to depict a moment at one of those meandering streams.
“Water has so many meanings in various cultures,” she says, “life and continuity, vitality and strength. But I also like to think of the movement and how water spreads and reaches far and wide in the same way we hope love will.”
Her piece, The River, depicts a young couple in the water, the girl smiling as she washes her partner’s hair. It’s a warm and intimate moment, well-captured by a talented young artist. And it won her the Art prize of UNDP’s We Ting Community Caravan in Chaguanas.
L’Shaun, a 22-year-old Visual Arts student in her second year, was both surprised and overjoyed with her win on November 16 at the Chaguanas Community Centre.
“Honestly, it feels great,” she says. “I was hesitant to enter the competition and actually registered right before the due date, so winning after having so much doubt is kind of surreal.”
The We Ting Community Caravan was created to “promote social cohesion, youth empowerment, and gender equality through a series of interactive and inclusive activities”, a statement from UNDP says. Launched in October 2024, it was a collaboration with the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts that included gaming tournaments, talent competitions, fashion events, and community dialogues. Over its eight-week run, the caravan visited Arima, Chaguanas, Diego Martin in Trinidad, and Canaan in Tobago.
“The theme and really the whole purpose of the UNDP caravan was to highlight community,” says L’Shaun. “My piece was selected because I felt that it represented that theme quite well. It not only represented community, but also highlighted a Caribbean experience. River limes are such a common thing for us.”
L’Shaun, who grew up in San Fernando, always had an interest in art and started actively pursuing it in form one. “From then I started reading and watching everything I could about art and practising. It’s been around eight years since, and I think I’m finally starting to become the kind of artist that I want to be.”
She says she loves the escape art provides her:
“When I’m painting, nothing else really matters. I also love the process and the planning. Days and even weeks before I start a major painting, my head is only full of ideas and thoughts relating to that painting.”
So what next for this talented young, and now competition-winning artist, an exhibition?
She laughs, “I have some concepts for paintings that I’m working on right now and I’d love to exhibit them once I’m finished. I’ve also been keeping an eye out for gallery shows that I think would suit my work, so I’m hoping to participate in more shows this year.
“But my main focus right now is to graduate. School has to take priority.”
