South Florida entrepreneurs invest in Trinidad’s creative economy

For South Florida entrepreneurs Marie Bermudez-Hinkson and Anthony Hinkson, investing in their home country means more than returning for visits or supporting family and community causes.

The couple has established two businesses in Trinidad and Tobago aimed at supporting the country’s creative sector while creating connections between Caribbean artists and the diaspora.

Elevated Art Solutions, located on Long Circular Road in Maraval, provides art supplies, professional custom framing and printing services for artists, students, collectors, designers, schools, businesses and other members of the creative community.

The couple later expanded the concept with The Elevated Creative Hub at the Shoppes of Maraval. The space serves as a gallery and venue for exhibitions, workshops, creative events, artist development and community activities.

Together, the businesses reflect the Hinksons’ broader goal of strengthening the infrastructure around the creative economy, from the materials artists need to produce their work to opportunities to exhibit, market and sell it.

The Hinksons, who are based in South Florida but have deep roots in Trinidad and Tobago, said their vision extends beyond serving artists locally. They want to connect Caribbean artists with collectors and audiences in diaspora communities in South Florida, New York, Atlanta, Toronto, London and elsewhere.

“People in the diaspora may live thousands of miles away, but the Caribbean is still home,” the couple said. “Art allows us to bring a piece of that home into our everyday lives.”

Supporting the business of art

The Hinksons see access to materials and professional services as only one part of what artists need to build sustainable careers.

Through The Elevated Creative Hub, they aim to provide opportunities for artists to exhibit their work, participate in workshops and learn more about the business side of a creative career.

That includes areas such as pricing, documentation, cataloguing, presentation, preservation, marketing and developing relationships with collectors.

The goal, they said, is to help artists think beyond producing individual pieces and consider how they can build sustainable businesses around their work.

“We do not simply want to sell art. We want to help build a market for Caribbean art,” the founders said.

The Hub is also intended to bring artists together with collectors, educators, young creatives, entrepreneurs and members of the wider community.

Connecting the diaspora to Caribbean art

A major part of the Hinksons’ vision is encouraging Caribbean people living abroad to collect art from the region.

For the couple, an original work can serve not only as a piece of decoration but also as a connection to family, place and culture that can be passed between generations.

That diaspora focus is central to their plans for both businesses. They envision stronger relationships between Caribbean artists and collectors and institutions in international markets, particularly in communities where Caribbean populations have established strong ties to their countries of origin.

“We want Caribbean artists to know that their market does not have to stop at the shores of their island,” they said. “There is an entire diaspora that understands our culture, loves our culture and wants to remain connected to it.”

The businesses also represent the Hinksons’ approach to diaspora investment. Rather than limiting their involvement to visits, remittances or charitable contributions, they view investment in businesses and industries as another way for members of the diaspora to contribute to economic development at home.

Through Elevated Art Solutions and The Elevated Creative Hub, the couple is putting that approach into practice through investment in art retail, framing, printing, exhibitions, education and creative programming.

Their longer-term ambition is to develop relationships among artists, collectors, galleries, schools, businesses and creative communities across Trinidad and Tobago, the wider Caribbean and the diaspora.

For the Hinksons, that means using art not only as a creative product but also as a means of preserving culture, creating opportunities and maintaining connections between Caribbean communities at home and abroad.