In Summer 1999 Indigo Arts presented Cuba • Belize • Mexico, including paintings by self-taught Cuban artists Mario Mesa and Jose Garcia Montebravo, prints by artists from Oaxaca, Mexico, and paintings Tony collected on his February 1999 trip to the Central American nation of Belize. In Belize Tony sought out Benjamin Nicholas, one of Belize's leading artists and one-man chronicler of the history and culture of the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna Indians. The paintings which surround Mr. Nicholas in his small house on the Caribbean shore depict both the events of Garifuna history and the ceremonies and activities of their lives - from fishing and farming to Punta dance parties, Dugu healing ceremonies.
In Belize City Tony discovered the paintings of Michael Gordon, a self-taught street artist, who was until recently homeless. Working with found materials - cardboard, cloth and even broken glass - Gordon portrays the landscape of his daily life, his memory and his imagination.