The Hub Collective and Owia House Celebrate First Graduates of the Bequia African Batik Intensive Program
Bequia is set to celebrate a milestone in the island’s creative and cultural economy on Tuesday, August 11th, as The Hub Collective and Owia House host an open house and graduation ceremony marking the completion of the first Bequia African Batik Intensive Program, known as BABI. The event runs from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Creative Arts Centre at The Hub Collective Inc., located on the Anglican Church Grounds in Port Elizabeth.
The five-week pilot brought together six local batikers, Cassandra Ollivierre, Colin Peters, Dravin Peters, Kaymarie “Shaki” Daniel, Rhonelle Simmons, and Solana Gooding, for an intensive course in the ancient African textile art of batik. Led by Dr Nadia Richards, founder of Owia House, a Social Justice Education Scholar and granddaughter of the soil, the program went beyond technique. Participants explored the history and symbolism of batik, worked through wax, stamps, dye, and marbling by hand, and engaged in journaling and reflection grounded in Dr Richards’ own Empowerment Assessment Tool and the African Womanist-Liberation Approach.
“This program was never just about learning a craft,” said Holly Bynoe, Director of Strategic Growth at The Hub Collective. “It’s about storytelling, healing, and building tangible economic pathways for our community, and we’ve watched with delight and awe all three come together over these past weeks.”
The partnership traces back to a proposal Owia House brought to The Hub in 2025, envisioning batik as a tool for cultural preservation and entrepreneurship within the African diaspora. Owia House, a cultural and artistic hub dedicated to African and African diasporic art, is now working toward opening a permanent studio and gallery in Bequia, with plans to partner with more community organisations to bring graduates’ textiles into finished, sellable products, expanding the nature of social enterprise and entrepreneurship on the island.
Richards shared, “Owia House advances culturally grounded, research-informed, social justice education rooted in Afrocentric womanist scholarship, decolonial praxis, and social justice education. It is a lifelong dream to be able to return to our grandparents’ home and bring knowledge and a practice that was once widely shared in our communities back into our everyday.” She continued, “This graduation marks a special time for me in Bequia. To have the opportunity to transfer an African ancestral art form in a place closely linked to my ancestry meant the world to me. More importantly, I had the opportunity to work with six amazing artists who made this work of African batik magical and powerful. Each person in this African batik intensive came with their unique artistic skills and techniques. They were committed, open and kind, with a focus on immersing themselves in the art form to sharpen and expand their artistic skills. As an entrepreneur new to the Island, I am hopeful that I will have an opportunity to work closely with these talented local batikers, expanding the practice of African batik and making incredible textiles in Bequia.”
The August 11th event will open with reflections from each of the six batikers on why they chose the craft and what the experience meant to them, followed by a formal presentation of Certificates of Completion. The evening closes with a Batik Expo, where guests can meet the graduates, browse original textiles for sale, and hear directly from the artists behind the work.
“Batik carries centuries of tradition in every layer of wax and dye,” Jessica Jaja, President of The Hub Collective, shared. “To see it taking root here, taught by a scholar of the diaspora and practised by creatives on our island, is exactly the kind of work The Hub exists to support.”
The event will include music from DJ Patrick Garel and photography and video coverage by Gabriel Sargeant. The event is free and open to the public.
This pilot marks the first phase of a longer-term vision for both organisations. Owia House and The Hub Collective plan to expand the program in future cohorts, with graduates offered the option to continue as apprentices, pursue entrepreneurship with Owia House’s support, or explore opportunities for their work locally, regionally and internationally.
