| Valerie Belgrave | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1946-03-03)3 March 1946 Petit Bourg, San Juan, Trinidad |
| Died | 23 August 2016(2016-08-23) (aged 70) Trinidad |
| Alma mater | Sir George Williams University |
| Occupations |
|
| Notable work | Ti Marie (1988) |
| Spouse | Ian "Teddy" Belgrave (d. 2013) |
| Children | 1 son |
Valerie Belgrave (3 March 1946 – 23 August 2016) was a Trinidadian artist and author, who also composed music.
Biography
Valerie Belgrave was born and raised in Petit Bourg, San Juan, Trinidad. She attended St Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando, and continued her education at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia), in Canada, where she obtained a BA degree in painting and literature. She took part in the 1969 sit-in staged by hundreds of students at the computer lab on the ninth floor of the university in protest against a professor who was accused of racism; the incident, which became the subject of a documentary called The Ninth Floor, is believed to have helped spark the 1970 Black Power Revolution in Trinidad.
Belgrave's writings included the novels Ti Marie (published in 1988, and described as "a Caribbean Gone with the Wind) and Dance the Water (2002), a play entitled Night of the Wolf (1991), and the 2007 children's book Adventures of the Magic Steelpan, as well as a photo memoir called Art for the People, launched in 2011. She was also a painter and batik designer.
Personal life
She was married to Ian "Teddy" Belgrave (who died in July 2013), and had one son, Chenier Belgrave, who is a designer.
References
- Rhoma Spencer, "Tribute to Valerie Belgrave", The Trinidad and Tobago Performing Arts Network, 28 August 2016.
- "A work of art", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 28 November 2011.
- ^ Margaret Busby, "Valerie Belgrave", in Daughters of Africa, 1992, p. 681.
- ^ "Artist Valerie Belgrave dies", TT Whistle Blower, 24 August 2016.
- Camille Hunte, "Valerie Belgrave laid to rest", Daily Express (Trinidad and Tobago), 27 August 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ Peter Ray Blood, "From young radical to celebrated artist", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 16 October 2016.
- Valerie Belgrave, "Memories Of A Hot Winter: 1970 Retrospective", The Caribbean Review, 3 August 2017.
- "Valerie Belgrave launches 'Art for the People'", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 12 December 2011;via Repeating Island, 14 December 2011.
External links
- Peter Ray Blood, "From young radical to celebrated artist", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 16 October 2016.
- 1946 births
- 2016 deaths
- 20th-century novelists
- 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago women writers
- Sir George Williams University alumni
- Trinidad and Tobago artists
- Trinidad and Tobago composers
- Trinidad and Tobago women composers
- Trinidad and Tobago dramatists and playwrights
- Trinidad and Tobago novelists
- Trinidad and Tobago women artists
- Trinidad and Tobago women dramatists and playwrights
- Trinidad and Tobago women novelists
- Trinidad and Tobago writers
- People educated at St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain