Wendell McShine

Wendell McShine (born 23 August 1986) is a visual artist from Trinidad and Tobago. His work includes paintings, murals, animated videos and video installations. McShine has lived in the US and Mexico and founded the community arts programme Art Connect.

Early life and education McShine drew obsessively as a child. He grew up working-class in the Trinidadian towns of Tunapuna and Arima and was the ninth of ten children in his family. and London Print Studios but his career advanced significantly in the mid-2000s after he moved to Mexico. He expanded his repertoire from graphic art and painting to animation and his work was shown in galleries and on television. He founded Art Connect, a community arts initiative that had its pilot in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009. Art Connect continued with a further installment in Trinidad, and programmes in Liverpool and the Netherlands. The film Art Connect, directed by Miquel Galofre, is about one of the projects in Trinidad. The format of Art Connect in Liverpool included "a series of dynamic art workshops; Animation Documentation, Mask Making, Drawing and Graffiti all aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of participants, with a strong emphasis on raising the aspirations of young people."

As his reputation spread McShine was invited to exhibit and lecture in the US and Europe at various galleries and institutions which include the Kunsthal Kade in the Netherlands and the Royal College of Art in London.

He said he was intrigued by "islands esthetics" of Trinidad, including "old bottle cap designs, crude sing-age typography, and carnival costumes". He uses recycled materials in his art.

Awards, fellowships and honours

Wendell McShine's awards, fellowships and honours include:

Liverpool artist in residency at the BLUECOAT Award, UK, 2012 Trinidad and Tobago Film Company Award, "Art Connect Documentary", T&T, 2010 Animae Caribe Animation Award, "Prosper", T&T, 2010 Belle Foundation Art Award, USA, 2009 Atlantic LNG Community Art Grant, T&T, 2008 The Reuters News Foundation Next Generation News Graphic Award, UK, 2001 TED xYouth USA Facebook Headquarters, USA, 2013 Universidad Iberoamericana, MEX, 2011 Callaloo Company, "Show and Tell", T&T, 2011 Panelist, Postopolis Art Conference DF, MEX, 2010 The University of Trinidad and Tobago Art Department, T&T, 2009 Alice Yard Art Space, Panelist, T&T, 2009

Exhibitions Wendell McShine's work has been exhibited and screened at numerous galleries, festivals and institutions, including CCA7 in Trinidad and Tobago, the National Gallery of Jamaica, the Museum of Modern Art Mexico, Art Basel Miami, Liverpool Biennale, and London Print Studios. He has collaborated with Adidas and Absolut Vodka.