By Martin Daly

Copyright wired868

Co-incidentally with the event described below, drawing talent from the diaspora has been in the news. The Government has passed legislation to allow persons to obtain Trinidad and Tobago citizenship through a grandparent who was a citizen at time of the applicant’s birth.

The immediate benefit of this legislation is to widen the pool from which sports persons can be selected or choose to represent Trinidad and Tobago, on the basis of citizenship rather than place of birth—in accordance with a common practice in international events.

We periodically immerse ourselves in enjoyment of parasitic fame when Trinidad and Tobago born or descended persons succeed abroad.

Regrettably however, beyond the facilitation of sports persons to make a national team, I consider it delusional to believe that this legislation will attract successful persons—including innovators and other persons who have distinguished themselves in cultural pursuits abroad—to contribute to our growth and development.

Apart from the disincentive of a violent crime environment, where is policy and enabling infrastructure to support this objective?

Ten days ago, Kavita and I attended the opening reception of the latest exhibition of the work of Miles Regis at the notable Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York City, in the major art hub located in the Chelsea neighbourhood.

Miles is the son of my close friend, Roy Regis, who passed away in March this year. I have covered many more than two miles as a Trinidad All Stars sailor on Carnival Tuesdays.

The two Miles of Roy refer to his son Miles and Miles Davis, the renowned jazz trumpeter and 20th century musician, after whom Miles Regis was named. DJ Pelau refers to the business brand of Roy’s second son, Marlon.

Miles is a multi-media artist, now well recognised in Los Angeles (LA) and New York. The Reception Notes gave this insight into the works of Miles: “This exhibition marks a return to painting as the primary medium of Regis’ practice. Known for integrating textiles and collage in past bodies of work, here he focuses on canvas and brush, bringing the immediacy of paint to the forefront.”

The Notes also inform us that the exhibition “coincides with Regis’ project Safe Space at Lincoln Centre in New York, an augmented reality commission accessible from June 14 through October 14, 2025”.

Regarding the LA art milieu, Artillery Magazine, said to be LA’s longest running contemporary art magazine, reviewed an earlier (2022) exhibition of Miles. The reviewer, Catherine Yang, assessed the work on display as “impeccably crafted mixed media paintings”.

She described Miles as a Trinidadian artist, who “searches for hope and meaning in the ugly and chaotic” and as “an astute social commentator drawing from his experience as a Black man in America”.

Roy was part of a small group of friends meeting at my home in the most recent years, after our compere and original host Gideon Harris had passed away, to “ole talk” and sometimes brainstorm contemporary events.

Roy had an all-encompassing knowledge of pan, calypso, jazz and track and field. He had a comprehensive collection of jazz records. Speaking to him on the telephone, one invariably heard jazz in the background.

Roy “had a cathedral of a mind”. That was one of the themes of my eulogy for Roy because, as I asserted:

“The cathedral is a stately place which stimulates soaring concepts on the potential of humans, especially those well aligned with their God. A cathedral also contains many treasures of art and culture and are places where performing artists assemble on great occasions.

“Roy was a repository of art and cultural knowledge and was a source of inspiration to many practitioners of culture. His inspiration was imbued with a level of empathy and caring, which many leaders lack.”

Readers will readily appreciate the provenance of the skills of Miles and Marlon who both live abroad. From the gallery, Kavita and I had the added pleasure of immediately transmitting to Trinidad pictures of the event to be sent to Cynthia, Roy’s widow and mother of Miles and Marlon.

I also share with my readers the fullness of our respective hearts as Miles, Marlon, Kavita, and I met at Miles’ exhibition—mere months after Roy’s passing.