Heather Doram
{{Short description|Artist from Antigua and Barbuda}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Heather Doram
| birth_place = Antigua and Barbuda
| citizenship = Antiguan
| education = University of the West Indies
Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts
Savannah College of Art and Design
| occupation = Artist, educator, activist, actor
| known_for = Designing the national costume of Antigua and Barbuda
}}
Heather Doram is an Antiguan artist, actor, activist and educator, who is the designer of Antigua and Barbuda's national costume. In 2002 she was awarded the Grand Cross of the Most Illustrious Order of Merit (Antigua) in recognition of her lifetime achievements.
Biography
Born in Antigua, to a seamstress mother and a father who worked in sugar industries, Doram's family lived on a number of sugar estates due to her father's work.{{Cite web|title=HEATHER DORAM - THE ULTIMATE ARTIST OF ANTIGUA & BARBUDA|url=https://www.ba-theatre.com/interview-details.php?in_id=27|access-date=17 December 2021|website=www.ba-theatre.com|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205165310/https://www.ba-theatre.com/interview-details.php?in_id=27|url-status=dead}} She attended Antigua Girls' High School in St John's and subsequently studied for an Associate Degree in Education from the University of the West Indies. She returned to teach at her former school and a few years later was awarded funding to study for a BFA in Textiles at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston.{{Cite web|title=Heather Doram – U.S. Department of State|url=https://art.state.gov/personnel/heather_doram/|access-date=17 December 2021|language=en-US}}
In 1994, Doram received a scholarship that enabled her to study for an MA degree at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where her work was chosen to represent the university at the Venice Biennale. After her graduation, SCAD also purchased the majority of her thesis portfolio for its permanent collection.
On her return to Antigua, she worked for the Ministry of Education, advising them on arts curricula, and in 2003 was appointed Director of Culture. Her works include a mural at V.C. Bird International Airport, as well as collages and woven wall-hangings.{{Cite book|last=Fodor's|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9ExZnBIoH0C&dq=heather+doram&pg=PT204|title=Fodor's Caribbean 2014|date=20 August 2013|publisher=Fodor's Travel|isbn=978-0-7704-3226-3|language=en}} She designed award-winning carnival costumes designed with her husband Connie Doram. In 2020 she called for revisions to be made to the Antigua Carnival costume judging criteria, in order to include and acknowledge the significance of new styles of mas (masquerade costumes).{{Cite web|date=18 July 2020|title=Calls for revamp of Carnival costume judging criteria|url=https://antiguaobserver.com/calls-for-revamp-of-carnival-costume-judging-criteria/|access-date=17 December 2021|website=Antigua Observer Newspaper|language=en-GB}} She retired in 2006.{{Cite web|title=Arts & Culture: Heather Doram|url=https://issuu.com/thecitizenantiguabarbuda/docs/antigua_barbudathecitizen_9/s/11515738|access-date=17 December 2021|website=issuu}}{{Cite web|title=Heather Doram Artist|url=https://www.beaumarisartgroup.org.au/h-artist/heather-doram-artist.html|access-date=17 December 2021|website=www.beaumarisartgroup.org.au|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217142141/https://www.beaumarisartgroup.org.au/h-artist/heather-doram-artist.html|url-status=dead}}
In addition to her work as an artist and educator, Doram also has a successful acting career, which began in the 1990s. She has appeared in film, television and stage roles that include: The Vagina Monologues, The Sweetest Mango, and a monologue by Zahra Airall.
National costume
In 1992, a competition was held to design a national dress for Antigua & Barbuda, and it was won by Doram.{{Cite book|last=Kras|first=Sara Louise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnItHSAgevMC&dq=heather+doram&pg=PA79|title=Antigua and Barbuda|date=2008|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-2570-0|language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Gall|first1=Timothy L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7hZAAAAYAAJ&q=heather+doram|title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life|last2=Hobby|first2=Jeneen|date=2009|publisher=Gale|isbn=978-1-4144-4890-9|language=en}} The costume she designed is based on what women who worked as market vendors or bakers might have worn in 1834.{{Cite web|date=8 October 2021|title=Meet Antigua Artist Heather Doram|url=https://www.yachtingmagazine.com/story/cruising-and-chartering/island-icon-heather-doram/|access-date=17 December 2021|website=Yachting Mag|language=en-US}} The costume for women includes a dress made from a "madras plaid of red, gold and green", which is then covered with a white pinafore, and headscarf.{{Cite web|title=Government of Antigua and Barbuda|url=https://ab.gov.ag/detail_page.php?page=26|access-date=17 December 2021|website=ab.gov.ag}} The plaid was first designed in 1992 and formally adopted in 1994.{{Cite web|date=17 December 2021|title=Tartan Details - The Scottish Register of Tartans|url=https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=96|access-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217131500/https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=96|archive-date=17 December 2021}} Men's costume includes a waistcoat in the same plaid, as well as a white shirt, black trousers and a straw hat. A sample of the material is held at the Scottish Register of Tartans. Since its inception, the national dress has been reinterpreted by many designers, and in 2012 the first National Dress Day was held on 26 October.{{Cite web|title=National Dress Parade sets exciting tone for 31st Independence|url=https://www.antiguanice.com/v2/client.php?id=769&news=4856|access-date=17 December 2021|website=www.antiguanice.com}}
Reception
Due to her focus on the heritage of Antigua and Barbuda in her work, Paget Henry has described Doram as a "nationalist" artist.Henry, Paget. [https://bartiguastudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ABRB-2020-Book.pdf#page=63 "Visual Art in Antigua and Barbuda: Frank Walter and Walter Parker."] Antigua and Barbuda Review of Books: 61.
Awards
- Grand Cross of the Most Illustrious Order of Merit (2002)
- Woman of Wadadli Award for Culinary Arts (2020){{Cite web|last=administrator|title=Twenty-six winners awarded in the 2020 International Women's Day Women of Wadadli Awards – Directorate of Gender Affairs|url=https://genderaffairs.gov.ag/twenty-six-winners-awarded-in-the-2020-international-womens-day-women-of-wadadli-awards/|access-date=17 December 2021|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|date=10 March 2020|title=Women wow in award ceremony|url=https://antiguaobserver.com/women-wow-in-award-ceremony/|access-date=17 December 2021|website=Antigua Observer Newspaper|language=en-GB}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- Flickr: [https://www.flickr.com/photos/joykl03/834620340/in/photolist-2gKDxS Mrs Heather Doram] (photograph)
- YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muFf97bXJQc "Untapped Potential: Mrs. Heather Doram: Antigua and Barbuda's Cultural Icon"] (interview). 20 June 2021.
- YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o55UBZj9qQ "Step to the Throne - Conversation with Heather Doram"] (interview). 19 September 2021.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Doram, Heather}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Antigua and Barbuda activists
Category:Antigua and Barbuda artists
Category:Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Antigua and Barbuda
Category:Savannah College of Art and Design alumni