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OKEEBA JUBALO
THE GLOBAL ART FAIR:
THE BRIDGE INTO THE NEW NORTH CHARLESTON
By Nailah Herbert
October 1, 2024
Art has the power to build bridges across communities and cultures that are normally riddled and weakened by an endless myriad of “not enoughs.” There are not enough opportunities. Not enough support. Not enough vision. Not enough talent. Not enough cooperation. Not enough time. There are not enough dreamers and practitioners who are bold enough, skilled enough, and creative enough to push beyond our comfortable discomforts that have normalized the status quo.
What if there was a cultural engineer who tinkered and tooled away within the shadows of our mainstream institutions for decades and who had the vision, skills, and toughness needed to beat our “not enoughs” into submission?
Like Andrew Carnegie, an American industrialist and steel magnate who realized in 1892 that steel would be the material of the future used to construct our skyscrapers and bridges; enters a scrappy new builder from the shadows with a world view and skills to match: Okeeba Jubalo, who realizes that the new bridges feeding citizens into North Charleston must be built with a new type of steel; contemporary art, small business support, community programs and premium cultural experiences.
“All major cities have major art fairs and cultural programming to appeal to the world’s markets. Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles all have major art movements. My vision for the Global Art Fair is to financially support the local artisans while stimulating our arts patrons but also to attract global creatives and supporters who do not live within our community. For those who are craving more than the nostalgic echos vibrating from downtown Charleston, this will be a multidisciplinary contemporary cultural experience that will fill a number of gaps within South Carolina,” said Okeeba Jubalo, Founder and Executive Creative Director of the Global Art Fair.