I READ with interest the comments made by Ars Gratia Artis in a letter in last week's regarding art galleries in Bermuda. I would be grateful if you would allow me space to clarify the position and policies of the Bermuda National Gallery regarding some of the issues raised by your correspondent.

The Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) was established in 1992 as a charitable organisation under the Bermuda Fine Arts Trust Act, 1982. Our mission is to "promote, benefit and advance the visual arts in Bermuda" through creating a collection of significant artworks both from Bermuda and world-wide, and to create a facility in which to care for, research and interpret these works for the public.

Its goal was to establish an awareness of the arts and of the BNG via an interwoven programme of exhibitions, educational programming and cultural entertainment. As Bermuda's art museum, the BNG has a responsibility to make art, in all its forms and origins, as accessible to as wide an audience as possible, including tourists. Our remit, therefore, is far wider than that of a commercial gallery.

Although the BNG's initial collection was that of the late Hereward T. Watlington's outstanding European masters ? the Gallery was established because Mr. Watlington only bequeathed his collection to the island on condition that it was housed in a facility comparable in climate control and security to the Metropolitan Museum ? we have always endeavoured to produce a programme of exhibitions by local and international artists that reflects Bermuda's artistic heritage and diverse multicultural community.

With the help of numerous and generous sponsors, we have brought world-class exhibitions to the island that have exposed Bermudians to art from around the world, including the Azores, Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas and Japan. In addition to the Watlington (European) Collection, our Permanent Collection now comprises more than 300 works organised in five distinct collections:

The African Collection: figures, masks and royal regalia purchased in 1996 by a cross-section of the Bermudian community, including 15 schools.

The Bermuda Collection: paintings, furniture, photographs and sculpture made in, or inspired by, Bermuda dating back to the 17th century.

The Contemporary Collection: paintings, graphics and sculptures completed post 1970, including Bermudian works by artists such as Charles Zuill, Graham Foster, Manuel Palacio, Andra Simons and Bill Ming.

The Photography Collection: including black-and-white photographs by Bermudian international photojournalist Richard Saunders (1922-1987).

We continue to encourage, support and promote contemporary local artists not only through the Bacardi Limited Biennial Exhibition, but also by including their works in exhibitions alongside international artists ? Inside & Out: House & Home and Once Upon A Time are but two recent examples ? and by acquiring pieces for the national collections.

In recent years we have purchased Graham Foster's outstanding sculpture and acquired numerous other contemporary works by prominent local artists such as Desmond Fountain, Alfred Birdsey, Graeme Outerbridge, Will Collieson, Charles Lloyd Tucker, Catherine Draycott and Patricia DeCosta.

We facilitated and promoted , Kendra Ezekiel's landmark public installation and Kendra is one of many local artists who donate their time and expertise to our Summer and Winter Art Camps and our ArtReach education programme which involves all the island's schools. More than 200 entries from 17 schools were received for our recent Student Art Competition, although regrettably the did not have space last week to report this enthusiastic expression of youthful talent.

I can assure Ars Gratia Artis and your readers that we are indeed eagerly anticipating the forthcoming Bacardi Limited Biennial Exhibition. Far from being "largely ignored", the Biennial attracts much interest from artists, the Bermuda public and visitors. The forthcoming Biennial has to date attracted works from more than 80 local artists ? this number is already more than the 63 who entered in 2002 and the 33 who entered in 1998.

This year's exhibition will be judged by Kendal Henry, manager of the Permanent Art Programme for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Arts for New York and Bruce Katsiff, director and curator of the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

We again look forward to providing an exciting showcase for the very best in contemporary Bermudian art and we cordially invite Ars Gratia Artis and your readers to visit the exhibition when it opens in May and to attend a lecture by Messrs. Henry and Katsiff at the BNG on February 11. Incidentally, the "non-commercial" wording in the Biennial entry form is designed to preclude, for example, graphic works produced for an advertisement, not to encourage artists to produce "unsaleable" work. Indeed, the Foster work purchased by the BNG was an entry in the 2002 Biennial and we hope to acquire further local works from subsequent exhibitions.

In closing, I can also assure you that the Bermuda National Gallery takes the promotion, collection and preservation of local art very seriously indeed but, as a charity, none of that would be possible without the generous support of our sponsors, donors and volunteers ? regardless of the depth or otherwise of their pockets!

Given the obvious concern of Ars Gratia Artis as to who is "running the joint", we cordially invite him (or her) to join the artists, business executives, academics and ordinary people on one of our committees ? we always welcome new blood and new ideas.

TO finalise my contributions to Mr. Williams and my viewpoints (at least from my end), may I say that hopefully some useful information was given to the readers.

More than anything it illustrates my long-held theory that in Bermuda there exists two realities, the white reality and the black reality, possibly because of a lack of constructive dialogue enabling one to have a deeper understanding of each other's viewpoints, which if true is unfortunate.

I am fearful of absolutes, especially relating to history which in my experience favours the writer, often making the truth elusive, i.e., I have long pondered why the Bible was not written in Hebrew or Aramaic but rather in Greek. I believe early Hebrew did not contain vowels.

I got my first phone in Bermuda in 1959 and the telephone book then and now is quite revealing. In its own small way a register of historical change, etc.

I have no fear of Independence actually and a look at my birth certificate would explain why.

I was not thinking of myself when I expressed reservations, as I have no living relatives in Bermuda, so when I vanish into the ether my story ends.

My wish is for a happy, peaceful, prosperous, and healthy community united to overcome all of societies ongoing problems. If Independence facilitates this, "bring it on".

Including some brief factoids in your weekly columns on the benefits of Independence would benefit those who need information.

Finally, I have noted a tendency to "personalise" contributors to commentary.

In a recent 1,000-plus-word letter to another editor's newspaper, attacking me, which I dubbed "the Gripes of Roth", my name appeared 18 times and while it may well be the only verifiable portion of that diatribe, I note that the headlines in this latest reply in the were very large; it almost made me feel important and unlikely to forget my name any time soon.

This personalisation is fine if one is running for office, or needs publicity, but other valuable contributors may feel intimidated, or even offended and may stop writing, which I feel would be a loss. I hope I am wrong and healthy dialogue will be encouraged.