The quality exhibitions that many have come expect from the Bermuda National Gallery are not inexpensive arrangements. Some exhibitions may cost as much as $150,000 or more. These exhibitions would be unimaginable without support of various organisations and the present, winter exhibitions are no exception.

Indeed, this is the fourth winter exhibition to be underwritten by Endurance. I am not sure just what benefits accrue to businesses such as Endurance, but the benefits to the community are enormous. We are grateful.

The National Gallery is only 16 years old, which may seem a short time indeed for those of us who are older. To put this in perspective, however, recall that the younger generation of viewers may not remember when the National Gallery did not exist.

For these, as well as for us all, the educational benefits of the gallery and its exhibitions is incalculable. Just within the last couple of days, I read of additional evidence supporting the importance of the arts in cognitive development. Thus, support by such businesses as Endurance is of far greater importance than many realise.

There are presently three special exhibitions at the BNG. One is on Inuit art, another is called "African Affinities" and the third is on Byllee Lang, who a generation ago, was of such importance to the education of a number of our Bermudian artists. She is primarily known as a sculptor, however. Additionally, some aspect of the Bermuda Collection is also, always on view in the Ondaatje wing.

The dynamic arrangement of these exhibitions is the work largely, of the present curator, Sophie Cressell, and her assistant, Will Collieson, but behind the scenes, a host of individuals, including volunteers, were doing research and label-making, putting together the education packages or producing the short film on Byllee Lang and generally making it all happen.

Meredith Ebbin was certainly involved with the underlying research on Ms Lang, while Antoine Hunt was largely responsible for producing the film. Lisa Howie is responsible for the education package of all three shows, while additional research and label making were the task of Carolyn Dyma.

The 1940s and 50s was an important period in Bermuda's art history, for this was when the forerunner of the present Bermuda Society of Arts, the Bermuda Art Association was formed and there was an active group of accomplished artists working here.

I am thinking of such artists as E.A. Verpilleux, Donald Kirkpatrick, Charles Lloyd Tucker, Emmerson Bainbridge, Humbert and Byllee Lang, but now, 50 and more years later, much has been forgotten. Part of the reason for this forgetting, I regret to say, is that we have failed in maintaining our historical records.

It appears that there are "neatniks" out there who like nothing better than cleaning out files, but in the process, the records of past artists and exhibitions have been destroyed. Fortunately, the Bermuda Government Archives has some documents, including drawings, photographs and documents on Byllee Lang.

I have been concerned for some time now about this erasing of our cultural past, so it is heartening that the Bermuda National Gallery is beginning to address this deficiency, by exhibiting the work of Byllee Lang in their winter exhibitions.

Ms Lang is not only important as a sculptor, she was equally so as an educator and perhaps even more importantly, as a person who selected students on artistic merit without regard to race.

This was at a time when segregation was the norm in Bermuda, so she was also a pioneer in breaking social barriers. One of her former students has described her as having a large, caring personality. Her best known and by far her largest work is the reredos in the Anglican Cathedral. The Byllee Lang exhibition is one that all Bermudians should see. It is that important.

The impact and influence of African art on Modernist development is well known in art historical circles, although possibly not so well known by the general public. This influence began at least a century ago with such artists as Picasso, Matisse, Klee, Sir Jacob Epstein, Brancusi and many others. The present BNG exhibition called "African Affinities," shows the impact of African art on Bermudian artists, such as Bill Ming, Graham Foster, Will Collieson, Kevin Morris to mention only a few.

The pioneer modernists found a strength in African art that they felt had been lost in western art. Our local artists continue that trend. The exhibition itself is a fascinating mix of the BNG's African collection and Bermudians artists' work, also from the BNG collection. It is a good example of how the African collection may be used to show the influence of African culture, even here in Bermuda. As an example of ways of showing the African collection, recently it was used to show its link with contemporary hair styles.

The third of the BNG's winter exhibitions is of Inuit Art. From time to time, the National Gallery, considering their mandate to educate, exhibits work by other cultures that may be foreign to us but nevertheless, informative of the way other peoples make and use art. The Inuit show is just such an exhibition. The show consists of stone prints, fabric wall hangings and small sculptures.

The exhibition is a mix of several different collections, including the Dennos Museum Collection and the Judith Varney Burch Collection.

The Inuit are a people who live in extreme conditions, where little vegetation grows. Thus they are dependent on fish, seals and birds for food and their art reflects the conditions under which they ive. Additionally, methods used in making art reflect these limitations. For example, although vegetation is scarce, they have lots of stone, so their prints and sculptures utilise local stones. Their printmaking is a unique example of using what is available. Their creativity in printmaking is notable.

The exhibitions continue through April 4.