from her post.

Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard curator Julie Hastings-Smith will be leaving the job on Friday after running the centre for the past four years.

And her parting message to Bermuda's art community is: "Keep on making art -- it's very important that we all keep on creating.'' Mrs. Hastings-Smith has had a unique insight into developments in the local arts scene during her time at the centre, claiming that local artists have blossomed in the last few years.

But she also believes that more could be done to harness Island talent to promote Bermuda overseas.

"The arts are a very valuable resource in Bermuda,'' Mrs. Hastings-Smith said.

"It's one of our major exports and it's one of the few things that we can make from beginning to end. It's totally Bermudian -- our art is made by Bermudians who are influenced by Bermuda and have absorbed its atmosphere.

"In the last four years I've been working here we've seen a lot more artists working out of their own homes and encouraging people to visit their own homes. We also have Harbour Nights which gives an opportunity for visitors to meet artists.

"It really is a booming business and I think it can be a great tool for marketing.'' As well as helping to come up with exhibition ideas and hanging shows, Mrs.

Hastings-Smith has also made sure that the business side of the centre is taken care of.

"I don't have an arts background, my background is in administration and some retail,'' she said.

"I guess I got the job here because I was just in the right place at the right time. I had been doing voluntary work for the National Gallery and had got to know some of the people in the art world and became interested through them.

"It is important to have some knowledge about art but the important thing about this job is the administrative side of it. We have enough artists on the committees to take part in the arts side of it but, while artists are great at making art and creating things they're not necessarily skilled at the business side of things.

"The centre still has to run as a business -- at the end of the day we still have bills to pay and so it's important that that side of things is taken care of. The centre has been successful financially. We manage to pay our bills but there's not a lot to spare.

"We have a few brainstorming sessions to come up with show ideas for the coming year. We try to have innovative and different exhibitions and work that's not usually for sale or saleable. In the quieter months we try and have more adventurous shows and in the summer months, when we have visitors who are looking to buy art, particularly Bermudian art, we try to do more commercial subjects.

Mrs. Hastings-Smith has also played a major role in getting overseas artists to visit the Island and pass on their skills.

"The centre has always had workshops on a low key basis but I started diversifying them,'' she said.

"It's important to use the skills of people who are visiting the Island because it makes use of another resource. Bermuda is a very popular destination with overseas artists. It's very conducive to creating art and there's a lot of stimulation here.

"We need our overseas artists to tell us that because sometimes, if you live here you don't appreciate what you have until someone comes from outside.

"We need to be stimulated, to know what's going on in the rest of the world because we're a small island and sometimes we get stale.

"It's a very busy job and very demanding. It's great fun and very satisfying and very exciting, especially when new work comes in.

"I just felt I wasn't able to give it as much as I should give it so I took the decision that some one else should step in.'' "I would like to thank everybody who has supported me while I've been here.

Please keep making art because we need people to keep on struggling at it -- it's very important that we all keep creating.'' Julie Hastings-Smith