Keile Rabain On Artistic Ventures & More

October 23, 2024 | 1 Comment

DaeNyce “Keile” Rabain fondly recalls her lunchtimes at Elliott Primary School in Devonshire expressing herself through artistic endeavours.

For Ms Rabain, art classes at school were never long enough.

Now 26, she has not stopped creating since.

Through her art-based business, Art by Keile, she explores the beauty of everyday life, family, and Bermudian culture.

In addition, she has launched Summer by Keile, a line of handmade, sustainable spring-summer apparel and accessories crafted in Bermuda.

“I’m a multi-disciplinary artist – I’m not afraid to try things,” Ms Rabain told Bernews.

“My artistic motto is ‘Create with Love’. Art tends to mimic everything around us; I like to focus on contemporary life and celebrate Bermudian experience and culture.”

Family and friends serve as significant sources of inspiration for her work. “I use them a lot in my art,” she said.

In her first mural, Outside, located on North Street by Pembroke Playground in North-East Hamilton, Ms Rabain depicted several family members as part of a Bermuda National Gallery public art programme.

“I knew I wanted to work on the wall near the playground, and I wanted it to be about kids that I knew,” said Ms Rabain, who earned a BA in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University in England in 2020.

“It’s important for young Black kids to see themselves in art and know they are art. You can see my brother [Gregory Talbot] popping on his bike, which is something he’s always done, and my little sister [Marlee Wilson] eating a snowball.”

Her second mural, Made with Love, created for the Bermuda Walls organised by Nhuri Bashir, pays tribute to the craftsmanship involved in creating the colourful, iconic Gombey Warrior costumes.

It features her grandmother, Juliet Talbot, crocheting a Gombey costume, along with her brother Gregory and her father, Damon Rabain, a talented artist.

“I wanted the mural to reflect the love and countless hours that goes into making these costumes – they’re so meticulously made,” Ms Rabain said.

“It’s a massive labour of love from members of our community – I wanted to highlight them.

“It’s a special feeling to see my murals, more so because they’re of someone I love.”

“It’s a massive undertaking. I’m grateful, and I hope I get to do more murals. I feel as though I’m just getting started.”

A former Saltus Grammar School and Berkeley Institute student, Ms Rabain also holds Create with Love sessions, or Sip and Paint events.

“I’m hoping I can find a partnership with a venue where I can host my Create with Love lessons, so people can buy a ticket and just come,” she said.

As well as offering services through her art commission business, Ms Rabain also designs and sells clothing through Summer by Keile, a sustainably made lifestyle brand.

“I keep Art by Keile and Summer by Keile separate – they’re two different audiences,” she added.

“I initially launched in 2021 – a pink bikini to test the market, and then with three more colours, and did a photo shoot with three Bermudian sisters, which I shot myself. I’ve only used Bermudian models.”

Ms Rabain personally makes all her swimwear and hopes to find a small manufacturing team in the United States to help produce some Summer by Keile pieces due to growing demand.

“A long-term goal of mine is to teach sewing in Bermuda – that way I could potentially hire local staff,” she added.

“It’s a skill that many people are no longer able to do.

“As someone self-taught, I know it’s possible to learn, and I’d love to be able to facilitate something where I can train and teach people how to sew. My ultimate goal is to manufacture in Bermuda.”

Instagram: @artbykeile

Websites: www.summerbykeile.com www.artbykeile.com