_{l-r Dean Martin and Rachel Heusner, artists}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. May 12, 2025

The Bliss Centre for Performing Arts will be featuring an exhibition entitled “Moments”, which will showcase the artwork of a Belizean mother-son duo.

Thirty original works by Belizean artist Rachel Heusner and her 20-year-old son, Dean Martin, will be on display.

“We do a lot of historical paintings, myself and my son, and so we have been working on a few pieces over the past year, you would say; and then, coming towards the end, I came up with a theme, ‘Moments,’ because when you paint, you capture a moment in time,” Heusner explained to reporters.

As a Belizean who now resides in Trinidad and Tobago, Heusner mentioned that she derives inspiration from everyday life in Belize.

“From life – walking down Albert Street … to a lady making some Johnny cakes … or the people just walking … doing life, you know … life happens every second. A lot of my clientele are Belizeans living abroad. So, they will look at things and go, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s my street. That’s where I lived,’ and so on. And so, I need to try and find iconic spots throughout the city, or even moments or things that people could relate to that resonate with them, and me. It’d have to touch me first,” she said.

She went on to note, “There are a lot of buildings on Albert Street – William Quan, Brodies, Ro-Macs (not there anymore), [and] Odette’s (gone also). I stopped by Sikaffy’s the other day, and the history of all of these … they’re not just buildings. So many stories and memories resonate with people here and especially those who live abroad … you know, they miss Belize. People live abroad, but they love Belize.”

Heusner explained that her son, Dean, helps her to see the pieces from a different perspective while she educates him in Belizean history.

Members of the public can view the exhibition free of cost from Monday, May 12, until Saturday, May 17.