Artist Caroline Troncossi will join photographer and poet Alan Smith today for the ?Seen and Heard? lecture at the Bermuda National Gallery.

The lecture is one of a series of Biennial Artist Panel discussions the gallery has been holding this summer.

BNG education officer Judy Wong said both Ms Troncossi and Mr. Smith had work accepted in this year?s Bacardi Limited Biennial, which celebrates all artistic endeavours.

?The non-visual arts are as inspirational to some artists as visual imagery,? she said.

?These artists talk about how music and poetry meld with painting and photography.?

Former BNG senior curator Marlee Robinson agreed that although the Biennial is essentially about the visual arts, many of the participants are also accomplished in and inspired by other artistic fields.

?Caroline created her artwork selected for this year?s Biennial while listening to music which affected the way she painted,? she said.

?Alan is a poet who also expresses himself with photography, but in his Biennial work, has linked his image with a poem. This union of different arts expands the viewers appreciation of the visual image.?

The idea for the lectures came to Ms Robinson about a decade ago.

?I initiated the ?Meet the Artists? series as part of the 1996 Bacardi Limited Biennial as a way to introduce Bermuda?s artists to the general public, the Gallery docents and other artists,? she told .

?The Biennial was still relatively new to Bermuda and the concept of exhibiting art without necessarily hoping for a sale was new here, as was the idea of local art being juried by international experts not familiar with the local art scene.

?The format of the chats was informal with the hope that the artists and audience would develop a conversation about whatever topic emerged from the initial introduction of the official participants.?

During the first week of this series of Biennial lectures, Charles Anderson, Antoine Hunt and James Cooper discussed their imagery, inspirations, and day jobs which allow them to explore their artistic inclinations, said Ms Wong.

?These photographers were linked for the ?Meet the Artists? chat because not only are they experienced artists, but also because they each have day jobs,? added Ms Robinson.

?Charles is making his name as an innovative sports photographer while Antoine and James are well known for their shoots for the Department of Tourism as well as fashion and promotional work.?

Following that event, Ms Wong said the artists who spoke under the title of ?Let?s Get More Traditional? were Otto Trott, Jill Amos Raine, Meredith Andrews and Lee Finch.

Asked why were they chosen to share the platform, Ms Robinson said: ?At first glance each of these artists work is more representational than much of the other work in the Biennial

?Jill, however, in introducing her work to the Gallery docents, talked about light and shade, form and texture ? elements as important to abstract work as to representational paintings.

?Meredith juxtaposes representational images to produce challenging concepts in a surreal way. Lee challenges the viewer to see things in a different way by altering the scale of everyday objects.

?And Otto zooms in on scenes in a way which draws the viewer deeply into the activity and lives of his subjects. Each of them alters ?reality? and takes their art beyond straightforward ?representational? art.?

Last week?s discussion, ?Old Favourites? included Charles Zuill, Graham Foster, Will Collieson and Ian MacDonald Smith.

Ms Wong said: ?These artists have been in every Biennial so far. Over the years, their work has evolved and the question was ?has the lure of the Biennial affected anything they have done???

Ms Robinson pointed out that each of the above artists had been selected by experienced international jurors to be included in successive Biennials.

?The jurors have come from diverse backgrounds with varied personal experiences,? she added.

?Each of these artists has evolved over the years and has submitted work, which shows the development of their artistic vision and every Biennial each of them has been included in the show.

?The link between them is their continuing development at a level which has been accepted by an eclectic group of jurors.?

On the agenda next week are first-time Biennial exhibitors Dean Walker, Libby Cook-Tappon, Theresa Airey and Rhona Emmerson.

Ms Robinson said that while these artists are new as Biennial exhibitors, they are all experienced artists in their working lives.

?Dean is an internationally award-winning photographer; Libby is an experienced magazine editor; Rhona is an acclaimed advertising executive,? she said.

?Theresa is top of her field as a photographer, writer, editor. Submitting to the Biennial for jurying by strangers is not easy and for people with strong reputations in their fields it can be difficult to decide to participate.

?Each of these artists took the chance and were selected by this year?s jurors to share their art with visitors to the Gallery.

?Their chat will, no doubt, help to explain why they chose to take part this year and may possibly encourage more artists to get involved in future.?

The Wednesday Lunchtime Lecture Series runs from 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. Admission for the general public is $5 while BNG members attend for free.