For Antiguan artist and communications professional Chaneil Imhoff, creativity has always been more than a passion. It has been a way to connect with her culture, advocate for others and inspire change.
In 2025, Chaneil entered a competition to design the logo for the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be hosted in Antigua and Barbuda in November. The opportunity immediately appealed to her: it was a chance to represent her twin-island home to the Commonwealth and its 2.7 billion people.
Designing a symbol for Antigua and Barbuda
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Chaneil’s design of CHOGM logo went on to win the competition in November 2025. The process was no easy feat, with several iterations and mock ups to ensure the design could work across different forms of branding and merchandise.
Her vision brought together the colours of the Antigua and Barbuda flag with the Commonwealth’s colour palette. At its centre is the frigate bird, the twin island’s national bird with a powerful connection to Barbuda. She explains:
“I love Barbuda, our sister island. A lot of times when we have competitions, Barbuda is not outrightly included. By including something that is so inherently Barbudan - because we have the largest frigate bird sanctuary and it's a UNESCO Heritage site as well - we ensure it has something to represent Antigua and Barbuda on the international stage.”
The bird’s distinctive red throat pouch rises upward in the design, symbolising resilience and the ability of the country to overcome challenges, such as Hurricane Irma in 2017.
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When art meets mental health
Alongside her work in communications, Chaneil uses creativity as a tool for advocacy. She is the founder of Wadadli Initiative for Self-Care and Healing (WISH), a non-governmental organisation focused on mental health and wellbeing. Her own experiences, together with her time as a youth parliamentarian debating mental health legislation, encouraged her to take a deeper approach to advocacy. As of February 2026, Antigua and Barbuda introduced the Mental Health Care Bill 2026 aiming to modernise existing mental health legislation, enhance human rights protections for people living with mental health conditions, and advance a people-centred, rights-based approach to care.
For Chaneil, mental health support must reflect the realities of Caribbean communities.
“A lot of times with mental health advocacy, the information comes from the developed world. In a Caribbean context, we're looking at things like post-colonialism, colour... and so we need to use our society, identity and culture as a tool to help with our mental health and wellness.”
Through WISH, Chaneil and her team have created colouring books for children and developed mural projects across Antigua. Messages such as “Dare to dream big” and “Be kind to your mind” now serve as public reminders to care for oneself and pursue one's ambitions.
One personal moment reminded Chaneil of the lasting impact this work can have. After visiting several schools in 2023, she returned to one of them to paint a mural. A young student ran across the field to greet her. “She said, ‘Do you know I'm the student body president now? I remember you when you came to our school and you were telling us to believe in ourselves.’”
Her own journey challenges the idea that young people must choose a single path. Art, communications and advocacy have each played a role in her work.
“The only way to know something is for you or not for you is by just doing it. You can never know that unless you have taken that risk and have stepped forward. ”
She shared that growing up, art was not taken seriously as a viable career path. Yet, she has kept it at the centre of her mental health advocacy and communications career to drive real impact.
Her journey also shows how creativity can open doors to unexpected possibilities, from designing a symbol for the Commonwealth’s largest diplomatic gathering to using murals to encourage young people to believe in themselves.
For Chaneil, art is not simply something she does. It is a way to tell stories, celebrate where she comes from and create space for others to dream.
The road to CHOGM 2026
Chaneil’s involvement with CHOGM extends beyond the logo. She also serves as the Branding and General Advertising Lead for the CHOGM Media and Public Affairs Committee, building on her previous experience working on the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), hosted in Antigua and Barbuda in 2024.
As preparations continue, she is looking forward to seeing the work move from planning to reality and, most importantly, welcoming the Commonwealth to Antigua and Barbuda.
