These days, I go to the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) when there are public events and as a result, I visit only very rarely. I actually visited twice since the start of the year, very briefly for the opening of the Art of Reggae exhibition on February 19, and for a longer visit two... Continue Reading →
Provocations: The NGJ As a Politicized Venue?
I had initially posted this to my Facebook timeline yesterday, where an interesting discussion ensued. Given the import of the matter, I am reposting it here in this more permanent forum. I was just at the National Gallery of Jamaica for a panel discussion related to the current Reggae Poster exhibition. If I counted correctly... Continue Reading →
The Art Year in Review – Governance and Leadership in the Public Cultural Sector
At the CAG[e] gallery, circa 2008, Edna Manley College (Photo: Veerle Poupeye) In this second installment of my critical reflections on developments in the art world in 2022, I continue to focus on critical issues of governance, leadership and performance in the public cultural sector. At the core of this is the relentless politicization, in... Continue Reading →
The Art Year in Review: The National Gallery of Jamaica
At the opening of the Jamaica Jamaica! exhibition in February 2022 This post was initially published in two parts in the Monitor Tribune of January 15 and 22, 2023. It is published here with a few minor changes. Internationally, 2022 has been a fantastic year for the artists of the Global Caribbean, with an unprecedented... Continue Reading →
Museum Boards: Assets or Liabilities?
Art museum boards have recently come under significant scrutiny in many parts of the world, mainly because of their association with wealth and power, the sources of that wealth and power, as well as governance issues, such as conflict of interest breaches, intrigues, and abuse of power. The Strike MoMA protests in NYC, for instance,... Continue Reading →
Parliament Buildings, Power, and Empowerment
The "Out of Many, One People" Design for Jamaica's new Parliament building (image source: JIS) Reposting this from 2020, as it is again part of the discussion: Two years ago, the Government of Jamaica, launched a competition for the design of a new Parliament building, to be located in National Heroes Park. The winning proposal,... Continue Reading →