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 →
About That Devon House Courtyard Debacle
The renovated courtyard at Devon House, as photographed by the author on December 29, 2022 This post was originally published in the Monitor Tribune on January 1 and 8, 2023. It is reproduced here with a few minor changes. There has been intense outrage on social media recently since the Devon House courtyard reopened, after... Continue Reading →
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND CENSORSHIP IN THE ARTS
This post was originally published, in three parts, in the Monitor Tribune of September 17 and October 15 and 23,2022. Freedom of expression is considered a basic human right, and is in fact enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a related... Continue Reading →
Bogle versus Jennings: Another Perspective
The presumed photograph of Paul Bogle This article was originally published, in two parts, in the Jamaica Monitor, now Monitor Tribune, of September 4 and 11, 2022. A recent article by Richard Hugh Blackford in the Jamaica Monitor called for a credible image of National Hero Paul Bogle and asserted, as a few other, mostly... Continue Reading →