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 →
Laura Facey’s “Laboratory of the Ticking Heart” and Ormsby Hall
Laura Facey's Three Graces at Ormsby Hall (Photo: Veerle Poupeye) This review was first published, in two parts, in the Jamaica Monitor (now the Monitor Tribune) of June 28 and 4, 2022. It is reproduced here with more photos and a few minor changes. Part 1: The Exhibition Laura Facey’s latest solo exhibition, The Laboratory... 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 →
Letter from Haiti: Cross-Residencies and Cultural Institutions
Detail of a work by Patrick Villaire at his studio (photo: Veerle Poupeye) This post was first published in the Jamaica Monitor of February 6, 2022. It is now reproduced here with a few updates and corrections. The occasion for my trip to Haiti, which ended on February 4, was my role in the Caribbean... Continue Reading →
Letter from Haiti: Gingerbread Houses and Soupe Joumou
The recently restored Maison Chenet (photo: Veerle Poupeye) This post was originally published in the Jamaica Monitor of January 16, 2022. The original full version of the article is reproduced here. As I write this column, I am nearly halfway through my five-week stay in the country, to work on a project for Le Centre... Continue Reading →