Brad Pinnock - Stupid Box, 2022, video installation, at New Local Space, Kingston This new series puts the spotlight on the exciting young artists who have emerged in Jamaica in recent years, many of them as graduates of the Edna Manley College. The features will be based on studio visits (virtual and actual) and interviews,... Continue Reading →
A Book and a Monument, “Lest We Forget”
Detail of Lest We Forget (Photo: Veerle Poupeye) On February 27, I attended the unveiling of the Lest We Forget monument at the Joy Spence Appleton Rum Experience in Nassau Valley, St Elizabeth. The monument, which commemorates the persons who were enslaved at Appleton, was designed and executed by a young Jamaican sculptor, Trishaunna Henry,... Continue Reading →
Hybridization at CreativSpace
Katrina Coombs with Stefan Clark – Complicated Encounters (Photo: Veerle Poupeye) Hybridization, which opened on February 12, is the inaugural exhibition at CreativSpace’s new location in downtown Kingston, on the corner of Laws street and Mark Lane, just off Parade. CreativSpace, an exhibition and work space for creatives which is available for rental, was previously... 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 →