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 →
“Fons et Origo”: The 2022 School of Visual Arts Final Year Exhibition
Installation view, Jahmani Council (photographed by Robert Ayre, courtesy of the EMC) This post was first published in the Monitor Tribune (then the Jamaica Monitor) in two parts, on August 21 and August 28, 2022. It is reproduced here with minor changes and more images. Every year in June, the School of Visual Arts (SVA)... 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 →