People approach me all the time with requests for appraisals of works of art. While it is clear that the demand is present here in Jamaica, and that I could perhaps make a pretty penny if I would offer such services, I am reluctant to do so for two reasons. One is that I am... Continue Reading →
“It’s All Broken” – or, Why the Imagination Needs to Rule
"It's all broken," the child said to his mother. And right he was, as there is very little that remains intact and functional at the once bustling Kingston railway terminus on Pechon Street in downtown Kingston. The occasion was a recent guided tour, facilitated by Kingston Creative, and guided by the Jamaican architect Patrick Stanigar.... Continue Reading →
“Jamaica, Jamaica,” or, the Problem of “Good Enough”
In 2017, I had the opportunity to travel to Paris for the opening of Jamaica, Jamaica, a major exhibition on Jamaican music curated by the French music journalist Sebastien Carayol for the Philharmonie de Paris/Cité de la Musique. I did so in my capacity as the then Executive Director of the National Gallery of Jamaica... Continue Reading →
Throwing Words at the Status Quo
Waldane Walker, 2019 Valedictorian, Edna Manley College One night, an evil spirit held me downI could not make one single soundJah told me, 'Son, use the word'And now I'm as free as a bird- Peter Tosh - Oh B@&#o k$&%t (1981) Every culture, and every language has its expletives and some are, well, more potent... Continue Reading →
The National Gallery and Public Scholarship
Pat Byer's work (left) in the book "What Kind of Mirror Image: Art in Barbados" (1999) by Alissandra Cummins, Allison Thompson and Nick Whittle Update: the NGJ has this morning, November 16, 2019, corrected its obituary and it now includes accurate family information. My dissertation director at Emory University, the late Ivan Karp - one... Continue Reading →
Political Ownership and the Cultural Sector
It's a well-known dilemma: the support of the State is almost always needed to establish and maintain cultural institutions, irrespective of whether these are part of the public sector or privately initiated, and of whether they are publicly funded, in full or in part, or merely get in-principle support and blessings. In Jamaica, public cultural... Continue Reading →