A Note on Art Appraisals

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 →

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 →

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