TREASURE ISLAND... AN ART VOYAGE THROUGH KINGSTON
Treasure Island... An Art Voyage Through Kingston
By Karin Wilson-Edmonds
Last Saturday when I returned to my home after a whole day of journeying through the capital city, I perhaps felt as did those navigators of old, very victorious, exhausted, and brimming with treasure. This past Saturday, I ventured out with a group of art enthusiasts on the maiden Kingston Art Trek. Our mission: to visit a cross-section of Kingston’s galleries. The creation of Jamaica Cultural Enterprises (JCE), a new tour company specializing in cultural tours of Jamaica, the Kingston Art Trek is designed to help participants to discover a wide range of local art and artists. It also turned out to be an education on the history and landmarks of Kingston, as well as a great opportunity to meet fellow art aficionados.
JCE’s Karen Hutchinson was a tour guide par excellence. Highly knowledgeable on local art and on Kingston’s history and highlights, she expertly guided us to the various galleries, while simultaneously trying to keep us on schedule- not an easy task with so much to see! We visited a total of six galleries, three downtown and three uptown, including Revolution Gallery, the National Gallery of Jamaica, Studio 174, Roktowa Gallery, Heather Sutherland Wade’s Gallery in the Hills, and Grosvenor Galleries. A comfortable bus ride kept us from worrying about traffic and parking, and allowed us to focus on the sights and sounds around us.
We set off at 10 am sharp at Emancipation Park, where we viewed Laura Facey-Cooper’s Redemption Song, which although we Jamaicans are now quite used to it caused quite a stir when it was originally unveiled. The next stop was Revolution Gallery where an exhibition by Gerard Hanson, winner of the Super Plus Under 40 Artist of the Year, was on display. A cup of coffee here and delicious pastries provided by gallery owner Carol Campbell was a welcome touch for the late risers among our group.
It was now time to journey to Downtown Kingston and the National Gallery but on the way we stopped at the waterfront to view Edna Manley’s reproduction of her own sculpture Negro Aroused (the 1935 original is housed in the National Gallery). Kingston’s waterfront is amazingly beautiful on a Saturday afternoon and a great spot for lounging and picnicking (a suggestion I made, free of charge, to some of the other tour participants who happened to be from the Urban Development Corporation was to hold a food/flea market right there on the lawns,).
While downtown we visited two other galleries wherein we were able to speak and interact with the artists and curators. At Studio 174 there were displayed works from artists in and around the downtown community as well as from graduates of the Edna Manley School of Art. The other studio Roktowa is an extremely interesting space located in a converted industrial building, and it is more akin to the loft spaces of SOHO in New York, with high ceilings, columns and an edgy warehouse feel, than to a traditional Jamaican art gallery. Roktowa had on display works by Khary Darby and Dion “Sand” Palmer, two artists from their Artist in Residence Programme.
With the downtown leg of our tour completed, we stopped off at Grafton Studios in Vineyard Town for a delicious lunch prepared by Guava Jelly. Grafton is the music studio owned and operated by Mikie Bennett, a well known Jamaican musician and record producer. Following lunch we headed uptown to the home gallery of artist Heather Sutherland Wade. The Wades have a beautiful home in the hills of Kingston, replete with a stunning array of work by Sutherland Wade and an equally stunning view of Kingston. We were fortunate enough to be there for tea time which we enjoyed in the glow of the setting sun. The artist and her husband fed and entertained us while the most delicate hummingbirds visited on their verandah.
The final stop on the Art Trek was Grosvenor Galleries in Manor Park, where an opening by Laura- Anne Fung, a talented young Jamaican artist who paints in a bold bright style, was taking place. In addition to the great paintings on display, the event also featured an open bar and a wide selection of delectable finger food and desserts, a fitting end to an amazing day. I returned home happily exhausted, enriched with the experiences I had had and the knowledge I had gained while on this fantastic journey.
Jamaica Cultural Enterprises (www.jaculture.com) is a tour company licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board specialising in cultural tours.
By Karin Wilson-Edmonds
Last Saturday when I returned to my home after a whole day of journeying through the capital city, I perhaps felt as did those navigators of old, very victorious, exhausted, and brimming with treasure. This past Saturday, I ventured out with a group of art enthusiasts on the maiden Kingston Art Trek. Our mission: to visit a cross-section of Kingston’s galleries. The creation of Jamaica Cultural Enterprises (JCE), a new tour company specializing in cultural tours of Jamaica, the Kingston Art Trek is designed to help participants to discover a wide range of local art and artists. It also turned out to be an education on the history and landmarks of Kingston, as well as a great opportunity to meet fellow art aficionados.
JCE’s Karen Hutchinson was a tour guide par excellence. Highly knowledgeable on local art and on Kingston’s history and highlights, she expertly guided us to the various galleries, while simultaneously trying to keep us on schedule- not an easy task with so much to see! We visited a total of six galleries, three downtown and three uptown, including Revolution Gallery, the National Gallery of Jamaica, Studio 174, Roktowa Gallery, Heather Sutherland Wade’s Gallery in the Hills, and Grosvenor Galleries. A comfortable bus ride kept us from worrying about traffic and parking, and allowed us to focus on the sights and sounds around us.
We set off at 10 am sharp at Emancipation Park, where we viewed Laura Facey-Cooper’s Redemption Song, which although we Jamaicans are now quite used to it caused quite a stir when it was originally unveiled. The next stop was Revolution Gallery where an exhibition by Gerard Hanson, winner of the Super Plus Under 40 Artist of the Year, was on display. A cup of coffee here and delicious pastries provided by gallery owner Carol Campbell was a welcome touch for the late risers among our group.
It was now time to journey to Downtown Kingston and the National Gallery but on the way we stopped at the waterfront to view Edna Manley’s reproduction of her own sculpture Negro Aroused (the 1935 original is housed in the National Gallery). Kingston’s waterfront is amazingly beautiful on a Saturday afternoon and a great spot for lounging and picnicking (a suggestion I made, free of charge, to some of the other tour participants who happened to be from the Urban Development Corporation was to hold a food/flea market right there on the lawns,).
While downtown we visited two other galleries wherein we were able to speak and interact with the artists and curators. At Studio 174 there were displayed works from artists in and around the downtown community as well as from graduates of the Edna Manley School of Art. The other studio Roktowa is an extremely interesting space located in a converted industrial building, and it is more akin to the loft spaces of SOHO in New York, with high ceilings, columns and an edgy warehouse feel, than to a traditional Jamaican art gallery. Roktowa had on display works by Khary Darby and Dion “Sand” Palmer, two artists from their Artist in Residence Programme.
With the downtown leg of our tour completed, we stopped off at Grafton Studios in Vineyard Town for a delicious lunch prepared by Guava Jelly. Grafton is the music studio owned and operated by Mikie Bennett, a well known Jamaican musician and record producer. Following lunch we headed uptown to the home gallery of artist Heather Sutherland Wade. The Wades have a beautiful home in the hills of Kingston, replete with a stunning array of work by Sutherland Wade and an equally stunning view of Kingston. We were fortunate enough to be there for tea time which we enjoyed in the glow of the setting sun. The artist and her husband fed and entertained us while the most delicate hummingbirds visited on their verandah.
The final stop on the Art Trek was Grosvenor Galleries in Manor Park, where an opening by Laura- Anne Fung, a talented young Jamaican artist who paints in a bold bright style, was taking place. In addition to the great paintings on display, the event also featured an open bar and a wide selection of delectable finger food and desserts, a fitting end to an amazing day. I returned home happily exhausted, enriched with the experiences I had had and the knowledge I had gained while on this fantastic journey.
Jamaica Cultural Enterprises (www.jaculture.com) is a tour company licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board specialising in cultural tours.
.JPG)
