Despite the rain, artists and art enthusiasts came out last week to view an exhibition in the Kingston Creative Hub and join in a Town Hall style discussion on the state of Visual Arts in Jamaica, moderated by artist ChungKnight.
The discussion centred around the premise of Simon Sinek’s bestselling book “Start with Why”. Artists were encouraged to reconnect to why they create art, as if the reason is purely financial, that can overpower everything else. The audience commented that ‘structure is the core of any progressive society’ and identified implementing more structure and closing some gaps in artists’ educational process as key ways to improve futures for artists. They also pointed to respect, societal value, financial reward, expansion and growth as what they would regard as markers of success. One artist commented, “The respect for my work is very important to me. I get more respect from people outside of Jamaica for the work that I do.”
The talk turned to whether lack of financial resources in Jamaica was a limiting factor for artists and as one artist mused “It’s hard to talk about great ideas when your stomach is rumbling.” However an example was given of artists in Cuba and Haiti who although very limited in material resources, were able to bring forth excellence. “Art is the language of people. I was recently in Haiti on a residency and it felt like I had time travelled decades. In Haiti, they are making art out of anything, from a cultural space of knowing by doing and becoming. The enabling environment is several things. It is like a wheel with many spokes in it that make that whole,” stated Miriam Hinds Smith.
Downtown was once a focal point for the arts in Jamaica, and this is being promoted through Kingston Creative’s advocacy to declare Downtown Kingston an Art District. Carol Narcisse commented, “Imagine all of Kingston from Coronation Market all the way to Three Miles and what emerged from Downtown Kingston. This was the crucible of creativity, imagination, creation and production and everything else – without a formal enabling environment in the context of the musicians and other artists of that time. The enabling environment was just the concentration of how many talented people were in one space. What is the right enabling environment? How much of it happens organically and how much of it happens because we’re engineering it? How does engineering interface with the organic so it doesn’t kill it? How do we make the Haitian magic happen?”
Upstairs in the Kingston Creative Hub space, a cadre of emerging artists hosted an exhibition, including Ceej Arts, House of Caos, Alexis Falloon, Lifechild and digital artist Vance.
House of Caos is the brainchild of multidisciplinary artist Cathy-Ann Smith where she expresses her creativity through fashion, design and photography. She commented, “The event was a good one. The Kingston Creative Hub has a great ambiance and is a perfect place to meet creatives and art enthusiasts alike.”
Alexis Falloon is a traditional artist, painter, illustrator and body painter whose large scale black and white works were a show stopper. She said “0⁹It was a pleasure being a part of the Kingston Creative exhibition. I was humbled by the opportunity to be amongst other talented creatives as well as the platform to showcase my work.The energy and feedback from patrons at the event was also a huge plus.”
Lifechild, who in tandem with his art collective Art Evolution recently completed a series of large scale murals in Tivoli Gardens was also present with his line of jewellery and acrylic paintings in a unique almost aboriginal style. He commented, “It was a really good experience. I connected and reconnected with some really beautiful people at the event.”
“The networking Meetup and exhibitions alike are very important spaces for exposing emerging artists and providing opportunities for collaboration with others who can help propel their work”, explained Kingston Creative project manager Tavia S.K. Benjamin.
These monthly networking meetups, hosted on the last Friday, are a great way to connect the creative community with other communities, industries and develop stronger ties with themselves. The next Networking Meetup will be on October 28, 2022. To keep in the know about The Networking Meetup, and other Kingston Creative events, visit www.kingstoncreative.org.
Kingston Creative is investing in “People and Place”; developing strong Jamaican creative entrepreneurs and building a vibrant Art District in Downtown Kingston.