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jamaica cultural Enterprise takes you on a cultural crawl on 12th December 2010, 12:15 pm
Admin
There was no indication where the music was coming from, but a soft melody could be heard on entering the yard of 1 Grosvenor Terrace, home to the quaint Grosvenor Galleries. Inside, photos from the Tivoli Resolution project hung against the walls.
Chairs were set up before a patio where MC Carolyn Allen introduced the night's programme. The occasion: the launch of the Jamaica Cultural Enterprises.
The Jamaica Cultural Enterprises (JCE) is set to take the public on a journey across the cultural capital of Kingston, a city with much to experience, whether it be the visual or performing arts, music, or story-telling.
Their first offering is the Kingston Art Trek, a tour in which visitors are accompanied throughout the city of Kingston on a veritable gallery crawl, where participants have the opportunity to view distinctive Jamaican artwork, meet the artists and curators of the galleries, and make purchases. Guides are on hand to answer questions and to assist in providing further insight into the artists and their work.
There is, too, the Kingston City Explorer, an excursion into the inner workings of the city and its people. It introduces wonderful Kingston locales, also giving a history lesson on the 'who, what and where'. According to JCE managing director Karen Hutchinson, the tour aims to "... give guests a sense of what the essence of Kingston is." That is to say, the real story of its people, places, food. It's a lesson not only in history, but in culture. This tour exposes people to music, religion, as well as political history.
Students are not left out and are encouraged to take a ride on the Boonoonoonoos Bus - a Miss Lou-inspired educational field trip designed specifically for them.
These tours target both visitors and locals alike, and as Hutchinson is sure most will agree, there is much that Jamaicans don't know about their own country and people.
"The tours, I think, are a fun and interesting way for Jamaicans to connect with their own story, to remember some of the things that have been forgotten," Hutchinson says. "Like how Half-Way-Tree got its name... and how the large roots of the tree provided a resting place for market vendors moving between their home and the city markets."
She continues, "Jamaicans love Jamaica and I think that like everyone else, they love hearing their own stories told to them, especially the ones they may have forgotten or may never have heard."
The launch party held a few weeks ago included a presentation by Ann Cooper, whose husband painter Alexander Cooper has artwork on display at the gallery. Colette Garrick of the Wanderer spoke on culture and its importance, followed by readings by Nicole Burgher and Tanya Shirley, who made way for a selection of narrative by sociologist and celebrated writer Erna Brodber. Each told a story, whether through poetry or prose.
Closing the night was a presentation by Bongani Drummers, Tracey Ann Brown and Damali Sharpe, whose rhythmic beats resounded throughout the gallery and the yard at Grosvenor as well, leaving guests speechless.
Chairs were set up before a patio where MC Carolyn Allen introduced the night's programme. The occasion: the launch of the Jamaica Cultural Enterprises.
The Jamaica Cultural Enterprises (JCE) is set to take the public on a journey across the cultural capital of Kingston, a city with much to experience, whether it be the visual or performing arts, music, or story-telling.
Their first offering is the Kingston Art Trek, a tour in which visitors are accompanied throughout the city of Kingston on a veritable gallery crawl, where participants have the opportunity to view distinctive Jamaican artwork, meet the artists and curators of the galleries, and make purchases. Guides are on hand to answer questions and to assist in providing further insight into the artists and their work.
There is, too, the Kingston City Explorer, an excursion into the inner workings of the city and its people. It introduces wonderful Kingston locales, also giving a history lesson on the 'who, what and where'. According to JCE managing director Karen Hutchinson, the tour aims to "... give guests a sense of what the essence of Kingston is." That is to say, the real story of its people, places, food. It's a lesson not only in history, but in culture. This tour exposes people to music, religion, as well as political history.
Students are not left out and are encouraged to take a ride on the Boonoonoonoos Bus - a Miss Lou-inspired educational field trip designed specifically for them.
These tours target both visitors and locals alike, and as Hutchinson is sure most will agree, there is much that Jamaicans don't know about their own country and people.
"The tours, I think, are a fun and interesting way for Jamaicans to connect with their own story, to remember some of the things that have been forgotten," Hutchinson says. "Like how Half-Way-Tree got its name... and how the large roots of the tree provided a resting place for market vendors moving between their home and the city markets."
She continues, "Jamaicans love Jamaica and I think that like everyone else, they love hearing their own stories told to them, especially the ones they may have forgotten or may never have heard."
The launch party held a few weeks ago included a presentation by Ann Cooper, whose husband painter Alexander Cooper has artwork on display at the gallery. Colette Garrick of the Wanderer spoke on culture and its importance, followed by readings by Nicole Burgher and Tanya Shirley, who made way for a selection of narrative by sociologist and celebrated writer Erna Brodber. Each told a story, whether through poetry or prose.
Closing the night was a presentation by Bongani Drummers, Tracey Ann Brown and Damali Sharpe, whose rhythmic beats resounded throughout the gallery and the yard at Grosvenor as well, leaving guests speechless.
