MARCUS Garvey’s legacy was celebrated with an art exhibition titled ‘The Garvey Aesthetic’ at the SOUL HQ in Stony Hill, St Andrew last Saturday.

The event was conceptualised and hosted by Afifa Aza Sol, creative director of Sounds of Life (SOUL).

“I describe myself as an artist. I am always trying to look for other ways to engage in relevant issues. I knew that Garvey’s birthday was coming up and I started to think about a connection between Garvey’s work and what SOUL is trying to do, and how I could create and explore something that I had never experienced before,” Afifa told the Jamaica Observer.

She said she did extensive Garvey research for the exhibition including reading journal articles, and visiting Liberty Hall, the Pan-Africanist’s former meeting place in downtown Kingston.

“I’ve always been going to the Garvey celebrations, so I wanted to create something that would bring a new perspective to Garvey’s ideas and would also incorporate another angle. We don’t readily associate Garvey with the visual arts. It is not something we find that he speaks to specifically,” Afifa said.

“The idea behind this exhibition was to really extend the concept of Garvey and the very type of conversation we are able to have about him,” she continued.

Artists who displayed at The Garvey Aesthetic included Garfield Morgan (Archaeology of Spirits, Uhuru); Jahlani Niaah (Faces of Jah, Supreme Audacity); Akani (1865 Still on the Agenda, The Beetle of Mother Nandi’s Womb); Chandis (Treasure, The Seeker, Seduction of the Spirit, Ancestors); Cherie Dowdie (Libra); Colin Porter (Wisdom, Harvest); Mbala (Rising); Montsho Amen (Forgotten But Not Gone); and, Malaika Brooks-Smith-Lowe.

Marcus Garvey, Jamaica’s first National Hero, was born on August 17, 1887 in St Ann. He died June 10, 1940 in London.