MARIA Papaefstathiou, co-founder of the International Reggae Poster Contest, says she is disappointed with the number of entries from Jamaica.

According to her, of the 1,100 entries received from 79 countries, only three came from Jamaican artists.

The top 100 entries will

be showcased at the Multitudes Gallery in Miami, Florida, tomorrow.

“It was a big disappointment though that we received only three submissions from Jamaica,” says the Greek, who started the competition a year ago with Jamaican-born Michael Thompson.

“Two of them made it to the top 100. Rohan Mitchell received the fourth place and Jesane Jackson the 29th spot. Antwain Clarke, the third Jamaican participant, was selected as an honourable mention,” she adds.

The top three spots in this year’s competition went to Balazcs Pakozdi of the United Kingdom, Andrew Cachia of Malta and Lenin Baru Vásquez Felipe from Mexico.

The winners were chosen from 363 finalists by a distinguished panel of judges known for their creativity and commitment to design.

Papaefstathiou stresses that the opening in the United States is not a move to that country, but rather demonstrates the international nature of the contest and reggae. Last year, the exhibition was held at the National Gallery of Jamaica

in Kingston.

“The International Reggae Poster Contest’s objective is to showcase these magnificent reggae posters around the world. Last year, apart from the exhibition in Jamaica, we also had two more major exhibitions in Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki. We also showed the top winning posters at the Rototom music festival in Spain,” she tells the Jamaica Observer.

“We were happy for the opportunity to show the 2013 posters in Miami, at the Multitudes Gallery. Now we are organising another one for Washington DC in November and we are also in discussions for New York City. So, we are always looking to show in other countries and our mission is to take the winning posters to as many cities around the world as possible,” she continues.

She, however, believes the exhibition should travel to

the birth place of

reggae, Jamaica.

“We certainly wish to bring the 100 winning posters of 2013 to Jamaica as well. Actually, we would love to bring them every year. Even though we didn’t have the opportunity this year, we hope we will be invited again to share the posters at the National Gallery and

have the opportunity to help raise money for Alpha

Boys’ School.”

In its inaugural year, the contest was won by Israeli Alon Braier.