EMERGING gospel artistes will take centre stage at Arts in the Park at Turtle River Park, St Ann, on Sunday at noon.

The event, which is free to the public, will feature 25 young and emerging gospel acts including Kevin Smith, Anishca Sinclair, Chozenn, Latoya HD and Levy’s Heritage.

“We are very pleased to be staging a Gospel edition of ‘Arts in the Park’. Gospel is one of the fastest-growing music genres in the Caribbean, made popular by artistes such as Junior Tucker, Papa San, Carlene Davis and many others”, said Damion Crawford, State Minister for Tourism and Entertainment.

“There are many up-and-coming Gospel music artistes who are ready to follow in their footsteps and we would like to give them the local and international exposure they deserve to enable them to do so,” he continued.

Arts in the Park, now in its third staging, is hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment in association with the organisers of Fun in the Son, and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC). It is part of an ongoing effort by the ministry to develop the local entertainment industry and give artistes international exposure.

Kingsley Cooper, chairman of the Entertainment Advisory Board, said: “Arts in the Park has had two successful stagings so far and we are positive that this event will be equally successful. We cannot over-emphasise the value of the business networking opportunities facilitated by this initiative. In addition to Sunday’s event we will be hosting a special networking session on Saturday, November 29, which will bring local artistes, international booking agents, talent scouts and international media representatives together in a strategic way.”