MORE satellite locations, greater involvement of the Jamaican diaspora, guest-curated exhibitions, and invitations to regional galleries and museums are some of the items on the National Gallery of Jamaica’s (NGJ) checklist at the end of its 2014 Biennial Exhibition which closed a week ago.

Dr Veerle Poupeye, NGJ executive director, said approximately 8,000 persons viewed the exhibition at its main site in Kingston, at the National Gallery West in Montego Bay, and other satellite locations since its December opening.

“One major lesson is that the Jamaica diaspora really wants to be involved in local cultural affairs and projects such as the Biennial. This has to be part of our planning, for instance, by insuring that artists in the diaspora can easily participate. This includes finding a better solution for the now very tedious (and costly) customs procedures and finding sponsors for transport, both of which are now the responsibility of the artists.”

Poupeye said a full review of the event is still to come. However, already she is looking to 2016 with eager anticipation.

“The next Biennial, obviously, has to set the bar even higher and will probably involve more satellite locations. We also intend to move towards a guest-curated exhibition, but will likely retain some elements of the present invitation and jury systems, so that the Biennial remains diverse and inclusive and open to new and unknown artists. Finally, we are also in discussion with other national galleries and museums in the region to coordinate our biennial exhibitions to create a regional art itinerary and, while doing so, also to engage in more exchanges and collaborations,” she explained.

Of this Biennial, Poupeye said one primary objective was to present an exhibition that would be more visible and engaging to local and international audiences. She believes this was achieved, noting that the exhibition has been widely praised as “a watershed event in the development and promotion of Jamaican art”.

“We also wanted to focus more on the dialogues that shape Jamaican art in the regional and global context. While the exhibition has remained, and will always be, primarily an exhibition of Jamaican art, the exhibition really benefited from the resulting dialogues with the work of the locally based artists. We were also very pleased with the level of participation from the Jamaican diaspora, including several artists we did not know previously and from as far as Sweden, and this further illustrates how Jamaican art and culture are part of a broader, global dynamic,” said Poupeye.

— Richard Johnson