Art enthusiasts can exhale a sigh of relief — The Jamaica Biennial 2017, which officially opened last Sunday at the National Gallery of Jamaica (as well as at satellite exhibition spaces the National Gallery West in Montego Bay, and Devon House), is an audaciously ambitious undertaking that comes up aces. Brimming with provocative ideas and a cross-section of artistic disciplines, the Biennial features the work of 92 artists, among them large-scale installation pieces that challenge perceptions. There is, too, retrospective tributes to the pair of artists, recent Order of Distinction awardee Alexander Cooper and the late enfant terrible Peter Dean Rickards.

Jasmine Thomas-Girvan, whose brilliant mixed media assemblage Parallel Realities Dwelling in the Heartland of My People is nothing short of awe-inspiring, was announced the Aaron Matalon Awardee at the opening reception. She is a second-time awardee and the first artist to earn the recognition twice.

Meanwhile, three artists Greg Bailey, Alicia Brown and Andrea Chung were announced winners of the Dawn Scott Memorial Award (which also came with a US$500 prize) by internationally renowned art critic Edward Gomez, friend of the late Jamaican artist.

SO invites you to indulge in art appreciation alongside guests at the Biennial’s opening and extends kudos to National Gallery Executive Director and lead curator Veerle Poupeye and team members O’Neil Lawrence, senior curator at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and Monique Barnett Davidson, assistant curator in the Education Department of the National Gallery of Jamaica.

The Jamaica Biennial runs until May 28 at the National Gallery in downtown Kingston, Devon House on Hope Road, and the National Gallery West in Sam Sharpe Square in St James.