The National Gallery of Jamaica is moving forward with the implementation of new programmes aimed at pushing the development of art in Jamaica while showcasing the work of emerging and established talent.

With the restructuring of what was previously known as the Jamaica Biennial, the National Gallery which is located on the waterfront in downtown Kingston, is currently preparing for the staging of the summer exhibition which will run from July to October this year.

Senior curator at the National Gallery O’Neil Lawrence explained that this new thrust is similar to the overall mandate and one aspect is the National Gallery Summer Exhibition.

“We took a decision to discontinue the submissions based National Biennial. In its place will be two exhibitions. The Summer Exhibition for which we are now calling for submissions, and in 2020 what will be known as the Kingston Biennial will be staged. The summer exhibition will be curated and a panel will decide the works to be showcased based on the submissions. For the Biennial, artists will be invited to submit their work for the exhibit.”

For the summer Exhibition a selection committee comprised of two local judges and one international judge will be responsible for the selections. Entries are being accepted in the following categories: painting, drawing (including pastel and watercolours), print collage, photography, sculpture (including assemblage), installation, ceramics, fibre art, and audio visual performance. The exhibition is open to all artists resident in Jamaica, Jamaican artists resident abroad and artists of direct Jamaican parentage living abroad. Artists submitting works from overseas should submit digital photographs of and proposals for the works they wish to enter. Final submissions should be appropriately framed or mounted.

An artist may submit a maximum of two works. The closing date for entries is Monday, April 8.

Currently the main exhibition at the National Gallery is the entries from the International Reggae Poster Contest. This exhibition has been mounted since February 12 and formed part of the gallery’s offering for Reggae Month.

Lawrence noted that hosting the reggae poster competition is not a new initiative , but rather marks a renewal of a previous partnership with the contest’s co-founder Maria Papaefstathiou.

“(Today) we are staging a special reception for the International Reggae Poster Contest. This will feature Maria Papaefstathiou, the co-founder. The event will also be addressed retired University of the West Indies lecturer, Professor Carolyn Cooper. Since this exhibit opened, the response from the audience has been very positive. It also shows you the reach of reggae music. We have 101 entries from countries all over the globe… China, Turkey, Hungary, India, all making their contribution to reggae in this format,” said Lawrence.