PETROLEUM distributor RUBiS Energy Jamaica and France-based cultural and social art fund, RUBiS Mécénat, which have partnered to facilitate a free art programme for persons with an affinity for the arts — through the RUBiS InPulse Art Project — has provided new space for the programme which was disrupted last year because of the novel coronavirus.

Programme manager of the InPulse Art Project, Camille Chedda, said, “In 2020, considering the health crisis, RUBiS retrofitted a space at its Water Lane Service Station in downtown, Kingston to continue free workshops under the programme, previously housed at the Dunoon Technical High School in east Kingston.” The location change and the provision of transportation, where necessary, for programme participants in Kingston have been deemed essential for the initiative to continue in a safe manner, upholding physical distance and sanitary measures in observance of the current global health crisis. The programme, now in its sixth year, has granted programme participants the opportunity to improve their lives through visual arts education led by local, regional and international artists; and the provision of general-purpose educational training.

In outlining the programme’s efforts to reduce the unemployment rate of inner-city youth, human resource manager at RUBiS, Donnovan Dobson, said that, “Initially we extended invitations to young people from the downtown Kingston area only, but we have extended the reach and are now inviting interested persons from across the Kingston Metropolitan Region”.

“There is so much talent amongst our young Jamaicans. InPulse offers them an opportunity to explore their artistic skills and secure the necessary funding to enable career paths in the arts, through our scholarships,” he added.

In recent times, eight people have received full scholarships from RUBiS to attend the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA). Camille Chedda, who is also a Jamaican visual artist and 2007 EMCVPA Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) valedictorian, said the initiative continues to provide academic guidance and offer full scholarships to participants who qualify for courses at Edna Manley. “We encourage young people from inner-city communities to participate; we expose them to various aspects of art for them to identify their passions and strengths. InPulse is a socially uplifting project which has already provided inspiration and career opportunities for a number of young persons from challenged areas,” added the programme manager.

Since 2015, the social art and education initiative has sought to empower Jamaican youth between the ages of 15 and 30, living in Kingston, with an interest in visual arts (painting, drawing, mural design, animation and film-making).