Jamaica Music Museum’s (JaMM) annual symposium, Grounation, is all set for February’s Reggae Month celebrations.

The JaMM’s flagship event presents a unique opportunity to delve into the life and enduring legacy of the cultural iconoclast Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley.

This year’s 13th staging promises to be an engaging and educational exploration under the theme ‘Bob Marley at 80: His Music, Legend and Legacy’.

Marley’s life and his abiding Rastafari philosophy, his assertive revolutionary stance against oppression and discrimination “in low and high places”, his enshrinement of education and cultural awareness as an ideal, and his unerring quest for universal peace, love, and unity will be commemorated.

Each Sunday in February 2025, at the Institute of Jamaica’s Lecture Hall, the symposium will explore Marley’s continued resonance within the global socio-political climate and his universal appeal through the lens of keen observers of the humanitarian and visionary.

JaMM will also launch the exhibition ‘From African to Jamaican: Music and black culture, chronicling and highlighting the Afro-Jamaican creative ethos, an aesthetic of global acclaim. The exhibition — featuring an Egungun costume of the Yuruban people and a local Pitchy Patchy Jonkanoo customs, African and Jamaican ritual drums, and stringed instruments, art and ephemera — showcases the power of black music through African material objects juxtaposed against Jamaican creolized versions as an interpretation of Jamaican cultural history.

The exhibition also features a gallery dedicated to Marley, the focus of this year’s symposium. It features objects as elemental muse inspired by his life and musical journey.

Herbie Miller, director/curator, JaMM, shared: “It has been 13 years since Grounation last focused on Bob’s singularity and importance to national, global, cultural, political, spiritual, and human experiences. This long-awaited attention to Marley’s influence relies on contributions from several knowledgeable voices, including renowned musicologists, historians, sociologists, and other individuals who have focused attention and personal experiences with Marley.”

Grounation lectures and discussions are punctuated by music and additional artistic expressions, giving voice to continued perspectives relevant to Jamaica’s past, present, and future. Since its inception, in 2012, Grounation has attracted a diverse following and is considered one of the most significant events on Jamaica’s cultural calendar.

JaMM is a division of the Institute of Jamaica, which is an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.