RAW Exchange set to activate Kgn’s cultural landscape
The RAW Exchange, an immersive, one-night gathering takes place on Saturday, January 17, at Café Rosa,
Designed as more than a screening event, The RAW Exchange brings together film, visual arts, music, and conversation in a shared space created for connection, reflection, and creative exchange.
The evening will feature a curated selection of short films produced by RAW Management — award-winning Traytown; Boy, Girl & All the Rest; Parolytic; and Talons — each offering distinct perspectives on identity, place, and lived experience rooted in Jamaica.
The programme is further enriched by visual artworks from Bonito “Don Dada” Thompson, Charl Baker, and Maïa Chopard, whose work transforms the Kingston 8 Café Rosa into a vibrant, multi-disciplinary creative environment.
Together, film and art will operate in dialogue, inviting audiences to move freely between mediums and modes of engagement.
A central moment of the night is an industry conversation with acclaimed actress Shantol Jackson, offering candid reflections on balancing her Jamaican roots with an international acting career.
In keeping with RAW Management’s talent-development ethos, the event also includes complimentary professional head shots, reinforcing the importance of access, visibility, and practical support for creatives at every stage.
“The RAW Exchange is about building community around the work,” said Nadean Rawlins, managing director of RAW Management Limited. “As a company, we have film projects in development, pre-production, and production, and it’s important to create spaces where audiences, artists, and collaborators can gather around that journey. This isn’t just about showing finished work — it’s about growing a RAW community that moves with us as the stories evolve.”
The RAW Exchange functions as a point of connection with the wider creative community. By opening up space for dialogue, screenings, and shared experience, the event reflects that sustainable film-making is rooted not only in production, but in relationship-building, visibility, and ongoing exchange.
The event gets going at 4:00 pm.
