March 16, 2021

The Jamaica Art Society is thrilled to announce its launch.

Founded by cultural producer, writer, and entrepreneur Tiana Webb Evans, JAS pursues a unique and essential mission: to promote Jamaican art history and contemporary practice by advancing the professional development of artists, curators, and critics of Jamaican descent.

“Jamaica has a rich cultural history and a documented 100-year visual arts legacy that continues to fuel robust and incisive contemporary art practices both on and off island. As an organization we aim to galvanize a community of patrons to participate in preserving this legacy and to support the artists and scholars who continue the work of moving culture forward,” says Webb Evans.

In its inaugural year, JAS will tap six In Focus Fellows — artists, curators, and writers among them — for the nine-month virtual program. Partnering with leading institutions, the In Focus Fellows will share ideas, learn professional best practices, grow their networks, and develop new projects, all with the aim of allowing Jamaican creatives to expand their global visibility. The first class of Fellows will be named in June.

JAS is also honored to be partnering with the Museum of Modern Art Center for Curatorial Leadership International Curatorial Institute, securing a place for O’Neil Lawrence, the chief curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston, for the Institute’s 2021 iteration. Lawrence will be the first island-based Jamaican curator to participate. A private member organization, JAS is supported by generous philanthropies and donors, who are eager to learn about Jamaica and its diaspora, invest in culture, develop diverse friendships, and have exclusive access to events and important artistic practices just as they are coming into being. Founding memberships are available through April 30.

“This initiative has the potential to impact a generation of cultural leaders. It has been a privilege to create and develop this initiative with an extraordinary group of professionals who are committed to investing in Jamaican culture,” says Webb Evans. Working on an impact project of this kind has been a lifelong goal for her.

Providing guidance to JAS is an advisory committee of leading arts professionals and patrons, including Craig Dixon (CEO, The St. James), Kristina Newman-Scott (Director, BRIC), Sean Green (CEO, Arternal), digital media consultant Mark Rosen, Yona Backer (President, Third Streaming), artist Nari Ward, and Nicola Vassell (Founder, Concept NV).

Member programming begins May 2021.