May 18, 2021
The Jamaica Art Society (JAS) is honored to announce its cultural partners and guest jurors for the inaugural In Focus Fellowship.
The ten organizations supporting JAS in its core mission to support the next generation of Jamaican art leaders include the following: The Armory Show, ARTERNAL, Artnet News, Association of Art Museum Curators, Brooklyn Museum, David Zwirner Gallery, Hyperallergic, National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston, and the New Museum along with the MOMA/CCL International Curatorial Institute, along with The Museum of Modern Art/Center for Curatorial Leadership International Curatorial Institute, which welcomed the National Gallery of Jamaica’s Chief Curator O’Neil Lawrence, selected by the JAS, into its 2021 class.
“The response to our invitation was thoughtful yet swift, indicating that our partners are keenly aware of the need for and the potential of this initiative. We are looking forward to pulling back the curtain for our fellows and providing access to what can often be experienced as a closed circuit of knowledge. We hope the emerging leaders who go through our program gain greater confidence in their work and a broader understanding of international best practices across disciplines. This information and access will help them create and innovate in a way that best serves the needs of the communities they aim to reach, ” said Jamaica Art Society founder Tiana Webb Evans.
These foundational partners will present seminars throughout the fall and spring, ranging from intimate conversations to hands-on workshops, for JAS’s first class of six In Focus Fellows. The emerging leaders — artists, curators, and writers — selected as Fellows will be announced in June. In addition to their exchange with cultural partners, fellows will learn from — and collaborate with — professionals in Jamaica’s vital arts community, exchanging ideas, developing projects, and expanding the global visibility of Jamaican creatives.
JAS invited four guest jurors to nominate and select the 2021 class of In Focus fellows. The guest jurors are celebrated leaders of Jamaican descent representing a cross-section of disciplines within the Caribbean Art ecosystem. 2021 guest jurors include the following:
- Deborah Anzinger, artist and Founder of New Local Space
- Susanne Fredricks, art advisor and Founder of Suzie Wong Presents
- O’Neil Lawrence, artist and Chief Curator, National Gallery of Jamaica
- Seph Rodney, PhD, Art Critic and Opinions Editor for Hyperallergic
“The Jamaica Art Society is much needed as the history of modern and contemporary art will never be complete without understanding the strong cultural influence of Jamaican artists of all types and their role as a beacon of independence and innovation in the Caribbean and beyond. We are seeing the strength of the Jamaican diaspora in the contemporary art scene today, but we know it’s only half of the picture. The Jamaica Art Society has a great opportunity to make our image of art from Jamaica more complete,” explains Hrag Vartanian, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hyperallergic.
The Jamaica Art Society supports and celebrates the visual arts in Jamaica by catalyzing an international community of committed patrons and practitioners of Jamaican descent. It spreads awareness of the island’s art history and aids the development of its artists and arts professionals.