The Christmas season is upon us and JCE has some interesting specialty tours for you, your friends and family visiting for the holidays. And guess what? We also have some great discounted prices too!
So take a day trip with us, you’re certain to end up somewhere interesting.
 To make a booking for any of the events listed, please call us at 876 540 8570 or email us at info@jaculture.com.
Saturday, December 1 – Day Trip to Richmond Estate for the Jamaica Epicurean Escape
This food festival will feature:
- Traditional and exotic, local and international food, guaranteed to tantalise your taste buds
- Signature dishes from celebrated local and international chefs
- Sidewalk cafés and lounges
- Food Art displays
- Culinary displays
We will purchase your tickets and take you there and back, comfortably and safely. Saturday, December 15 – Kingston Art Trek, the Holiday Edition
We’ll together
- See new exhibitions
- Meet with new artists
- Eat great food
- Make new friends
- Have a fantastic day
Thursday, December 20 – Story of Jamaican Music
Tour will feature
- Music Studio visits
- The opportunity to “cut a tune”
- Journey to the root of Reggae music in Trench Town
- Great food
- Reasoning on our current musical output – good or bad?
To read the entire list of events, click on Read More below.
Church in Session #1 by Leasho Johnson (mixed media on canvas)
Have you voted?The Super Plus Artist of the Year Competition showcases the work of artists who are under 40 years old. The prize? A solo exhibition at the Mutual Gallery which is the organising gallery. The fun part about this competition, in addition to being able to take stock of young Jamaican creativity, is that the public gets to vote. In addition to a jury prize there is also a public prize decided upon by the votes of visitors to the exhibition. This year's young artists, who were selected from a larger group, are Marvin Bartley, Leasho Johnson, Berette McCaulay, Olivia McGilchrist. For more on their work visit the Mutual Gallery's Facebook Profile. There is not much time left to choose as voting ends on Saturday, November 17 at 3 pm. The winners will be announced on Monday, November 19 and there will be a chance to discuss with the artists their works. (And there'll probably be wine and finger food as well.)For more information, call 876 929 4302 or email mutualgallery@cwjamaica.com. The Mutual Gallery is located at 2 Oxford Road, Kingston 5.To find out more about the Jamaica Cultural Enterprises Kingston Art Trek which visits galleries and the homes of Jamaican artists, feel free to email us at info@jaculture.com or call 876 540 8570.
Mango Tree Dare Devils (2011), acrylic on linen
Stafford Schliefer is one of Jamaica's gifted sons. His work hangs in the National Gallery of Jamaica and has been exhibited in various commercial galleries in Jamaica. Recently, Real Life published a profile on Mr. Schliefer. Below is an excerpt.Introspective Jamaican artist, Stafford Schliefer, paints a life of colour, motion and meaningBorn in Kingston, Jamaica in 1939, self-taught artist Stafford Schliefer’s gentle smile is somewhat at odds with the intense nature of a lifetime spent exploring the vagaries of the Caribbean condition conjured up in exuberant colour, translucence, movement and gesture from his hilltop Wayside Studio in St. Andrew, Jamaica. Likening the compulsion toward artistic expression to the need to draw breath, he cuts a figure of quite some repute on regional and international art scenes as he has for near-on four decades. A solitary artist, he stands, encircled by paints and canvases and a passion for communicating the warts-and-all truth of the universal experience: a visual storyteller, depicting lively vignettes of modern-day Jamaican life infused with the complex cultural history of his heartland.Yet, once upon a time, Schliefer touted his wares in the tourist street markets of Kingston and Montego Bay. Inspired by artist and friend, Lester Gunter, at twenty-eight, he underwent “a conversion,” turning what his parents considered his indulgence into life as a professional artist. Travelling the globe as a seaman on tourist liners in his formative years, he keenly observed the nuances of the black diaspora and the socio-political climates in which people co-existed. Translating his perceptions into emotionally-charged works that explored recurring themes such as slavery, violence, celebration and tradition, he created lasting connections with viewers, using the language of art as a vehicle to convey messages of compassion and truth. He muses, “In many ways, my works are motivated by the intensity of suffering in our society – the accumulated need; to overcome this, motivates me most of all….”For full article, click here.
Stafford Schliefer
The Event
ASTRO: THE MORNING STAR is an Art & Video Exhibition to be launched on November 17 at Studio 174 in Kingston, Jamaica. The exhibition is dedicated to fostering the self-expression and creativity of the developmentally and physically disabled in Jamaica.
Mission
Living with a disability is itself an art. Every disability is unique. Every individual is unique. Help disabled persons express their individuality and live life through art. Donate now.
Description
The Astro Project is a collaborative effort for fostering self-expression and nurturing the creative needs of the developmentally and physically disabled in Jamaica.
The Astro Project is also an exhibition of graphic art designed by Astro Saulter and a video launch about Astro created by his brothers, Nile and Storm Saulter, founding members of the acclaimed New Caribbean Cinema collective.
General information
The Astro Projedt art exhibition will mark a major milestone of the new Astro Foundation that fosters relationships to provide opportunities for self-discovery and personal expression of the developmentally and physically disabled.
The net proceeds of all art sales go to the artist and the Foundation. Beneficiaries of the Astro Foundation are encouraged to explore painting, photography and media arts to build a greater sense of personal identity and pride.
The work of Astro Saulter and other artists like him confirm the power of creativity, the passion for individual sensibilities, and offers a unique view of the world. Recognition of their creative efforts gives these artists a feeling of worth that carries over into all areas of his/her life. Exhibitions like The Astro Project help others see past preconceived notions of disability and begin to honour the creative spirit of every person.
Through the cultivation of their talents, people with disabilities make contributions to the cultural and economic life of our Jamaican community.
Source: www.facebook.com/theastromorningstar
” Women who have succeeded in technology deserve recognition: They are an inspiration for everyone, demonstrating what can be achieved through creativity and hard work.” – Fast Company.
This interview is the fourth in SiliconCaribe’s series of Caribbean Women in Tech where we profile and celebrate their ambitions and accomplishments. We also seek to inspire others to view technology industry as a career and entrepreneurship path. We’ll be publishing one interview every Wednesday for the next two months.
This week we have a short and sweet interview with Arts and Culture blogger, Karin Wilson-Edmonds.
Mutual Gallery, a small space on the edge of New Kingston, recently opened an exhibition of Jag Mehta's ceramics. Mehta, who is always attired in white, eschews the pottery wheel and makes his ceramics using the hand coiled method. The exhibition, titled Imperfect but Perfect, runs until November 19, 2011.
 Click on image to see larger version.
YardEdge's Karin Wilson-Edmonds recently went on a JCE tour. This is what she had to say.
This past Saturday, I ventured out with a group of art enthusiasts on the inaugural Kingston Art Trek- our mission, to visit a cross-section of Kingston’s galleries. The creation of Jamaica Cultural Enterprises (JCE), a new tour company specializing in cultural tours of Jamaica, the Kingston Art Trek is designed to expose participants to a wide range of local art and artists. It also turned out to be an education on the history and landmarks of Kingston, as well as a great opportunity to meet fellow art aficionados!
JCE’s Karen Hutchinson was an excellent tour guide, highly knowledgeable on local art and on Kingston’s history and highlights. She expertly guided us around the various galleries, while simultaneously trying to keep us on schedule- not an easy task with so much to see!
We visited a total of six galleries, three downtown and three uptown, including Emancipation Park in New Kingston, Revolution Gallery, the National Gallery of Jamaica, Studio 174, Roktowa Gallery, Heather Sutherland Wade’s gallery and Grosvenor Galleries. A comfortable bus kept us from worrying about traffic and parking and allowed us to focus on the sights and sounds around us.
We began the day at 10 am sharp with coffee at Emancipation Park, where we viewed Laura Facey-Cooper’s Redemption Song, which although we’re all quite used to now caused quite a stir when it was originally unveiled.Read full article here.
 Artists Tricia Gordon-Johnston, Gerard Hanson, and Monique Lofters listening to the speaker On Tuesday, September 7, 2010, the Artist of the Year in the Super Plus Under 40 Competition was announced at Mutual Gallery in Kingston. There were two prizes to be won, one a "public prize" awarded based on public vote. The other a jury prize voted on by a panel of experts. In 2010, for the first time in 10 years, both prizes were won by the same artist, Gerard Hanson. Jamaica Cultural Enterprises was on the scene and took a few photographs. Soon to come: in depth articles on each of the three artists.
 Gerard Hanson accepts his award from Diana Thorburn-Chen. Artists Tricia Gordon-Johnston and Monique Lofters look on. Wayne Chen stands in front of Monique Lofters art work.  Gerard Hanson discusses his work with a member of the public  Monique Lofters speaking at the artist talk  Tricia Gordon-Johnston explains the themes in her art  Dollar II by Gerard Hanson
Greetings all massive and crew. What were you all up to last week? Watching the de-wigging of Mr. Coke maybe? Yes, I made up that word. No apologies. We absolutely need a new vocabulary to describe Jamaica’s state of affairs but we will prevail so stop shaking your heads! While I read of Dudus’s capture and reasoned (Jamaicanism: reason, verb meaning to discuss in order to gain great insight) about it with others, I also attended Kingston on the Edge (KOTE). June 18 to 26 saw the staging of the fourth annual KOTE, an urban arts festival which is based in Kingston. The concept is quite simply brilliant and one of those where you think to yourself, I wish I had come up with that one. At the same time it’s obvious too. The best ideas are like that. Obvious because Kingston, and admittedly I’m biased given that this is my town, is one place that is not at all short of artistic expression. We just talented is a shame! Much of that talent was on display for KOTE, themed this year as “Love, Art, Liberation”.
 Part of the KOTE Graffiti Board The festival represents a diversity of arts including painting, dance (and funnily enough there was pilates and yoga mixed up in this category somehow), theatre, music, and film. Events were kicked off at the lovely opening show on June 18 at Red Bones Blues Cafe. There was striking art on display and notable among these were the sculpted pieces by Keith Anthony Cousins, carvings by Abol Mason, jewellery pieces by Inansi, and paintings by Chandis of Core Insight Group. Well, notable to me as these were artists I had not been exposed to before. Believe me people, this is the fun in it: discovering new art, being touched in a different way. Heady stuff. The atmosphere was relaxed with folks chatting, wandering around viewing art and drinking. There was also a very brief fashion show displaying the jewellery of Empress Abiola. The evening ended with the music of Mojahrock and the strong and passionate singing of Phebe-Ann Henry and Germaine Blake.
 The exhibition was held at the island's central bank, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ). The BOJ, which is housed in a beautiful part of downtown Kingston, is known for its own art collection so it seemed fitting that the Exhibition would be held in the place where economists ponder monetary policy.
The artists who are on display include Jack Allen, Vivienne Burton, Lennox Coke, Myrth Hall, Ray Jackson, Patsy Mair, Howard Moo-Young, Lois, Sherwood-Lake, and Phyll Williams, among others. Though it is a relatively small exhibition, there are some good pieces to see and themes run from the beauty of the Jamaican landscape to modern day urban scenes. There are a few photography pieces, relief carvings, and abstract paintings.
Definitely, this exhibition is worth checking out.
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