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.

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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.

 
 
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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.
 
 
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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 meaning

Born 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.
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Stafford Schliefer
 
 
Shutterbug David Muir will be launching his photography book "Pieces of Jamaica, The Real Rock Edition" on November 7 at Devonshire, Devon House at 6.30 pm.


The book showcases authentic Jamaica in photographs, from the boys playing football in "Make Shift" to the woman roasting breadfruit in "Breshe". The photographs display Jamaica's rustic reality juxtaposed with spirited humanity and an intrinsic beauty found in its people. 

"Pieces of Jamaica™, The Real Rock Edition" is billed as the perfect keepsake to celebrate Jamaica's 50th anniversary of independence, whether you're a Jamaican living on the rock or living abroad. It's also an excellent way for lovers of Jamaica and its culture to experience the island through stunning photographs of life uncut, unedited – real.


Source: http://www.piecesofjamaica.net/
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Photographer David Muir
 
 
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This post comes from a blog entry on the Silicon Caribe site written by Ingrid Riley. 

” 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.


 
 
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Laura-Anne Fung (right) explaining her work.
Visual art is one form of creative expression that absolutely has the power to confound. Discussions regarding what is good, or how much art is really worth, can bounce back and forth without going anywhere. At a recent Laura-Anne Fung exhibition, which I attended with a tour group, the discussion turned on the question of value. Fung’s work, though not the most expensive, is definitely not the cheapest. Some thought it outrageous for her, at 18, to even contemplate charging as much as established artists who had been around for decades. The backdrop for our discussion was the recent launch of her exhibition at Grosvenor Galleries. The work on display was bold, exhibiting bright brush strokes; but perhaps equally impressive was the launch itself. The conservative gallery had been tricked out by the addition of a wine bar, a food station with aromatic scents, streams of white cloth accented by tiny disco lights, and a disc jockey. Pretty spectacular for a Jamaican art launch! The decor, the pricing, and the art itself all hinted at a personality worth learning more about. The portrait that emerged of Fung was quite intriguing.
 
 
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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.
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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.
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Gerard Hanson discusses his work with a member of the public
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Monique Lofters speaking at the artist talk
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Tricia Gordon-Johnston explains the themes in her art
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Dollar II by Gerard Hanson