CHASE Fund to Launch National High School Arts Initiative

The Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund is set to launch a groundbreaking national initiative aimed at identifying and nurturing Jamaica’s next generation of visual artists.

Canvas Jamaica, the Fine Arts in Schools Programme, seeks to discover and support artistic talent among secondary-school students, beginning at the parish level and culminating in a national showcase.

The initiative will expose participants to key visual arts disciplines, including painting, drawing and photography.

Chief Executive Officer of the CHASE Fund, W. Billy Heaven, told JIS News that the initiative was recently approved by the organisation’s board and will be rolled out soon.

He noted that the programme is designed to be competitive, with recognition and rewards at each stage.

“We believe that this will be very impactful. We are also looking at offering participants scholarships to go on maybe to Edna Manley or any of the colleges that offer fine arts programmes,” Mr. Heaven said.

The Canvas Jamaica initiative forms part of CHASE Fund’s broader effort to position visual arts as an essential element of education and cultural identity while providing structured opportunities for young people to express themselves creatively.

Mr. Heaven emphasises that the initiative aligns with the Fund’s mission to enrich lives across all sectors it supports.

“You can see the work of CHASE over the years, which we intend to continue to do,” he told JIS News.

Since its establishment in 2002, the CHASE Fund has been instrumental in providing support for projects and programmes that contribute to national development through investments in culture, health, arts, sports, and early-childhood education.