Cultural industries will move Jamaica forward – PM

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, says Jamaica’s cultural industries represent a tremendous reservoir of potential that can help to move the country forward.

In declaring open the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Caribbean American Art Exhibition at the IDB art gallery in Washington, DC on June 7, the Prime Minister said, “if you look at how world trade is moving from product to services and to more exotic areas of endeavours, the creative industries represent one important area that we will now have to pay more attention to”.

He said that Jamaica is blessed in that “we have impacted the world in many ways with our culture, art, music and dance, while being able to just sit back and bask in that glory”. 

The Prime Minister commended the IDB for sponsoring and supporting the art exhibition, which features nine of Jamaica’s outstanding artists.  He said that the IDB is not only assisting countries financially but is promoting and exposing artists to the international world.

[More Photos of PM opens art exhibition]

Prime Minister Golding lauded the Jamaican artists for the fine artwork displayed at the exhibition and for representing Jamaica so well on the international scene. 

The exhibition entitled: ‘A Jamaican Presence in the about change’, consists of nine contemporary Jamaican artists.  They are Gerard Hanson, Charles Campbell, Margaret Chin, Laura Facey, Marlon James, Michael Parchment, Ebony P. Patterson, Onika Russell and Phillip Thomas.

Director and Curator of the IDB Cultural Center, Felix Engel, informed that the exhibition is a project of the World Bank art programme in collaboration with Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Cultural Center and the Art Museum of the Americas of the Organization of American States (OAS). 

The initiative comprises a series of exhibitions representing Latin America and the Caribbean that is being held in various venues in and around Washington, DC.

Mr. Engel pointed out that the Jamaican artists, whose works are on display, are focused on the dynamic contemporary art scene of Jamaica. 

“The timing of this exhibition coincides with the 90th anniversary of the founding of the IDB Cultural Center and we are so pleased that we are featuring nine works of outstanding Jamaican artists at this time in our history,” he said.

The art exhibition will run until July 31, 2011.

By DERRICK SCOTT, JIS Reporter