Culture Minister Pays Tribute to the Late Joyce Campbell of the JCDC

The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, in expressing regret at the passing of Joyce Campbell, O.D. has said that the nation is once again mourning of the death of a cultural icon.
Ms. Campbell died today.
“One cannot help but revere D. Joyce Campbell for the substantial contribution she has made towards the crafting and preservation of Jamaica’s cultural heritage. Her dedication to the documentation of traditional folk forms has been instrumental in sustaining the link between our nation and its African Heritage, a task she undertook with great passion up until the time of her passing,” Miss Grange said.
The Culture Minister recalled that Ms. Campbell was with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) from its inception over four decades ago, working in various capacities at the Commission.
But according to Minister Grange, Miss Campbell “did not merely work at the JCDC she lived its mandate and its principles, embodying the concept of service to her fellow citizens through the love and loyalty of her heart.”
The Minister said also that to speak of dance is to acknowledge Ms. Campbell’s impact on the performing arts landscape, her name being synonymous with the development of that art form here in Jamaica.
“She was a founding member of the internationally-acclaimed National Dance Theatre Company and other major groups and her vision has been critical to the ways in which the indigenous styles of Jamaican dance have been perpetuated from generation to generation.”
Minister Grange extended condolences to Miss Campbell’s family, friends and associates, saying that, “while we mourn her passing, let us continue to honour her memory by appreciating her compelling contribution to the nation’s rich cultural practices.”