Chevening Scholar Pursuing Unconventional Degree Option

Among a cohort of scholars pursuing advanced studies in traditional fields like law and governance, Kerry-Ann Chen is charting a unique course.

She stands out from her peers with her decision to pursue a Masters in Art History, a clear signal of her unconventional academic path.

The curator and arts manager at Narrative Curatorial, is a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and has spent the past few years curating exhibitions that showcase Jamaican culture.

She aims to expand Jamaica’s presence in global art history, while fostering cultural preservation and international collaboration.

While she has carved a unique path for herself, art was not always the focus for Ms. Chen, who is one of 17 Chevening scholars embarking on studies in the United Kingdom (UK) in the fall semester of 2025/26.

She tells JIS News that her initial focus while attending the Immaculate Conception High School, was the sciences.

“I had aspirations of being a doctor…and then I quickly recognised that I was more interested in social affairs… I wanted to expedite my studies and so I went to [Pre-University School] at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona,” Ms. Chen explains.

A year later, driven by her desire to contribute to national development, she started out studying Political Science at the UWI.

“Around the same time, I applied to become a youth ambassador for Jamaica, and I was successful in that bid. While I was going through the training with the National Centre for Youth Development, I realised that it was really the spaces that got funding, that kind of directed the course of national development. And so again, I changed trajectories. I applied to change my major and I pursued studies in economics at UWI,” the Chevening scholar outlines.

During her time in University, Ms. Chen remained active in youth leadership, serving as Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Youth Ambassador for Jamaica, treasurer for the UWI Guild of Students and on government boards as a youth advocate.

While she was driven to serve, Ms. Chen eventually took a step back from her advocacy and landed in the arts, something she says her family has always been passionate about.

She explains that the National Gallery was one of the spaces where she found refuge.

“I would go to the National Gallery at least once a month… and I recognised that people had started mobilising around culture,” Ms. Chen states.

She says she also realised that art was another way in which she could pursue advocacy.

“Art really does have the potential to transform people’s perspective and to move people from a place of apathy or just disinterest into one of engagement and activism,” the Chevening scholar emphasises.

This realisation led her to formally pursue studies in arts and culture at the Edna Manley College in 2020. She obtained a degree in Art Management.

During her time at Edna Manley, Ms. Chen partnered with Sky Gallery curating screenings of films like Adjani Salmon’s Dreaming Whilst Black and Steve McQueen’s Small Axe.

She notes that the reception was overwhelmingly positive, and this encouraged her to produce other artistic content that had social and cultural relevance.

“That led me to curating my very first exhibition, which was called ‘Vib(e)ration: Reggae in Art’ in February 2022, during Reggae Month. The main interest there was really to show people that reggae exists as more than music. So, this is my attempt to tie in my Arts Management Studies into a larger, relevant cultural space,” Ms. Chen outlines.

She points out that the exhibition set her on the path towards her curatorial practice, which leverages vernacular cultures, like reggae and dub as modalities, “sharing stories that aren’t usually found within the institution.”

The Chevening scholar says pursuing Advanced studies in Art will allow her to elevate the conversation around art and culture.

“I found a special option that could allow me to continue to explore the archives within reggae and within dub as modalities of a curatorial practice,” she explains.

The degree option, “Wordplay: The Verbal and the Visual c. 1870 to the present”, looks at the ways in which text is brought into play alongside the visual, from the context of modernism to the present, predominantly in France, but also in Britain, other parts of Europe, the US and beyond.

Ms. Chen notes that she is grateful to have been selected as one of the 17 Jamaican recipients of the 2025 Chevening scholarships, as it will empower her to contribute to the art history landscape in Jamaica.

“I’m actually hoping to return to Edna Manley [College] at some point in the future to help them to build out a full degree programme for art history, because I really think it would help to move the needle where our visual arts industry is concerned,” she tells JIS News.

She is also hopeful that while she is in the UK, she will be able to expand her network within the art industry, to help bring Jamaican art into the mainstream.

“I think the bigger picture for me is being able to make these connections that can allow Jamaican art to join the global art discourse… I think right now, Jamaican art exists in a bubble, and Jamaican artists are not really able to command prices that they could have been commanding had the work been given more global context,” Ms. Chen explains.

As she embarks on her journey to what may be considered an unconventional degree, she urges Jamaican creatives to push the boundaries and not deny themselves opportunities because of a lack of precedence.

“The world is a different place now and you’d be surprised at the kinds of disciplines that you’re able to study outside of Jamaica and I would recommend that people really consider going outside of Jamaica to increase their capacity in the area you’re most interested…and then return,…taking what you have learned…taking the connections that you’ve made, to push the needle in your particular area of interest,” the Chevening scholar advises.