Programme to Help Creative Industry Practitioners

State Minister in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, says the Government is seeking to establish a national programme aimed at showcasing and marketing final products and services of creative industry practitioners.

This, he said, will also focus on unearthing new talent, and will be part of the Government’s thrust to create a culture and creative industry policy.

The State Minister was speaking at the official opening of the University of Technology (UTech) 60th Anniversary visual art exhibition, ‘Legacies’, at its Old Hope Road campus in Kingston on Thursday (April 5).

“The programme will also involve mentorship, in which the senior talents of the country interface with upcoming and new talents to promote and maintain standards of excellence associated with the Jamaican creative sector,” he informed.

He urged current and upcoming artists to study and build on the work of those who had gone before, such as renowned sculptor Edna Manley; Jamaican painter, Barrington Watson; and Jamaican artist and religious leader Mallica “Kapo” Reynolds, who are all deceased.

In the meantime, Mr. Terrelonge commended organisers of the Legacies exhibition for “the tremendous job that they have done in bringing together so many interesting and different pieces of work for this display”.

“It is clear that the exhibition reflects the strong, creative potential that this community at UTech possesses, and speaks to the human ability to bring their talent and their latent passions to the fore through the arts,” he said.

He further lauded UTech’s art and culture programme, which he said can assist in the Government’s national thrust to develop and sustain a global penetration of Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries.

In his remarks, Associate Vice President, Advancement Division, UTech, Hector Wheeler, said the exhibition was special as it “signals the raising of the bar and expectations for greater things to come” from the university.

The exhibition highlights the works of current and past students as well as staff of the university.