Underwater Cultural Heritage Mural Officially Unveiled In Downtown Kingston

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, on Friday (March 13), officially unveiled the Underwater Cultural Heritage Mural on East Street in downtown Kingston.

The artwork celebrates Jamaica’s underwater cultural heritage and encourages reflection on the nation’s history beneath the sea.

Commissioned through a partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the mural forms part of the ‘Sunken Secrets of the Caribbean Sea’ initiative, which seeks to promote the protection and preservation of underwater cultural heritage.

Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, Minister Grange noted that the project coincides with the 25th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, and the global recognition of the historic ruins of Port Royal.

“In January 2025, my Ministry was approached by UNESCO to be its main partner on the project – ‘Sunken Secrets of the Caribbean Sea’ – a workshop for protecting underwater cultural heritage,” she said.

Ms. Grange explained that workshops held earlier this week at the Ministry, the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) brought together local and international experts to discuss the importance of safeguarding underwater heritage.

She noted that the sessions highlighted the need to “recognise, to document, to preserve, and safeguard our underwater cultural heritage.”

A major outcome of the ‘Sunken Secrets of the Caribbean Sea’ initiative was the mural’s creation by arts and cultural organisation, Kingston Creative.

The artwork highlights Jamaica’s underwater cultural heritage, which extends beyond shipwrecks, lost treasure, and the submerged sections of Port Royal following the 1692 earthquake. It also encompasses sites of memory connected to the nation’s history beneath the sea.

The mural is located beside the IOJ’s Junior Centre, near the National Library of Jamaica, along East Street in downtown Kingston.

Ms. Grange said the location was deliberately chosen to ensure that the artwork is visible to residents, students and commuters.

She noted that the mural is expected to inspire Jamaicans to reflect on the country’s rich heritage and the stories that lie both on land and beneath its waters.

Ms. Grange emphasised that Jamaica’s underwater heritage also encompasses sites connected to the transatlantic slave trade and the memories of enslaved Africans who perished during the Middle Passage.

Meanwhile, the Minister announced plans for a second mural under the project, to be installed at Eltham High School in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, in order to further promote awareness among young people.

She has also renewed efforts to have the section of East Street near the Institute renamed ‘IOJ Square’, in recognition of the institution’s significant contribution to Jamaica’s cultural development.

Founded in 1879, the IOJ is the oldest cultural institution of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.