While we didn’t achieve everything we planned to do in 2023, we did a lot! Here’s a quick review of the year gone by:


The fifth installation of the major exhibition ‘…and I resumed the struggle’ was held in December with 20 artists exhibiting paintings, drawings and installations.


We were back onboard for the third year with the global online art platform, the Atlantic World Art Fair, where we showcased 30 works by ten artists.  In collaboration with the University of the West Indies in celebration of its 75 year anniversary we staged our first Online Caribbean Art Fair during September.


Exhibitions in the OMG Gallery included Look Closely, an exhibition of Small ArtContemporary Vernacular featuring work by ten emerging young  artists; and Botanicals & Landscapes showcasing watercolour paintings by Dorothy Henriques Wells. We ended the year with our Christmas Shop Art Exhibition in December. 


A  top priority for us in 2023 was to expand our online reach via our website and social media platforms. We introduced a suite of ePublications, including our mini-series A Story of Jamaican Art, as well as our Artist Profile booklets and eCatalogues.  And we  launched Marketplace, an online portal, updated every month, featuring new work by emerging and established creatives in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Gallery Happenings

Click here to view Exhibition eCatalogue

OPENING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15

FRAGMENTS OF TIME III

A solo exhibition by

BRYAN MCFARLANE

New Works from Boston, Beijing & Jamaica


"McFarlane's paintings, sumptuously smeared, dolloped, and brushed in lush colors,

read like the rolling imagination itself,

full of nebulous glimpses of terrors and comforts, demons and deities."

Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe Correspondent, July 13, 2022.

Art Events

THE MICHAEL CAMPBELL ART COLLECTION

Described as “philanthropy at its best” the Michael Campbell Art Collection (MCAC), comprising 261 works of art by 67 artists was recently donated to the University of the West Indies. We were delighted to participate in the staging of the handing over ceremony, mounting a temporary exhibition of a selection of over thirty paintings at the UWI campus. The Michael Art Campbell Collection is impressive and chronicles the Jamaican art movement from the 1940s up to the present time. Works include the pioneers, including John Dunkley, Kapo, Albert Huie, Carl Abrahams, Karl Parboosingh, Osmond Watson and Barry Watson among many others. The earliest work dates from 1944 by Albert Huie; and the largest work, at over 6ft high, is by Colin Garland. 


A well-known businessman and art patron, Campbell died in September 2023 and he chose the UWI Mona to be the repository of his collection deeming it as the best place to host, value, keep and preserve the works. There is currently no exhibition space at the University to show the Collection in its entirety, but the vision is to build a museum/gallery to be a permanent home where the works can be shown and enjoyed by students and visitors. 

Viewing the exhibition (left to right) Rosie Thwaites, Olympia Gallery; Art intern, Rivaldo Henry; Dr. Hilary Hickling, Lecturer/Mona School of Business Management; Art intern, Danique Mendez; Dr. Olivene Burke, Executive Director/Mona Social Services & Project Lead for MCAC; and Margaret Bernal,Trustee, who conducted the tour of the Exhibition. 

WORKS FOR SALE

Janeque Henry

"\ Landscape #13"

Mixed Media on Canvas

12 x 9"

ID #: 303135

Janeque Henry

"Landscape #16"

Mixed Media on canvas

12 x 9"

ID #: 303136

Dorothy Henriques Wells

"Landscape #5"

Watercolour on Paper

23 x22"

ID #: 300108

Patrick Waldemar

"Palm House"

Watercolour on Paper

12 x 12"

ID #: 303111

Mabusha Dennis

"Subtle Conversation"

Acrylic on Canvas

38 x48"

ID #: 300595

Richard Hall

"My Country"

Acrylic on Canvas

40 x 24"

ID #: 103412

A Story of

JAMAICAN ART - 1980


1980

By the 1980s technology in art was the buzz. Photography, fibre art and ceramics were added to the mix. The School of Art became a tertiary institution offering a degree programme, adding textiles, jewelry, graphics, audiovisuals and art education to the curriculum. Moved to its permanent home on Arthur Wint Drive it came under the umbrella of the Cultural Training Centre and was one of four schools – Art,  Dance, Music, and Drama. Its name was changed to the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA). Serving Jamaica and the Caribbean it later added a Master’s Degree programme.

Cover: Omari Ra (Afrikan)

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