Imagine New Dimesnions in Jamaican Theatre

Storybook Theatre Productions have begun staging a nine-show theatrical production titled 'Imagine'. The show has various elements of theatre uncommonly seen on Jamaican stages. The production is more of a rolling montage of skits put together to make one performance. It is held together by the presence of signing performers in various stage positions throughout. 'Imagine' offers much to enjoy in sensory terms as well as it makes use of sound design, light effects, large scale puppetry, harnesses and suspension devices, animation technique, illuminating and fluorescent materials and mime.

Scenes range from choreographed tribute to the many phases of Michael Jackson; a gothic tale involving the illusions of time and space created by moving beautifully painted scenery panels; an underwater sequence reminiscent of Disney's 'Little Mermaid' but performed to 'The Yellow Submarine'; a mime involving french style tramps and-punchinello clowns; a highly dramatic old story time sequence; and a charming dream-like dance of an approximately life-size puppet girl and her dog dancing to Whitney Houston's much acclaimed 'I Believe the Children are our Future'.

The production is not without its flaws however as the connecting time between the various scenes could be further considered and a few other details sharpened. 'Imagine' is despite this, a unique experience within the Jamaican Performing Arts scene. It was in the second to last scene that the real message of the production was delivered: a call for society to respect, consider and use greater sensitivity to our hearing-impaired population. The message is of such importance that it is a shame that the tickets are not priced within the range which makes it affordable to wider audiences. It is said that the reason for the ticket price is the expensive overheads at The National Indoor Sporting Complex venue. The venue was used because it is the only stage in Kingston  large enough to facilitate such an ambitious production. There are also reports that the request to the country's private sector to sponsor and enable cheaper tickets has been poor.  The show could also be titled 'Believe' as it makes it believable that the diversity and innovation within the cultural sector is within reach.

New Caribbean Artists Residency

The options for artists in the Caribbean have steadily been increasing in the last few years. In Trinidad & Tobago, Alice Yard has become increasingly more active in the region with its 24 hour invitational residency. The Popup Studios in Bahamas also has become known for its Drawing Residency. In Jamaica, NLS has recently invited several socially engaged photographers to participate in their own residency programme. Fresh Milk Barbados, has now launched its own international artists residency.

Fresh Milk Barabados is a team of creatives including an art historian and a writer who are interested in political and social engagement via the Arts. The residency can accommodate two artists or writers simultaneously. This works well with the option to collaborate with local artists or amongst artists in residence. The space appears to be an idyllic island setting of wood floored studios situated under shade-giving trees. There are several facilities also included such as  use of the on-site reading room and wireless internet access.

To apply you need to fill out their application form, attach references and a portfolio. Find out more by visiting the link below for more details on residency costs and to make contact.

Have you been an artist in residency in the Caribbean? What was your experience like?

Fresh Milk Residency link here

If you would like to publicize your residency programme on this site please make contact via Facebook

Thanking Petrine

Skype screenshot from virtual Artists Talk with Petrine's Cornell Uni. course., 2006. Source Panmedia.com

Yesterday, I received the news that Petrine Archer-Straw had passed. This news dis take me by surprise. My connection with Petrine was mainly as a mentor for my artistic and academic work.  Throughout this period she showed great generosity in encouraging my artistic practice, academic pursuits and especially this blog. I first met Petrine when I had my final exams at Edna Manley College in Kingston. She was one of the examiners of my final year Painting Show. I remember her for insistence that I shouldn't settle for the easy pathways in my work.

Later on I had the chance to work with Petrine on her website Diaspora Dialogs by providing discussions and artist talks with her course at Cornell University. Throughout that time my interaction with Petrine as a young artist made me feel that there was something of importance in my work. When I last connected with her it was to ask her to be an external supervisor for my doctoral thesis in Japan. For administrative reasons this didn't work but she allowed me access to her writings to help guide the way for me. It therefore hits me with the weight of the news that one day after handing in said thesis that there will be no more chances to connect with Petrine.

I want to therefore thank you Petrine for encouraging and supporting me in my endeavors. I also want to thank you for contributing so much to the arts and understanding of culture.

What I found on Twitter: Tallawa

Screenshot from tallawacollection.com

I just found this website this morning where you can see designs like the one above. They have a new Spring Collection with really eye-catching textile designs. The team consists of a husband and wife team  John and Hillary, who are based in New York. They use the Jamaican Patois phrase 'we likkle but we tallawah' meaning 'we are small but strong' as the inspiration for their brand. The site features not only a clothing line but various images they seem to have collected and made appropriating other images. There is a real link that can be seen between the aesthetic tastes of the designers, the art they make and their fashion designs which indicates the Tallawa concept. Their interpretation of 'tallawah' seems to be a small group with bold and diverse creativity. What do you think of the Tallawa designs?

Tokyo Story: Creative Culture in the City

The last part in an interview with Marcus Bird about his fascination with Tokyo and its creative life. He has spoken about his ideas about lifestyle branding and art activities he participated in while living there. This time he speaks about the multitude of influences and visual stimulation. From Harajuku to Shibuya to Vuitton and being out there. His words out remind me of a documentary Pharrell Williams did last year called Tokyo Rising.

Tokyo at night, Below Jamaican Kingston dayscape courtesy of Silvio Luz

You taught yourself design and have worked in design in Tokyo, what is the creative culture like in Tokyo and what future plans do you have for your creativity?

Oh man can I talk about this for days! A real creative culture to me is one with enough people actively doing stuff that can inspire other people and also give people an idea of how far they can reach in whatever field they are trying to break into. Over thirty six million people live in Tokyo, so that’s a lot of artists, architects, singers, sculptors, painters and graphic designers. In Tokyo I was able to see art that I haven’t seen anywhere else in the world (except maybe Berlin) and there is a sense of a creative “pulse” in certain areas. In Omotesando you can see the uber-upscale but wonderfully creative ideas used in the high end stores like Louis Vuitton and Burberry, and then a few blocks away you see some really awesome shirts, shoes or accessories stores in Harajuku. But its not just that. Lots of people in Tokyo experiment with different kinds of fashion, so the regular way of dressing and what I call “thinking modes of creativity” are more acceptable. So if I want to wear spinach green boots and skinny jeans with my character shirts on, I don’t feel like I’m going “out there” with it. I love that feeling; where you can step out of your apartment in a crazy getup, or walk with the knowledge that you have access not only to creative works, but a creative mindset. Plus, in such a densely populated city, advertising is different. Stores use more art and media to grab your attention, buses and taxies have a bit more colour and attention to detail. It’s like as you breathe creatively, the city breathes too.

Kingston is much, much smaller and much, much, more chill and the art you see around naturally reflects that. It’s very “folky” if that’s a word. You’lll see lots of landscapes and scenes from the country and portraits of women with baskets on their heads. You’ll see stuff with beaches and rivers and canoes. That stuff is great, but it doesn’t make my mind get buzzing. My mind isn’t flooded with stimulation the way it is in Tokyo. It might seem obvious that It reflects island life and that’s cool, but you wouldn't’ get the same stimulation in a city with skyscrapers and high-speed trains.

Don’t get me wrong, Jamaicans are ridiculously creative people, but I don’t think we’ve embraced our prodigious talents much in the area of the arts. I even wrote about this recently in a local paper, asking “Where is Kingston Harajuku”? Because we don’t really have an art district in Kingston. That’s what I mean when I said in Tokyo you can “see where creativity can take you”.

I wasn’t working creatively on a full-time basis in Tokyo, and I was completely fascinated by the idea of having a constant creative purpose in such an awesome city, or a city of a similar size. There were days it blew my mind just to even be in Tokyo, because years before I had off-handedly said to myself “I’d love to launch my clothing at some point in Tokyo, or live in Tokyo”. But my will was definitely tested there. My Japanese was moderate but not super fluent, and on top of hustling with photography, odd little “baito-batio” (part-time work) it left me with little energy and often little motivation. But back to my original point about the things you see around you, this is what would make me get up in the morning and still try. I would walk around and see some cool photography at a gallery somewhere, or visit  some bizarre exhibition in Shibuya, or see some amazing advertising artwork in the subway, or I’d go to to some odd shop in Mid-town. All these places would remind me that the shops, the items, the advertising, everything was created by “out there” creative thinkers. So even if my motivation was low, I could “plug in” to a lot of art in a lot of places and be reminded that creativity can actually take you somewhere. So I’d love to be doing a project with my work, or media in Tokyo that I’m doing all day, everyday.

I don’t like comparing places really, but Jamaica doesn't have that sort of creative pulse, mostly I believe because there are only 2.6 million people in Jamaica and Jamaican art is a little different. If you checkout the average Jamaican gallery, there are tons of landscapes and scenes from the country. It reflects island life and that’s cool, but you wouldn't’ get the same stimulation in a city with skyscrapers and high-speed trains.


Where do you think the creative pulse is in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries?


Watch Tokyo Rising here:

N.L.S., A New Local Space

Deborah Anzinger's own studio space

 I met Deborah Anzinger the way I meet most people in the Arts these days, via Facebook. She spoke about a new arts space that was opening up in Kingston soon. This was great news as I can't tell you how many times when I was a younger artist working in Jamaica's urban metropoilis that I longed for some kind of arts culture beyond exhibitions and galleries. I always felt there was never enough focus on the process of art-making outside of the art school environment and that the art scene was designed to privelage the collector. I suppose inveitably many of my colleagues and myself left the country seeking this opportunity in other larger 'art circuits'. I asked Deborah to tell us more about herself and the new art space project and plans.

What is NLS and what is the aim of this project?   

NLS is an artist-run initiative, consisting of a gallery program and an artist residency program, scheduled to open at the end of 2012.  NLS aims to effect a culture of relentless experimentation and intellectual accessibility in the visual arts by: 
1. Promoting local artists and curators that are already working hard in this way 
2. Strengthening the local and international community of such individuals 
3. Building new audiences for these artists

The name NLS, functions as a point of origin for an endless initialism that is constantly growing.  So far the name has grown to be: Nuclear Localisation Signal, New Local Space, Natty's Loquacious Stylings, Nerds Love Serpents, Nobodies Loving Something, Now Look Sideways, No Longer Single, Notable Love Stares. Consequently, the name is not only interdisciplinary in context/origin, but has been contributed by a group of individuals. The activation of the name in this way is a metaphor for the tone of the programs that NLS embodies:  an open, collaborative and organic environment in which different disciplines freely mix and push boundaries through experimentation, play and constant work.

  
How did you come to be involved in this project? 

I came to be involved in this project in a very organic way.  The ideas behind NLS are ones that I have been in the process of documenting for about five years and they revolve around my experiences as an artist in various situations such as my studio, being a member of an artist collective, a gallery artist, an artist-in-residence, and manager for a non-profit art gallery in Washington DC.  Throughout these situations, I’ve noted recurring circumstances/environments that correlate with periods of creative breakthrough, high productivity, and rewarding career relationships.  

When circumstances lined up for me to relocate to Kingston I was very ready to take advantage of the opportunity to start NLS. The people with whom I’ve started this, Mandilee Newton, Chajana denHarder, Simon Benjamin, Richard Lyew, are persons whose work I admire and with whom I have formed meaningful relationships through work along the way. 

How important is the site's location in Kingston to the aims of the project and what kind of space/s are you planning to setup?

Some renderings of the future arts space.

The site’s location in Kingston is significant and convenient for me on a number of levels.  The site for NLS is at 190 Mountain View Ave— about 3 blocks from the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing arts, from which recent graduates like you are doing great things.  Notably, we are sharing address with Creative Sounds, a recording studio that’s been around since 1982.  We are very fortunate to be able to start NLS somewhere that is not only geographically convenient, but also located within a hub of creative activity and talent.  And because we have easy access to the recording studio any artist-in-residence of NLS wanting to include sound as a component in their project can do so readily as part of their residency.

NLS is going to be operating out of its own building that houses the exhibitions, studio space and resident artists. The ground floor is going to be a 640 square foot exhibition space, that functions as a studio space during residencies, and is going to be equipped to show video and sound art as well as work in more traditional media. The second floor includes the administrative office and sleeping quarters for three artists-in-residence.

I think of Kingston as being a place where the desire for nowness is palpable and has led to inventiveness. For me this is most easily demonstrated by the speed with which new musical genres have developed here in the last 50 years. I also think there is an inherent inventiveness that comes out of urban environments where life moves faster.  I love being around that and I like tapping into it. There is also a wide breadth of walks of life in Kingston, and I’m of the opinion that the power to invigorate and move people has something to do with usurping a space across class and other boundaries; this is something NLS aims to do through visual arts.   We want to open up the conversation to whoever is interested in accessing the energy and new ways of thinking and looking that the artists in our program have to offer, and we want to give these artists the support that will help them bring their novel ideas and vision into fruition, however large or small.

There is mention of three artists residencies being planned, how do you see these artist residencies as being an important catalyst for the things that you hope to achieve with NLS and in the contemporary art scene?

By providing studio space, a stipend and room and board we are giving support to visual artists working in ways that might be ahead of what the general public knows or understands of art, without artists feeling the need to compromise singular ideas worth exploring. While we believe the commercial gallery system is valuable, it can encourage artists relying on an income to make work with which the public already feels comfortable.  We believe that an aspect of art is a constant two-way conversation, between artist and public, about progress.  The support NLS offers gives artists a stronger voice that can be heard in this conversation. 

We also want to give the public the opportunity to see, understand and appreciate these new ways of seeing/thinking.  Therefore essential parts of NLS’s programming are planned studio visits open to the public of the resident artists’ workspace, as well as panel discussions during the run of exhibitions; all part of a mechanism for creating a strong culture around visual arts.

Part of the outline of the program is to have a mix of local and international artists during each residency cycle.  This is to facilitate a larger network, a larger conversation, and really allow local and international artists the opportunity to see themselves in different contexts, as well as adopt and borrow things they may never have imagined on their own…these are things that are valuable for creative breakthroughs. 

Visit NLS site to find out more. What hopes do you have for a new art space in Kingston?

@The Armory Show: 297 Niggas on Linen

297 Niggas on Linen
Photo by Sandra Stephens

 In viewing The Armory Show in a flash, in the blur of the huge market/ showcase for 'serious' contemporary art a few works definitely caught my eye and some made me laugh. Some made me stop and some I had to go back to again and again. One of the ones I really enjoyed was Devin Troy Strother's '297 Niggas on Linen'.

What do I respond to in this work? I saw the work from a few feet away and was drawn by the pattern of flat black squiggles on a neutral tan textured ground. Moving in closer to admire said pattern, a mass of tiny stylized/ stylish black figures, the mentioned '297 Niggas', burst forth. In various poses and facial expressions suggested by different dots representing eyes and smiles, vaginas, nipples and anuses. The work is so tongue in cheek and delivered with an eye wink it wins you over. I went back to see it again and laughed.  I see it as standing in the legacy of Kara walker's work, which though brilliant, always makes feel slightly bad about myself.

Work from Strother's The Coloured Series

In visiting Strother's site I found a series of even more playful works tilted for example: 'The Coloureds Series Part 4: "Gurrrl I'm just talking about that composition, Gurrrrl what'chu know about that post abstraction?". The Nigga's, Coloureds, black shapes, or whatever is more comfortable to refer to them as when framed against art history and modern painting  is like a punchline that makes me stop after laughing and say 'Hold on, wait, what?!'

See more of his work here