A Visit to National Gallery of Jamaica

[seemiyah]

When I went home for Christmas one of my items on my to do list was to visit the National Gallery, I had never been and thought it a shame so I put it on my list. Well it happened that the Gallery has an event called Last Sundays, where they open to the public free on charge the last Sunday of the month and offer tours and performances, the exhibit for December was Explorations II: Religion and Spirituality and the image they used for the announcement was one from the late Osmond Watson a family friend, so i figured it must be fate that we attend it.

I bundled up the home body parents and tell dem fi come on...they were actually excited to get out the house.

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[seemiyah]

About the exhibit: National Gallery’s acclaimed Explorations II: Religion and Spirituality exhibition, which explores the role of religion and spirituality in Jamaican culture and history, by means of 68 works from the NGJ collections, some of them well known and others only rarely exhibited. The exhibition includes work by artists such as Osmond Watson, Edna Manley, Mallica “Kapo” Reynolds, Carl Abrahams, Everald and Clinton Brown, Renee Cox, Ebony G. Patterson, Gloria Escoffery, Norma Rodney-Harrack and Omari Ra. The exhibition is part of a new series that explores important themes in Jamaican art and the National Art Collection and the first edition was Explorations I: Natural Histories, which was staged in April to June 2013.


Ok so hear di ting, you not really supposed to take pictures in there so here are my jim screechy pics (is dese pics too big? Mi nuh know how fi change dat)

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[seemiyah]

They had a performing arts group performing called Nexus and they did a whole range of songs from classical to gospel to reggae. They were good...except for one ting...they were into audience participation...mi nuh into dat. Don't come to me with microphone to sing no part of no song! Den one time they took folks by the hand (including me ) and a walk we through the room while dem sing.... mek mi show you how me feel again

Anyway once performance start and everybody take out dem camera mi say well now is free picture time so here are some more...

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[seemiyah]

Here is a video...yes mi neva know how fi focus in the beginning but it fix quick..

[seemiyah]

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[seemiyah]

All in all it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon, so if oonu ever there for last sunday oonu can check it out.

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[Peasie]

I love this!

Why yuh hide it down here?

[CeaBee]

me never even see when she add video or the posts after that. and why no video/pics of seemiyah holding hands and singing?

Very nice, thanks for sharing seemiyah. (me gone back to look thru the video to see if she on there singing)

[Peasie]

I bundled up the home body parents and tell dem fi come on...they were actually excited to get out the house.

Dis is why I love you

[seemiyah]

Mi Neva hide it, me obedient it say art dung yah so, so dats why mi put it in its proper forum.

mommy say she didn't want to take a pic of just my back when the people walk off wid me, but that would have been the perfect pic!

yes they really enjoyed it and talk bout how they will go again, but I am sure that means when I come back but hey they might surprise me and really go.

[Gen]

oh how nice Seemi right up my (and likklegen) alley

I plan to take her next time wi guh dung

if mi family nuh ask mi "why yuh want to guh down there" \0/

suh why the guy inna the red shirt look like him waan deh sumweh else ??

[Gen]

I recognize this piece of art behind the performers, didn't know it was being exhibited there.

All in all it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon, so if oonu ever there for last sunday oonu can check it out.

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[seemiyah]

Gen you very perceptive, you could tell them red shirt bwoy did annoyed fi true! Him was doing double duty, him play the keyboard and also sang but because the leader man did want to walk bout so much he had to start the song dem move off and every minute when him would be playing the man call him fi come sing him was not amused.

Which art work you spot? Is you paint it?

[Gen]

Seemi this piece on the wall is by Renee Cox, some of her pieces are considered controversial. This one below is quite tame compared to some of the other nude ones.

Renée Cox is a Jamaican-American artist, photographer, political activist and curator. (from wiki)

All in all it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon, so if oonu ever there for last sunday oonu can check it out.

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[seemiyah]

Yes it was striking in part because it was so large but I liked it. I didn't know anything about the artist though.