#Tumblr/Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts

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Fire at Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts

~Sexypink~ O my god!

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A Parade Of Creativity And Opportunity

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A Parade Of Creativity And Opportunity

It is a hot and dry summer day on this Saturday in Parade Gardens, and the streets are alive with screaming children everywhere. But this activity is not a result of what many Jamaicans may typically know about the Parade Gardens community. This is not a violent or sad day. The children are screaming and alive because they are free to create, imagine, laugh, play, get messy and just be children.

On June 30, 2018, spearheaded by The MultiCare Youth Foundation (MYF), Parade Gardens was in full swing with the staging of the foundation’s Art on the Street Exhibition, where the creative works of the children who regularly participate in the MYF’s community art programme got the opportunity to showcase their talents through pottery, screen prints, paintings, Papier Mache masterpieces and so much more. The day focused on demonstrations from the participants guided by the volunteers who train them, as well as opportunities to purchase the pieces they created. All sale proceeds feed directly back into the programme.

Now, you may think this was a one-off event, but the MYF has been facilitating the weekly “Art on the Street” workshops for youth between the ages of 5 and 18 since 2001. The programme focuses on building skills, confidence and general hope amongst some of the most vulnerable and at-risk youth within the downtown Kingston area. Approximately 30-35 children are at the intersection of Gold and Barry Streets each week, bringing to life their latest creations.

Stanford Watson, visual arts coordinator at the foundation since 1999, as well as a graduate and now lecturer at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, shared that community members contributed to the preparations for the exhibition by painting the sidewalks and helping to set up for the day. When asked about the vision of the programme and the exhibition, Mr. Watson stated, ��The vision was to get people to believe more in themselves and their abilities. Help them to find other ways to define themselves.”

Executive Director of the foundation, Alicia Glasgow Gentles, confirmed this by sharing some of the outcomes they have witnessed over the years. By offering an outlet for self-expression, participants display improved behaviours, better performance in school and develop increased soft skills such as discipline, teamwork and respect for others despite differences. “We have seen self-affirming things coming from the children.”

The programme is propelled by volunteers who are sourced by Mr. Watson across various skill areas to facilitate workshops with the children every Saturday between 10 am and 2 pm. Volunteers are always needed, and so persons are encouraged to contact the MYF to be a part of the creative genius happening in Parade Gardens. Visit their website at www.multicarefoundation.org for more details.

The MultiCare Youth Foundation is a non-profit, youth development organization that provides social intervention programmes to benefit approximately 2,500 vulnerable youth annually from more than 69 marginalized communities across Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine.

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Mike's Moment Of... Culture: Dance EP 006

This week my guest is Marlon Simms, Artistic Director of the NDTC Jamaica and Dean of The School of Dance. We have an engaging convo about his journey as a dancer and the dance scene at present.

Marlon Simms is the Dean of the School of Dance at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA). He completed a Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of the West Indies (UWI), a post graduate diploma in Education at the University of Technology (UTECH) and a Master of Fine Arts in Choreographic Theory and Practice from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. He has been in the teaching profession for over twenty years and has facilitated workshops and classes in dance, choreography and dance education in many parts of the Caribbean and North America. He has also choreographed dance works in Jamaica and overseas for major dance companies, schools, studios and community groups and shares him time generously with the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) as the Artistic Director, a post he has held since 2018. At the NDTC, apart from executing his usual administrative duties, he heads the staging of their annual productions, choreographs, teaches, co-produces the annual NDTC Journal and sustains the NDTC repertoire and style as developed by the late Prof. Rex Nettleford. He firmly believes in the transformative power of the arts and works tirelessly to empower the next generation of artists using his mantra "excellence can be achieved if you are driven by passion and purpose”. 

You can find Marlon on Facebook, IG, Twitter and Tumblr @marlondsimms

Check out this episode!

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A Part of Edna Manley College on fire

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Painting A ‘Picture’ Of Windrush

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Painting A ‘Picture’ Of Windrush

In a world of painting and photography, a symphony of pure artistry awaits, eagerly exciting audiences in its wake. The maestro conducting this dynamic orchestra of painting a ‘picture’ of Windrush is none other than Michael Elliott.

Elliott shared artistic traits with other members of his family, who focused mainly on music. He knew he wanted to remain within the creative sphere, but was unsure of the expertise that would take form and shape his life forever.

Tilbury Undertow

“Throughout my high-school years, I fine tuned my craft and experimented with both wet and dry media. During my art-school years at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, I was introduced to photography, which quickly became a tool in the process of my paintings. I developed an interest in photorealism, a technique in painting based on depth of field in photography, where light, colour and texture are simulated to give a three-dimensional feel,” he told Outlook.

The more he painted subject matter of varying concepts, while doing fine art photography and commercial shooting, the more he realised that the two intertwined in his world. Viewers often thought his paintings were actual photographs because of the treatment within the technique. “Majority of my paintings depend on the use of photography or the juxtaposition of photographic images to create a working image that influences my paintings in its final outcome.

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May Day

“I value both mediums in the same now, even more than ever before. My skill set in photography and photo montage art has dramatically improved over the years – I have started exhibiting conceptual photography, which closely resembles the concepts in my paintings. So conceptually, I don’t separate them because they are two different mediums, I view them as the same process but different tools.”

After exploring a wide range of artistic works, a new series came to his creative mind: ‘The Windrush’. ‘The Windrush’series was born out of the growing political scandal gripping Britain in recent years, of persons wrongfully deported to their homeland due to being falsely detained, denied their legal rights or those actually threatened with deportation.

May Day

Having historical awareness of West Indians migrating to Britain and the social problems involved, Elliott shared that the scandal opened his eyes to the magnitude of problems, inspiring him to honour those affected by dedicating a series to the occurrence, “In July, I started cultivating ideas and creating pieces based on the Windrush saga. I carefully navigated the history of the Windrush, and what the migrants went through in Britain from its inception to modern times.”

Painting a picture of epic proportions, he continued by saying, “I used symbolism in my work quite often to represent my ideas. So I thought, ‘What could I use to represent this story?’ I chose to implement something that is customary to the British: teacups, teabags, teapots. The theme of tea represents the idea of friendship, togetherness and hospitality, which the migrants should have received. But the process wasn’t about just painting teacups and other chinaware. It was about distorting them and depicting an indigestible cocktail that represents the scandal in question.”

Brixton Brewing

The series officially launched that month of last year, when he started the series with the first two paintings in Miami, and bore greater fruit when he continued creating other pieces on his return to Jamaica. “The reception has been very positive so far. The fact that the Windrush scandal is a hot topic in Jamaica and the Commonwealth also amplifies its importance, compounded with the continued talks of reparations in Jamaica.”

Describing the journey as overwhelming and “the ship never stops”, he plans to create and exhibit more within the Windrush series this year as well as other bodies of works reflecting black history, utilising the mediums of painting and photography in this journey. “I don’t know what series will come next, but what I can tell you is that I’m always exploring new possibilities,” he added.

His advice to aspiring artists and creatives is to never give up, and don’t be a slave to what society wants you to create. “Always have the patience to fine-tune your talent, ideas and never be afraid to listen to advice, even if it may not sound like what you want to hear.”

You can find out more of Elliott’s unique paintings and photography on his website www.studiomichaelelliott.com or on Instagram: @studio_michaelelliott.

By: Krysta Anderson

Original Article Found Here

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Jamaica As A Dancing Destination

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Jamaica As A Dancing Destination

Few people would contest Jamaica’s reputation as a world-class dance destination. We know not only how to ‘dance ah yaad’ but also how to ‘dance abroad’.

This is evidenced in the plethora of local companies who tour the world, and in our home-grown talents, who, like me have worked in international companies and productions of world acclaim.

Our popular dance culture holds special magnetism for persons from other cultures whose priority goal for visiting Jamaica is to participate first-hand in learning and performing popular dancehall steps.

We appear to be as much fascinated by the interest of the Japanese in this regard as they are with the phenomenon. The well-known dancehall queen competition has seen its fair attraction of international entrants.

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This, however, is not new.

Dance is deeply rooted in our culture and history. It is reflected in the undulations of the body, the significant emphasis on improvisation, and an undeniable ‘aesthetic of the cool’. The sense of occasion and community that undergirds the practice are palpable.

This very rich culture and heritage of dance in Jamaica is the driver for its inclusion in so many distinct areas in our social, educational, political, religious and economic spheres, directing the path to ‘Dance Destination, Jamaica’.

Then

When the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) was formed 50 years ago, one of the missions was the development of dance in Jamaica from a national and cultural perspective.

Within the ethos of Professor Rex Nettleford, co-founder of the company, we see a trend towards investigations and celebrations of identity – Caribbean identity and one’s (individual or entity) place in the diaspora. From this vision and structure birthed three individuals, Sheila Barnett, Barbara Requa and Bert Rose, who became founders of the Jamaica School of Dance.

In the 1970s, the School of Dance began offering classes for company dancers and training for choreographers, instructors, and dance educators.

This was to become a deliberate policy from the time of the merging of the separate entities of the schools of dance, music, drama, and visual arts into the the Cultural Training Centre (CTC) in 1976 through its various iterations up to and including the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

Now

The School of Dance, conscious of its responsibility to the emerging industry, continuously assesses its programmes and introduces new ones fuelled by the school’s mandate to continually provide quality training in all aspects of dance theatre and production (performance, choreography and production), as well as the need to provide young people in Jamaica and the Caribbean region with higher and more globally recognised qualifications.

The school offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in performance and choreography, a Bachelor of Arts in dance education, an Associate of Arts (AA) in dance performance, a certificate in dance performance and a one-year foundation-building certificate in fundamentals of dance technique. There is also Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in traditional and folk dance studies.

Career Pathways

The popular dance culture is energised by graduates who are equipped to pursue a range of careers as professional dancers and choreographers, teachers, community dance practitioners, dance administrators, dance advocates, event coordinators, production managers, and entrepreneurs.

Their work is evident in a variety of organisations and sectors, including the hotel and cruise-shipping industry, and local and international professional dance companies.

When this new talent finds commonality with the work of masters such as Garth Fagan, NDTC alumnus and founder and artistic director of Garth Fagan Dance (based in Rochester, New York), who is also the choreographer for the world-acclaimed musical Disney’s The Lion King, the impact of Dance Destination Jamaica is electrifying and produces unique synergies. The Lion King has auditioned in and continues to return to Jamaica to recruit dancers, singers and actors.

Deborah Powell, David Blake, Jermaine Rowe, Candice Morris, Tovah-Marie Bembridge, Benton Morris and yours truly were recruited in local auditions.

Other Jamaicans dancers who performed in the musical include Dwayne Barnaby, Marcos James, Marc Hall and Shelly-Ann Maxwell. All attended classes at the School of Dance.

Accordingly, there is an emergence of local talents being recruited to host workshops and classes in dancehall in countries as exotic and as far as Russia.

Orville Hall, Xpressionz Dancers, Kimiko ‘Verstatile’ Miller (BFA in performance and choreography), Kimberly ‘Weezy’ Hyman (past student of the School of Dance), and Latonya Styles are some such talents.

Future

Increasing focus on Brand Jamaica and the creative industries and their economic potential offers opportunities and positions Jamaica as not only a vacation/cultural destination, but a dance destination. Investment prospects abound.

The task of all stakeholders is manifold: increase access, develop and maintain strong standards, increase the knowledge base, foster innovation and entrepreneurship. There must be increased focus on arts management, supported by the development of policies and professional bodies to facilitate same. Jamaica as a dance destination is real and should be promoted.

– Kerry-Ann Henry is an educator, mathematician, statistician, performing artist, and education technology specialist. She is currently the vice-principal of administration and resource development at The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and ballet mistress and Principal dancer for the National Dance Theatre Company. This article is based on a previous article published in the ‘NDTC Journal’ in 2015 and is courtesy of The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

By: Kerry-Ann Henry

Original Article Found Here

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Patrick Planter Art Expo In Switzerland 2018

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Patrick Planter Art Expo In Switzerland 2018

Jamaican artist Patrick Planter will have his debut exhibition in Switzerland displaying work from his portfolio.

The event is hosted by Experience Jamaique art gallery based in Geneva.

The show well be held on Saturday November 24 at 34 rue du nant, 1207 Eaux, Vives, Geneva, doors open at 3:00 – 8:00.

Planter got his scholastic start at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts where he trained with renowned Jamaican photographer Donnette Zacca who introduced him to the profession. Notably, he includes Zacca’s work as one of his main inspirations. He is the former Membership Coordinator and Artistic Director of the Edna Manley College Photography Club.

In 2016, he made his professional foray into photojournalism when he began his career at popular Jamaican newspaper publication The Jamaica Gleaner. There, Planter worked as a freelance photographer on assignments ranging from sports and news to human interest and entertainment, before migrating to Switzerland in 2017. Planter’s photographs have been published in publications including Sunday’s Outlook, The Flair Magazine, The Daily Gleaner and The Star.

One of his accomplishments was represented in The Jamaica Gleaner which included a byline in the paper’s Arts and Leisure section with the article ‘Firmly Planted in Art’, published in July 31, 2016.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

info@experiencejamaique.ch

@p3_fineart @p3_ent @planterlandscape

plantercroft@gmail.com

Original Article Found Here

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Blind Teacher Fires Up Music Programme At Oracabessa Primary

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Blind Teacher Fires Up Music Programme At Oracabessa Primary

Emerging from the computer lab where she had just played the keyboard at the lab’s official opening, music teacher Symone Thomas walked out to a series of shouts – “Miss Thomas!” – from excited students at Oracabessa Primary School.

The students have been drawn to this beautiful soul, who is blind, yet manages to take them on delightful musical journeys at each of the 20 classes she teaches for the week.

Thomas is quick to tell you she is blind, not visually impaired. As a one-year-old baby living with her family in Portmore, she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, or cancer of the eye, resulting in her eyes being surgically removed.

Growing up blind is an obstacle in itself, and when other barriers are created directly because of that condition, life can become brutal.

But Thomas’ Christian faith has kept her above the waters. Growing as a child without sight did not stop her.

“That has not stopped me,” she affirmed in an interview with The Gleaner. “It has not prevented me from achieving. I have not been daunted at all. My philosophy is, ‘If the mind can conceive it, then I can achieve it.’ I’ve always had this spirit of determination and will, and there is this fortitude that is within me, and God himself has just kept me over the years.”

Appointed music teacher at Oracabessa Primary School at the start of September this year, Thomas seems to have found her oasis. For her, satisfaction comes from imparting knowledge to the children and also from the affection they show her in return.

Fulfilling Experience

Photo by: Carl Gilchrist Symone Thomas, music teacher at Oracabessa Primary.

“It has been good since I’ve been here,” Thomas said. “As it relates to working with the children, trust me, children, they have a great attitude towards music, their interest in music is quite profound. They have been receptive to what I’ve taught them so far and they are really loving, very helpful, very hospitable, very kind. I have received such warmth from them, [it is a] great satisfaction working with these children.

“It has been fulfilling and the children have shown great love towards me. And the teachers, too, I must make special mention of the teachers who have really been supportive and very helpful, too.”

Thomas’ early beginnings saw her attending the Salvation Army School for the Blind and then Meadowbrook High School. She later attended Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, where she earned a diploma in music education. She has been a music teacher since 2005.

As a musician, her experience is vast.

“I’ve been playing since I was a child. Miss Sheila James, now deceased, always believed in me and would give me private lessons from time to time when I was at the Salvation Army School for the Blind.

“As a teacher, I started out at Waterford Infant then went to Smurfs Early Childhood Centre, moved on to Portmore Missionary Prep, and I also did a stint at the New Vision Prep School.

“I was the pianist at Waterford Baptist Church for 14 years and I am now assisting the music department at Grace Baptist Church (Oracabessa), assisting with directing some of the choirs there.”

Over the years, Thomas has entered students in Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Festival of Arts, winning gold, silver and bronze medals with Portmore Missionary Prep, and gold and silver with Smurf Early Childhood Centre.

As a singer (yes, she sings) she has sung with Father HoLung and Friends, taking part in productions staged by the group with “great success”.

Relocating to St Mary in 2014, Thomas had been without a job until now.

“Nothing happens before the right time. It took me a while to get a job; it took a while for schools to really believe in me. Thanks to Auntie Joy (principal) at J’s Heart Ease Early Childhood Institution in Port Maria, she always believes in me and has given me opportunities to prepare her children for special events like graduations.

“I would have applied to so many schools and denied the opportunity to work, but this school has seen it fit to employ me. They have decided to give me a chance despite my disability. They have decided to overlook my blindness.”

Blessing In Disguise

Photo by: Carl Gilchrist Symone Thomas, music teacher at Oracabessa Primary, shares words with Floyd Green, state minister for education, during his recent visit to the school.

Symone Thomas was denied the opportunity to work at a particular prep school and was really disappointed.

One day, her friend visited the church she volunteers at and Thomas expressed to her the desire to participate in Read Across Jamaica Day. Her friend made enquiries and came back with positive news – she would be able to read to the children at Oracabessa Primary using her Braille machine.

“I read at their devotional exercise and then I went to several classes and read for them. I read Braille for them and they were really enthused, really amazed, and just enlightened and delighted, too, in what I had to share with them. And I not only read, I sang for them and encouraged them.”

That blessing opened the door for her.

She met the principal, Gregory Davis, later that day and told him about her qualifications. He invited her to apply for the post of music teacher. She did. She got the job.

“She is doing fabulous,” Davis told The Gleaner. “The students look forward to coming to school now because of the music programme. In fact, students who are not doing well academically enjoy her class a lot, which we are trying to see how we can integrate music into the curriculum that will enhance learning. But she’s doing a fabulous, fantastic job so far, and I’m currently in dialogue with Mr Chris Blackwell and the Golden Eye team to see how we can strengthen the music programme within the school. We want to have an orchestra.”

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