Sana Rose, Contributor
IT WAS with great anticipation that awardees, family members, friends, visitors, art enthusiasts and specially invited guests streamed on to the Shortwood Teachers' College property on Tuesday, July 12. The event was the Exhibition Opening and Awards Reception of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) National Visual Arts Competition.
The element of surprise has been a feature of the competition for some time and it was no different this year. The awardees of the competition were publicly announced for the first time that evening since the adjudication process had taken place.
The evening progressed with the reading of the judges' reports for both Photography and Studio 7 (categories of ceramics, collage, drawing, fibre arts, painting, printmaking and sculpture); the guest
speaker's address by Dr. Nadine Scott, lecturer in the visual arts at the University of the West Indies and an awardee in the competition, and a performance by Lucky Valley All Age, a winner in the 2005 National Speech Competition. Then the moment arrived that the gathering was anticipating - the award presentations. A total of 584 awards were presented to 204 artists, a whopping 119 per cent increase in awardees and 84 per cent increase in awards when compared with 2004. It was clear that the competition had grown significantly and the exhibition of award-winning works would later prove the higher standard of the competition. For their tremendous effort, winners received gold, silver and bronze medals, merit certificates and sectional prizes. The sectional prizes, comprising trophies, cash and kind, are valued at over $600,000.
HARD TASK
Participants responded to the call of the imagination with much fervour and
as a result the National Visual Arts Exhibition 2005 is bigger and better. The judges, who are all experienced artists and educators, had a difficult task to decide the winners, but they took on the challenge with enthusiasm. The studio 7 judges were chief judge Alexander Cooper, Laura Facey Cooper, Karen Siyanbola, Allison Sinclair and Phillip Supersad. The photography panel comprised chief judge Donnette Zacca, Errol Harvey, O.D. and Mr. Beat Schwab. The results of their deliberations have created a balanced exhibition this year as there is a wider cross-section of engaging pieces to see and experience. Viewers are sure to find themselves absorbed in the works as they share in the varied expressions of the artists presented. Multiple visits may be necessary as they try to fathom the depth of creativity on show.
YOUTH EXCELLED
The Youth performed exceptionally well this year with a total 118 awards. One outstanding awardee is seven-year-old Savannah Sutherland, the youngest participant in the competition who has taken the Photography category by storm by achieving two silver medals, one bronze medal and four merit certificates. But Savannah did not stop there. She also took home the Errol Russell Photography Promise Prize for the best youth entry which consists of a trophy and $5,000 cash. The Studio 7 Promise Prize sponsored by the Art Centre Limited was won by Omar Sinclair a student of the well-represented Seaforth High School.
The adults shone brightly as well and it was heartening to see both Amateurs and Professionals taking home gold medals. A total of nine gold medals - six in Studio 7 and three in Photography were awarded. Ten sectional prizes were presented with Stacy-Ann Hyde receiving Studio Art Prize for the most outstanding Amateur entrant. Stacy-Ann took home a gold medal for the diptych, "Hyde and Seek" that plays a pun on her own name to hint at the search for identity as well as two silver medals for two paintings, "Sunrise I & II". The prize, sponsored by Heart Trust/NTA is valued at $350,000 for the staging of a solo exhibition by November 2006. The artist will also be required to participate in at least two JCDC Visual Arts Department projects.
The National Commercial Bank offered the Summit Prizes for the top art group and photo club. These were awarded to Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and the UWI Camera Club respectively. Each group received $50,000 cash and a trophy. Pugh's Colour Lab sponsored four of the best print categories for Photography.
The Best Black and White Print Prize went to Tanya Webster for "Recital" a soft and well-executed image of ballet shoes; the Best Colour Print to Bryan Cummings for "Maurice Wignall", an exceptionally well-printed, well-composed and well-timed image of the athlete in full stride above the hurdle at the Olympics in Athens last year; the Best Manipulated Print to Andrew Guiness for the sensitive image of an expectant mother in "Anticipation"; and the Best Slide to Devon Shaw for "Lovely" a image of the sunlight "dancing" on a potted plant on a window sill.
The Art Centre Limited sponsored a total of four prizes in the form of gift certificates for the Newcomer prizes for both Studio 7 and Photography awarded to Maureen Spencer and Marie-Laure Pilia-Jones respectively, the Best Two-Dimensional Professional Prize to Michael Parchment for his painting "Proud to be Jamaican" and the Studio 7 Promise Prize mentioned earlier. Two other prizes, the Best Amateur Entry Prize which went to Devon Garcia for his sculpture, "Ole Time Tings" and the Best Three-Dimensional Professional Prize awarded to Livingston Lewin for his sculpture, "Myal" were also presented.
Thirty-five different groups including schools and photography clubs are represented in this year's Awards exhibition. It is also noteworthy that the new competition captured the interest of 139 new participants, many of whom have received awards. The total awardees hail from 13 parishes across the island, a fact that demonstrates the reach of the competition and the great talent that exists across the country.
The National Visual Arts Exhibition continues until Independence Day, August 6 in the Marjorie Myers Assembly Hall at the Shortwood Teachers' College located at 77 Shortwood Road, Kingston 8. Viewing hours are Mondays to Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Some pieces are available for sale.
Sana Rose is the Visual Arts Administrator at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission.
