AJAM student participants pictured with artists Rachel McIntire (lower left), Enrique Allen (front centre) and Bronson MacDonald (far right) before the unveiling of the JDF-commissioned Mary Seacole mural. - Contributed

With youth unemployment and educational disparities continuing to plague Jamaica, people have little confidence making a sustainable investment towards the social sector. Arts Jamaica (AJAM), a youth development start-up headed by Margaret Bernal, is facingthe challenge by designing a revenue model that can be replicated and scaled across the island.

Since 2004, AJAM has worked on a number of pilot projects in the parish of St. Thomas, including an interactive programme of oral history workshops and parish heritage research, culminating in a mural commission by Canco Limited which brought much needed income to students from Seaforth High School. However, the one-year seed capital from the Chase Fund has since dried up while the Jamaican Business Development Company has provided a 5,000 square-foot space to build a multi-purpose centre aimed at capitalising on the creative talents of youth surrounding Lyssons.

Bronson McDonald, a local resident of Kingston and recent graduate of Stanford University ’06, recognised the similarities of AJAM’s initiative after founding an entrepreneurship programme through the Mural Music & Arts Project (MMAP) – a California-based organisation specialising in youth employment and education through the arts since 2001. McDonald has found that “Public art creates an empowering platform for Jamaican youth to learn vital job skills and build social capital across the country.”

A strategic plan

After McDonald presented the opportunity of collaboration to Stanford teammate Enrique Allen, MMAP has arrived in Jamaica through a fellowship focusing on a strategic plan to get AJAM off the ground. Over the past two weeks, Enrique has worked with students from Kingston to run workshops in St. Thomas that dive into the rich but hidden history of the area.

By employing youth to research, design and install a portable mural on the forgotten heroin, Mary Seacole, AJAM and MMAP are working to build job skills and provide deep knowledge of Jamaicans cultural history.

“St. Thomas is a microcosm for our country and I hope other parishes take strides in preserving our precious identity,” explains Bernal. The collaborative mural was unveiled last week as a commission for the Jamaican Defence Force.