Please visit http://www.montegobayculturalcentre.org to book your visit.
Surreal Black Exhibition – Open for Viewing
Exhibitions
SURREAL BLACK – VIRTUAL TOUR PREMIERE JANUARY 24, 2021
National Gallery West (NG West), the Montego Bay branch of the National Gallery of Jamaica, is pleased to present the exhibition Surreal Black. The exhibition will premier with a virtual tour on the NG West YouTube channel, on Sunday, January 24, 2021 at 1:30pm. Surreal Black references varying stylistic approaches explored by featured artists, Carl Abrahams, Marvin Bartley, David Boxer, Leonard Daley, Colin Garland, Christopher Gonzalez, William “Woody” Josephs, Omari Ra, Mallica “Kapo” Reynolds and Osmond Watson. To view the virtual tour of the exhibition Surreal Black, please click on the following link:
NG West YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF9hUo9IyTPiRE5W0awHCfw.
The featured works reflect the use of images of dreamlike or irrational juxtapositions and abstract expressionism, to symbolize and critique real world phenomena, which – through this exhibition – are now being interpreted to inform discourse around topics relevant to the experience of people of the African Diaspora, including systemic racism and the resurgence to greater public prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. The works of art produced by artists in Jamaica are not static historical documents; their depictions of the black body are part of the narrative of our lives past and future, but particularly in this hopefully more socially aware moment.
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of the museum since March, the National Gallery West continues to enhance its online offerings in response, as well as to continue our exhibition programming and serve our communities. This means that unfortunately, the usual physical opening activities for the Exhibitions, will continue to be suspended until further notice.
For additional information, please visit our website, www.montegobayculturalcentre.org or contact our office at (876) 940-6402 /971-3920
Due West – Virtual Tour
Our Due West exhibition is now closed however, we would like for you, our supporters, especially those who didn’t get the opportunity to visit NGW to view Due West, to enjoy our virtual experience. CLICK THE LINK BELOW! See you again next year! Enjoy!
Music: Kiwi by Jeff
CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
<a href=”https://www.facebook.com/NationalGalleryWest/videos/679848392794286/” target=”_blank”></a>
Due West People’s Choice Award Winner
We are proud to announce our Award winner for ‘Best of Show’, Greg Bailey.
Due West’s People’s Choice Award
January 19, 2019 marked the opening of the second successful staging of National Gallery West’s submission-based exhibition Due West. Created in 2018, Due West is a key part of a continuing initiative aimed at discovering and showcasing the work of artists who live in, or are from Western Jamaica. In September 2019, a call for entries was sent out into the public inviting all artists, amateur and professional, residing in or originally from Western Jamaica, to submit their works for consideration. After the adjudication, 14 artists were selected: Indie Allen, Greg Bailey, Krystal Ball, Esther Chin, Andrew Duhaney, Andrea Jadusingh, Kate Moyston, David Pinto, Naomi Redway, Nathan Robb, Deon Simone, P.J. Stewart, Ivorhod Walters and Trisannia Watson. These artists were represented by a mixture of paintings, photography, audio visual art, fiber art, mixed media and sculpture.
A key component of this exhibition is its People’s Choice Award; which offers the viewing public an opportunity to vote for their favourite artwork in the exhibition. The artist whose work receives the most votes at the end of the exhibition receives an award of JA$50,000.00.
Voting was opened to the public on January 19, 2020 and was to continue until the exhibition’s end on April 10, 2020. Due to the necessary closure of our gallery as ordered by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport in keeping with the recommendations of The Ministry of Health and Wellness to minimize the potential spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), voting closed on March 17, 2020. As a result, the votes for the People’s Choice Award were tallied up to that date.
Award Winner
The work which received the most votes from our local and international visitors was painted by artist Greg Bailey. Greg Bailey hails from Warsop, Trelawny. He earned his BFA from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in 2010 and his MFA from the Washington University in St. Louis, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts in 2019. He works in a variety of media which includes painting, drawing, digital design and sculpture and has exhibited locally at the National Gallery of Jamaica, National Gallery West and the Olympia Art Gallery. He has also exhibited in the UK, the USA and Germany. He is the recipient of the Danforth Scholarship, a CHASE Fund Scholarship and the Dawn Scott Memorial Award. Bailey’s works are held in private collections in Jamaica, England, Germany and the USA.
His work is an ongoing investigation of the Black mass within postcolonial spaces such as the Caribbean. It explores the colonial residue lingering within the environs of the contemporary Caribbean, which perpetrates a confusing notion of self and space. This condition is a nucleus for issues of race, gender, identity and various socio-political complexities. Bailey uses these cultural phenomena as visual and cerebral elements of his practice.
His work will be featured on all of National Gallery West’s social media as well as in the local press. To see other works by Greg Bailey, please follow his Instagram account: @gregbaileyart.
National Gallery West takes this opportunity to thank all the participating artists as well as supporters of the arts who are integral parts of the Western Jamaican cultural community. Our mission to be a dynamic platform for the growth of our visual arts community would be impossible without your continued support. The team at National Gallery West looks forward to showcasing the work of artists from Western Jamaica in the next edition of Due West and the next open call for submissions which will be published later this year.
Due West Artists
We are closing our Due West Artist feature with, Indie Allen and Kate Moyston.
Due West – Artists
We are continuing our Due West Artist feature with, Nathan Robb, Greg Bailey and Naomi Redway.
vorhod Walters, David Pinto and Trisannia Watson.
Due West – Artists
We are continuing our Due West Artist feature with, Ivorhod Walters, David Pinto and Trisannia Watson.
Due West – Artists
We are continuing our Due West Artist feature with ‘Namaste’ by Andrea Jadusingh and ‘Family Union’ by Andrew Duhaney!
Due West – Artists
We continue our Due West artist feature with Deon Simone and Krystal Ball.
Due West – Artists
In keeping with our promise of doing small features on each of the artists in Due West (see previous post), we would like to start off with Esther Chin & P.J. Stewart.
We will continue to highlight each of the Due West Artists leading up to the announcement of the People’s Choice Award winner on April 11, 2020. We do hope this virtual showcase helps to connect you, our audience to the artists and artwork of Due West.
Stay tuned!
National Gallery West 