Already well known in Jamaica and the Caribbean, the eleven participating artists featured in Jamaican Routes are young artists whose careers are on the rise internationally. The works in the exhibition address a wide range of topics, including the social, cultural and political implications of Jamaican music as well as themes that relate to Jamaican cultural and identity issues in more general terms. Although not a strictly thematic exhibition, the intricacies of Jamaican music, and dancehall in particular, provide a powerful undertone for many of the works featured in Jamaican Routes. Participating artists: Camille Chedda, Andrea Chung, Marlon James, Leasho Johnson, Matthew McCarthy, Olivia McGilchrist, Oneika Russell, Ebony G. Patterson, Storm Saulter, Cosmo Whyte and Andre Woolery.
To celebrate the role that artists play in the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean region, the World Bank Art Program conceived About Change, a program of exhibitions of contemporary visual arts organized in collaboration with the Cultural Center of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Art Museum of the Americas, Organization of American States (OAS). The exhibitions include artworks selected during an open Call for Entries (January- April 2010) as well as a small selection from the permanent collections of the partners. Works chosen during the open Call for Entries are by contemporary visual artists from all member states in the region. The exhibitions provide a comprehensive overview of current artistic spheres and specialties.
The categories of visual art for About Change are the following: ne arts (painting, sculpture, drawing, video, printmaking, photography, mixed media, video art, experimental lm and digital animation); decorative arts, including design (product design, graphic design, textile and fashion design); and folk art (popular art, indigenous art and craft).
The range of artistic ideas included in Rockstone & Bootheel is a vital and vivid reminder of the hybrid nature of culture and the con ngent nature of taste. Curators Yona Backer and Kristina Newman-Scott joined forces to communicate something of what it is to be creating in a moment when questions are far more compelling than answers. Rockstone does not strive for acceptance; it does demand engagement.
