PUMA.Creative in Kingston, Jamaica
Edna Manley's Bogle, Mutual Art Gallery and Choreography is Copyrightable
In celebration of Heritage month, the ‘Edna Manely’s Bogle’ exhibition at the National Gallery of Jamaica, is a survey exhibition of the history of the character of Paul Bogle as well as the creation of the monument in his honor. An (in)famous character in the history of Jamaica, Bogle is a figure that is known for his role in the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865. This rebellion encapsulated the movement toward the protesting unjust treatment of its Black inhabitants and paved the way for political as well as economic change. Made a National hero, a monument created by artist Edna Manley was erected and moved to Morant Bay. Recently removed for restoration, the sculpture’s return is being contested by the community making this exhibition extremely topical. Debate includes opposition to the aesthetics of the sculpture (precisely, the way in which Bogle is represented), financial output to restore the sculpture and more… A brave and important choice by the National gallery, the exhibition is well rounded offering an in-depth look in to the history of the character, how Bogle became an icon in the history of Jamaica, as well as the process of the creation of the sculpture by Manley.
National
HARRIS
ChoreographyFunctioning as a not-for-profit gallery, Mutual Art Gallery is one of the longest-standing visual art organizations in Kingston, Jamaica. Initially funded by Mutual Insurance, the gallery has since taken on the role of becoming a non-profit organization. Headed by Director/ Curator Gilou Bauer Mutual gallery hosts a number of exhibitions, artist competitions and awards that afford artists from Jamaica and the Diaspora opportunities to exhibit and develop their work. Although works on display are for sale the Mutual Art gallery’s focus is community-orientated—and Ms. Bauer explains her aim for the future is to create opportunities for exchange for artists to be able to travel to, and exhibit with, other like-minded galleries abroad.
PUMA.Creative meets with Simone Harris, one of a group heading up Choreography is Copyrightable. This organization is a team (also including Intellectual Property attorney Kayanne Taylor esq, Choreographer Neila Ebanks as well as individual invited speakers) who travel throughout the Caribbean to work with dance- based professionals to teach them the techniques of Dance notation, specifically Labanotation. Labanotation is a method of documenting the movement of a dance—much like a script—and allows choreographers to write down movements in dance, and retain the rights of ownership by being able to copyright their work. Not only this, by creating physical documents much of the dance performances can be archived in physical format providing invaluable documentation for future generations of dancers working in, or with topics pertaining to, the region. Providing invaluable information Choreography is Copyrightable is hosting a workshop in Barbados this coming weekend. For more information the events page on Creative Caribbean Network.
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