VG&M stages new Jamaican Art exhibition

Artwork created since Jamaica’s independence from Britain 60 years ago is going on show in Liverpool.

A new exhibition, Jamaica Making: The Theresa Roberts Art Collection, opens at the Victoria Gallery & Museum in Brownlow Hill on February 19.

Roberts is a Jamaican-born, London-based businesswoman and entrepreneur who has amassed an impressive collection of works by both the ‘greats’ of the Jamaica art world and also up-and-coming artists from the Caribbean island.

The free exhibition, curated by Dr Emma Roberts, showcases the vibrancy and variety of work which has come from artists since Jamaica declared independence in 1962, offering a comprehensive look at the best of modern Jamaican painting, sculpture, photography and mixed media.

It includes work by three generations of the Watson dynasty of artists – the late Barrington Watson, his sculptor sons Basil and Raymond, and painter grandson Kai, and also art by a number of women artists including Ebony Patterson, Laura Facey Cooper and Kristina Rowe.

Dr Amanda Draper, Curator of Art & Exhibition at the VG&M, said: “We’re excited to be able to present this unique collection of Jamaican contemporary art to audiences in Liverpool and beyond.

"It reveals Jamaica’s vibrant culture and also gives the rare opportunity to see the private art collection of Theresa Roberts, an inspiring patron and philanthropist.”

Jamaica Making: The Theresa Roberts Art Collection is at the Victoria Gallery & Museum from February 19 to July 9. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm.

Top: Judy Ann Macmillan: Breadfruit and Ackees, 2005.