The ground-breaking exhibition, Jamaica Making: The Theresa Roberts Art Collection, was opened by Rt. Hon. Bruce Golding, former Prime Minister, on 18th February at the Victoria Gallery & Museum, the University of Liverpool, in Liverpool, UK. This is the first exhibition of Jamaican art to be shown in the north-west of the UK and remains open until 9th July 2022:
The exhibition celebrates art created by Jamaican artists since the country gained Independence in 1962 and therefore commemorates the anniversary year of the country’s Independence. It was opened on in a private view by Rt. Hon. Bruce Golding, former Prime Minister of Jamaica.
The exhibition is the art collection of Theresa and Andrew Roberts, the renowned Jamaican-British husband and wife who own the Jamaica Patty Co. in Covent Garden, London: Also attending on the evening were Basil Watson, of the famous Watson dynasty of artists and Jamaican artists, Sireita Mullings, Laura Hamilton and Desanna Watson (who is also Artist-in-Residence for the exhibition). Other exhibiting artists include Laura Facey Cooper, Phillip Thomas, Ebony Patterson, as well as iconic Jamaican artists like Albert Huie, Barrington Watson and Edna Manley, amongst many others.
The exhibition was curated by Dr. Emma Roberts, Associate Dean for Global Engagement and Reader in History of Art & Design at Liverpool John Moores University (no relation to Theresa): The exhibition is accompanied by a book written by Emma Roberts, entitled Jamaica Making, and is published by Liverpool University Press: Included in the book are essays by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Theresa Roberts, Edward Lucie-Smith and others. Artist-in-Residence from Jamaica, Desanna Watson, is working alongside the exhibition to provide schools and community outreach activities, and her huge 75ft artwork, Retention of a Colonial Past, is on display in a satellite exhibition site due to its size, the Exhibition Research Lab at Liverpool John Moores University.
One of the main aims of the exhibition is that more people from ethnic minority groups will feel more welcome to visit museums and galleries, as traditionally, the largest audience group in the UK is white by an overwhelming majority. Desanna Watson’s activities are part of this remit.
Theresa and Andrew Roberts have also created a website dedicated to promoting Jamaican art and artists in the UK: https://www.art-jamaica.org/