Founders’ Edition
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4: FEBRUARY 2016
Editorial
T
his is my third Founders’ Week celebrations and again I am excited to reflect and celebrate the individuals and organizations that had the vision to create this space we now call the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. The Student Council of academic year 2014/2015 initiated a campaign called “I am EDNA” and we later adapted it to what is now “EDNA by DESIGN”. This campaign reinforces who we are as an institution – to be EDNA is to be BOLD, DIVERSE, INNOVATIVE, CREATIVE and are committed to serving our country with our talents embodying the core values of transparency, truth, respect and integrity. Our founders – Edna Manley, Vera Moody, Henry and Greta Fowler, Barbara Requa, Bert Rose and Sheila Barnett epitomized these core values and I encourage our current students to celebrate these men and women by continuing a culture of excellence in the arts wherever you go in the world. As a community, we lost some amazing people this year and we include them in this dedication – George Carter, Carrol Dawes and Barrington Watson. We also continue to celebrate the legacy of Professor Rex Nettleford and his own contribution to the College and the arts in the region.
We appreciate the continued support of our extended family – you our readers who send in your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to send us articles, interesting photographs of your work and events for inclusion in the Collegiate. Remember to actively contribute to the arts by becoming “A friend of the Arts” through scholarship, partnership or mentorship by contacting the Marketing Department at marketing@emc.edu.jm or calling us at 619-EDNA. Do enjoy our Founders Edition. One love Coleen Douglas, Marketing and Public Relations Manager Submit all editorial material to marketing@emc.edu.jm with “The Collegiate Editorial” included in the subject line.
Principal’s Desk made personal sacrifices and their dreams became our reality and invariable a gift to the Caribbean people. Our theme “repositioning the EMCVPA for national development” signals the College’s commitment under my stewardship to fulfilling this vision and ensuring the College while maintaining its original philosophies is prepared for the next, and the next level of development. The College’s five year strategic plan seeks to reposition the EMCVPA as the place of choice in the region, a space that is positioned as a state of the art student-centred institution offering the highest quality education and training in the Visual and Performing Arts and Arts Management.
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n 1995, the separate schools of the Cultural Training Centre (CTC) under the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) merged into one body with one mission, the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) under the Ministry of Education. What a journey it has been. We have moved from granting diplomas and certificates to baccalaureate degrees; and partnering with Ohio State University for a Mostly Online Masters degree. We are truly immensely grateful for the awesome cultural, educational and artistic legacy and are committed to making our own contribution to the institution. As we celebrate yet another Founders’ Week, we salute the stalwarts on whose shoulders we stand, I think it is a good time to reflect on not just their contributions but their selflessness. The men and women we celebrate – Edna Manley, Vera Moody, Henry and Greta Fowler, Barbara Requa, Bert Rose and Sheila Barnett,
Clearly the College cannot do this on its own and so I continue to appeal to members of the corporate community, government and the creative industries to make your own commitment to an institution that was founded to enrich the creative and artistic existence of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. How can you partner with us to furthering the vision? The College in 2014 begun an initiative called “Friend of the Arts” where the public was invited to support the arts through scholarship, sponsorship, mentorship and partnership. My call to you - friends, is to choose an area or areas you wish to support and assist us to reposition the College for national, regional and global development and keep the mission of our founders alive. I also use this opportunity to salute the vision of Rex Nettleford, Edward Seaga and Michael Manley who in their respective capacities helped to position the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (formally the CTC) as a place where the artistes are at the centre of the curricula, where practitioners, educators and researchers are being developed to shape the future of the visual and performing arts across the region and beyond. To our valued readers, please feel free to email me your comments to principal@emc.edu.jm.
Sincerely,
Nicholeen DeGrasse-Johnson Ph.D.
Saluting Our Founders Hon. Edna Manley, O.M was born in England to a Jamaican mother, Martha Matilda Elliot Shearer and an English father, Harvey Swithenbank. She was the fifth child of a family of nine children. At the age of fourteen she met Norman Manley, whom she married when she was twenty-one years old. They came to Jamaica in 1922, with their first child Douglas. In 1924, the union later produced another son, former Prime Minister Hon. Michael Manley. After leaving School, Edna Manley engaged in a number of jobs but her heart’s desire was to study art. So she was sent to a number of Art schools including St. Martin’s School of Art in London and also studied privately with Maurice Harding, the animal sculptor. In 1941, she started art classes at the Institute of Jamaica’s Junior Centre, where she taught drawing and later sculpture. It was simply a “rite of passage” that with her involvement in the Arts and great love for art, she founded the Jamaica School of Art. It was very fitting that the College was renamed Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in 1995. Edna is known for her popular sculptural works, including ‘Negro Aroused,’ ‘Horse of the Morning’ and numerous pieces, too many to mention. She also has many major exhibitions at home and abroad. She was also the recipient of several awards including the first ever Musgrave Gold Medal on October 9, 1941.In 1977, she was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Letters by The University of the West Indies.
others
classic
EMCVPA salutes the Hon. Edna Manley
Vera Moody was born Vera Manley to the late T.A. Manley and his wife Margaret Shearer. She was sister to National Hero, the Right Honourable Norman Washington Manley. She spent her early school years at Hampton Girls School in St. Elizabeth and later left for the Royal Academy of Music, London on a scholarship where she earned the L.R.A.M. and A.R.C.M. In 1915, to further add to her knowledge in the art, Vera did extra music curricula in Russia. She returned to England and for two years (1916-1918) worked in the Pensions Issue Office, London. She returned to her original love at the end of that time to teach music in English for six years. On returning to Jamaica, she held music appreciation classes at her home and later started the School of Music in 1961. By the time she founded the School of Music, the name Vera Moody was already synonymous with music, art and education. She would ruthlessly insist upon good standards, from her students regard-
less of their background. In 1950, Moody was appointed Manager of the Jamaica School of Arts and Crafts, which had to be established on a small financial grant. Moody was given the important task of bringing local artists together and giving them a pride in their talents.
EMCVPA salutes Vera Moody.
The Little Theatre Movement (LTM) was founded in 1941 by Henry and Greta Fowler to raise funds for the building of a Little Theatre, and to help in the development of drama in Jamaica. The School of Drama was established in 1969, by the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) as a part- time non-profit institution, under the leadership of Henry and Greta Fowler. Henry Fowler studied in England as a Rhodes Scholar. On his return to Jamaica, he took on the role of Editor of the newspaper, Public Opinion, a vehicle for discourse on what the future held. He became part of a band of social activists/idealists who began to lay the groundwork for the “new Jamaica.” He also founded the Priory School, which came to be widely regarded as an institution for the elite. He served as advisor on education to successive Jamaican governments and also represented the nation as Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), helping to place this country on its agenda through his interest and influence in education and the arts.
Henry Fowler also led the establishment of the Ward Theatre Foundation in response to the urgent need to save the landmark building and preserve its heritage as a part of Kingston’s cultural history. To the end of his life, he retained his interest in the LTM and the Ward and continued to be passionate in his advocacy for the maintenance of these symbols of national creativity. Greta Fowler wrought many a miracle, with her management of plays that were mounted without the benefit of budgets, without recourse to training courses for potential actors and with no source of fees for those who may have made claim to being professional. In her eulogy it was said of Greta Fowler that “by her sheer enthusiasm and determination she laid the solid foundations which are now the basis of a vibrant Jamaican theatre which is so evident everywhere today.” Before Independence she was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1975, the Institute of Jamaica awarded the Gold Musgrave Medal to the Little Theatre Movement, the organization which she founded alongside her husband in 1976. She received the Order of Distinction (Commander) for her contribution in the field of the Arts.
EMCVPA salutes Henry and Greta Fowler.
The School of Dance, originally situated where The Little Theatre currently is, had no established full- time programme at its inception.
Classes were available only for those who expressed serious interest to perfect their talent, with an annual summer school and active department for juniors. When the Government of Jamaica established the Cultural Training Centre (CTC), for those devoted to Dance, Visual Arts, Drama and Music, Sheila Barnett became Director of the School of Dance, Barbara Requa, the Administrator and Bert Rosem, a Senior Instructor in Choreography and Modern Technique. In 1979, Barbara Requa, along with Sheila Barnett, became founding members of Dance and the Child International (daCi) in Canada and, in 1984, she became founder of the School of Dance Junior Department.
The Collegiate is pleased to celebrate, Barbara Requa, Bert Rose Sheila Barnett, the three founders of the School of Dance.
Barbara Requa was born Barbara Grant on January 25th, in St. Elizabeth to Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Amy Grant. Barbara Requa was founding member and principal dancer of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) of Jamaica in 1962. Mrs. Requa brought technical versatility and a sound nowledge of movement as well as performing style to NDTC. Her strength was rooted in a deep understanding of the dancer’s instrument and the possible range of movement in space – due on part to her Laban Studies. Her articulate feet and superb lines were special attributes that served her well as dancer, and her phenomenal stamina made her a consistently outstanding performer in difficult in dance situations. She had special interest in the choreographic future of the Company and as such choreographed five major works, the first of which was Fantasy, in 1982. This expressive piece was warmly received by both audiences and critics alike, giving Barbara Requa the kind of encouragement a choreographer with an independent voice needs. She took a different career path in the mid-1970s when she joined two other forward-thinking Dance artists, Sheila Barnett and Bert Rose to become a co-founder of the Jamaica School of Dance at the Cultural Training Centre (CTC), now the EMCVPA School of Dance. Mrs. Barbara Requa is former Dean for the School of the Performing Arts, Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Artsand also a former Acting Principal. Mrs. Requa retired from full-time status at the School of Dance in 2003 but, thankfully, continues to share her wealth of Dance knowledge and experience by teaching dance Composition and Movement Studies at the School of Dance. EMCVPA salutes Barbara Requa.
Bert Rose received his basic training in dance with Eddy Thomas and in the early
Summer Schools hosted by The University of the West Indies in Jamaica. Further development of Rose’s technical craft came through his diverse dance experiences in New York, both at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dances as a performer in off-Broadway productions. With his gifts of technical facility, theatrical flair and lyrical quality, he attracted significant attention from the beginning of his performing career. The opportunity for establishing a school presented itself in 1970 and so Bert teamed up with Sheila Barnett and Barbara Requa under the direction of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC) to establish the Jamaica School of Dance.
Today, Bert Rose is focused on another of his many passions, the world of event planning, fashion, décor and design. With his own business, ROSE AND COMPANY LIMITED, he is the talent behind many of the creative and colorful uses of lights, fabric and foliage by private and public sector interests. He masterfully adds artistry to many public events including “transformation of the arena into a garden of celebration for the lying-in of the late Michael Manley”, former Prime Minister of Jamaica. EMCVPA salutes Bert Rose.
Sheila Barnett a founding member of the Jamaica School of
Dance and the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC), Barnett has had a distinguished career as a dance educator, choreographer and dance performer. After leaving England, Mrs. Barnett returned to Jamaica and joined the staff of Excelsior College where she had earlier studied. She later joined the staff of St. Joseph’s Teacher Training College as a lecturer in Physical Education, Dance and Drama and later became an Education Officer (Physical Education and Dance) in the Ministry of Education. She was then seconded and later transferred to the Jamaica School of Dance as Director. Sheila Barnett, was a dance education pioneer, distinguished performer, gifted choreographer, a Jamaican citizen, was born in Trinidad to a Barbadian father and an Antiguan mother. Her childhood was spent in Guyana and later Jamaica. Sheila Barnett was married to Felix Barnett and was the mother of three daughters. Educated at Excelsior High School, she was trained in dance at the Ivy Baxter School and conditioned on modern dance while studying at the Chelsea College of Physical Education in England. After graduating from the Chelsea College, Mrs. Barnett returned to Jamaica in 1954. She holds a Masters Degree in Cultural Dynamics in Education from Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. Quite deservedly, she has been given a number of awards over the years. Some of these include the Bronze and Silver Musgrave Medals for Arts and Education and the Commander of Distinction for work in the field of Dance and Education. EMCVPA salutes Sheila Barnett.
A Special Tribute >>>>
When Great Trees Fall
by Maya Angelou
For Barrington Watson, George Carter and Carroll Dawes
When great trees fall rocks on distant hills shudder lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety. When great trees fall in forests small things recoil into silence their senses eroded beyond fear. When great souls die the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile. We breathe, briefly. Our eyes, briefly see with a hurtful clarity. Our memory, suddenly sharpened examines, gnaws on kind words unsaid, promised walks never taken.
Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us. Our souls, dependent upon their nurture, now shrink, wizened. Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance, fall away. We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of dark, cold caves. And when great souls die after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.
The College Community regrets the passing of three great artists and lauds their contribution to the development of the EMCVPA and the arts in Jamaica.
Carroll Dawes, legendary theatre director, scholar and teacher who is generally recognized as one of the most influential and innovative theatre directors Jamaica has produced, died early Monday at her home in London, England, after a long illness, with her daughter Gwyneth Dawes by her side on the eve of her 84th birthday. One of the early directors of studies of the Jamaica School of Drama, Carroll Dawes oversaw the building of the School of Drama at its present location, gave it its first curriculum and formed its first student company, the National Festival Theatre of Jamaica. A highly celebrated director of, what are often cited as, definitive staging’s of some of the world’s greatest plays, from Shakespeare to Ibsen to Brecht, seen in Jamaica, directed critically acclaimed productions of plays by, among others, Derek Walcott, Dennis Scott and Wole Soyinka. She left Jamaica in 1977 and relocated to Nigeria where she taught at several Universities including Ibadan, Ife Ife and Calabar. She retired in 1992 and settled in England where she lived until her passing. (adapted)
Barrington Watson was an important member of the College family as the first Director of the Jamaica School of Art. In 1962, he transformed the already existing School of Art and Craft, established in the 1950s by Edna Manley and other artists such as Albert Huie, into a four year Diploma programme. Watson designed the Jamaica School of Art’s first curriculum and mentored a generation of young women and men in seeing their practice as a profession. Today, his children Jan, Raymond and Basil, artists themselves, have also importantly contributed to the revamped School of Visual Arts as lecturers. Watson was an important member of the College family as the first Director of the Jamaica School of Art. In 1962, he transformed the already existing School of Art and Craft, established in the 1950s by Edna Manley and other artists such as Albert Huie, into a four year Diploma programme. Watson designed the Jamaica School of Art’s first curriculum and mentored a generation of young women and men in seeing their practice as a profession. Today, his children Jan, Raymond and Basil, artists themselves, have also importantly contributed to the revamped School of Visual Arts as llecturers. (Dr. Petrina Dacres) George Carter was one of the founders of the School of Drama, which was stimulated through the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) and also taught technical theatre. He also lectured at the Extra-mural Department, now the Phillip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, which falls under the umbrella of the University of the West Indies (UWI). Mr. Carter, in an interview shared that theatre was his life and passion and he had no regrets. His career began in 1931 at St. George’s College where he worked assiduously behind-the-scenes for the benefit of the school theatre and the school’s arts programmes. He worked with many famous theatre stalwarts and gained a wealth of knowledge from productions such as, “Aladdin”, as well as the pantomimes, “Cinderella” and “Beauty and the Beast”, in 1947 and 1948, respectively. After leaving St. George’s College, he enrolled in several electroplating firms to upgrade his technical skills. He started his own electroplating business during the war, under the patronage of Father George Blatchford, a scientist who taught at St. George’s. His technical abilities were recognized by the Little Theatre Movement (LTM), and he was offered the position as a technical director, debuting as lighting designer in 1954. (adapted from JIS News)
e r u eat
F y ult
Fac
Derrick
“Stewie” Stewart
Drummer - Percussionist/Lecturer institution, that has given Jamaica so many great musicians, he joined the Military Band. During his six years in the Military Band Stewie rose to the rank of Corporal and completed his mastery of the full range of percussion instruments, including the glockenspiel and the marimba in 1968. As first Drummer he performed on the first Grand Military Tattoo held at the Polo Grounds, Up Park Camp. .
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t the age of eleven it became apparent to Derrick Stewart that he had an above average sense of rhythm and to see where this would lead he approached the then Band Master of that venerable institution, Alpha Boys’ School about joining the band. The career of this drummer - percussionist par excellence was off and running, Derrick performed with distinction with the Alpha Boys Band and on graduation from this
After leaving the Military Band, Stewie continued to display his drumming skills by accompanying the likes of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, The Mighty Diamonds, Bunny Wailer, Ernie Smith, U-Roy, Boris Gardner, Bare Essentials Band, Israel Vibrations, Culture, Luciano, Pam Hall, Harold Butler and John Holt. He has also toured extensively with these and other Jamaican acts. REGGAE loving countries like Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, the USA and the European continent have all heard this Master Drummer live. Stewie has also accompanied international acts such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, Eartha Kitt, the Mighty Sparrow, Peaches and Herb, Peggy Mahon, David Rudder, Calypso Rose and Ben E. King, to name a few. Derrick has always given of himself freely and has a legacy of passing on information to all comers who would be drummers. In 1984 he formalized this tutoring by joining the staff of the Jamaica School of Music, where he taught for four years. Many of his charges from those years are active in the studios of Jamaica and in touring groups. The EMCVPA is proud to have Derrick “Stewie” Stewart as a member of our Faculty at the School of Music.
the Vine
Ebony G.
EMCVPA Alumni creating a stir with her art.
Patterson
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bony G. Patterson, a multimedia artist who explores social issues, including race, class and gender, through a female lens. The 34 year old Kingstonian splits her time between the University of Kentucky in Lexington, where she is a painting professor, and Kingston, Jamaica.
server among others. Recently her work is prominently featured in the current season of the TV show “Empire.” “The works are not just background,” she said. “They really become a part of the conversation within the show.”
Meloche Gallery in Chicago, which became the first major gallery to represent her. “Around that time, there seemed to be a growing interest in what was happening in the Caribbean,” Ms. Patterson said. “The work at the time was also exploring ideas around gender and masIn 2009, Ms. Patterson took part in Next culinity, and how all of that was playing Art Chicago, a now-defunct fair that out in popular culture.” Her artworks, which often weave intri- supported emerging artists. Her “Gangcate patterns, jacquard photo tapestries stas for Life” portraits, which depict Her first solo museum show was in New and glitter have been published in the men in the Jamaican dance-hall scene York and opened at the Museum of Arts New York Times, the Financial Times, with floral motifs, bleached skin and and Design on November 10 2015 and Frieze Magazine, Voughe Italia, the red lipstick as a way of challenging no- runs through April 3, 2016. The exhibiHuffington Post, Artnet Arc Magazine, tions about homosexuality and beauty, tion features 10 ornately dressed manChicago Magazine, the Jamaica Ob- caught the attention of the Monique nequins, representations of Jamaican
men in dance-hall culture, set against tapestries embellished with rhinestones, glitter and silk flowers. Her next show opens in March at the Studio Museum in Harlem. It includes a new series that Ms. Patterson says focuses on the popular perception of black children. “I’m particularly interested in the way black children are depicted within the media,” she said. “They’re often depicted as adults, not as children.”
Student Feature:
iWORSHIPP
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he Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts has been the home for generations of gifted students who continue to exceed the expectations of onlookers, and bear the high standard of the EMCVPA. In this issue of the Collegiate, our student feature shines the spotlight on Alicia Taylor, Gavin Hart and Rhoda Addiman, more commonly known as the singing group ‘iWorshipp’. Alicia, a student at the School of Drama and Gavin and Rhoda who belong to the School of Music have crept into the hearts of many young and young at heart. The Christian trio began their musical journey in 2010 when Alicia and Rhoda began singing backup vocals for popular Jamaican Gospel Artiste, Jermaine Edwards, on the label Island Worship Records. Gavin later joined the team in 2011 and since then, they have done vocals for several gospel artistes. In 2015, their single “Keeping me Alive” featuring Rondell Positive won the Love Gospel International Award for International Song of the Year. Media and industry professionals sing high praises of
the group accrediting attributes to them including professional, talented, humble, dynamic, anointed, genuine and of course fun. iWorshipp launched on January 30, 2016 ,to an audience of roughly 2600 people, their debut album, “Can’t Live Without You” featuring 13 songs and collaborations with Jermaine Edwards and Rondell Positive. Their backing band (Island Worship) for the launch also featured past students of the EMCVPA Christopher Campbell, Guitarist, Carlton Jarrett, Bassist, and Christopher Wright, Keyboardist.
CAMPUS NEWS KINGSTOON ARTICLE
returns to Kingston on March 12-13 The KingstOOn Animation Festival 2016 will be hosted at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts from March 11 – 13 boasting over 28 sessions, three competitions as a part of its core activities: KingstOOn Animation Competition KingstOOn Pitch Competition KingstOOn Film Festival.
TV series “The Simpsons”, Carlos Biern with series such as ‘Talking Tom’, Saïdou Bernabé and Yoane Pavadé founders of Parallel 14, the first Caribbean school to academically study 3D animation, visual effects and video games and Antonio Morales, a designer and creative director focusing on original animation projects
Registration for KingstOOn opened Caiphus Moore, a Trinidadian American March 1 and participation is free. artist who has spent much of his professional life creating artwork for the video game industry will be the Keynote Speaker on March 12. He is now a Senior Artist for Electronic Arts (EA) and his work as a Character Modeler may be seen in The Sims 4. Other participants for KingstOOn 2016 include Brad Ableson whose work can be seen on over 150 episodes of the Fox
Congratulations !Dr. Keino Senior W
e would like to congratulate Dr. Keino Senior for receiving his Ph.D. in Gender and Development Studies with High Commendation from the University of the West Indies. Dr. Senior is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts Management and Humanities. He is the co-chair of the Rex Nettleford Arts Conference since its inception in 2011; and co-editor of the Jonkonnu Arts Journal.
The Artstock Gift Shop to be opened soon
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he College, through the support of the Tourism Enhancement Fund will soon open a gift shop that will allow alumni, staff and current student to showcase and sell their art along with college memorabilia. The shop – The Artstock will open to the public in June 2016.
Upcoming Events >>>>>
March 17 Danceworks
Open Day 2016
is a bi-monthy newsletter published by the Marketing and Public Relations Department of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. Telephone: 98760 619 EDNA (3362)
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CREDITS:
Editor: Coleen Douglas Writers: Alacie Brown Coleen Douglas Nicholeen DeGrasse-Johnson
Design/Layout: Lychelle Mcfarlane Web/Social Media: Natasha Burrnett Photography: Donnette Zacca Administration Support: Kay-Ann McKenzie