The Collegiate Volume 6 issue 2

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK Coleen Douglas - Director, Marketing and Communications

In this ISSUE Murals: Bonds

Building

Community

Promoting Research in the Arts through the Rex Nettleford Arts Conference National Business Model Competition I AM EDNA Graduating Class of 2019

Time flies; six years ago, I did the very first newsletter with the very ambitious goal of producing an issue once per month. Seventeen (17) Issues later, I write my last editorial for The Collegiate. I lean back to the charge Principal Nicholeen DeGrasse – Johnson gave during my onboarding about the roles we play in shaping the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

As I prepare for another chapter in my career, I reflect on what my journey at the college has been and how much it has helped to shape who I am professionally. At the beginning of my tenure, the college was on the cusp of a rebranding exercising complete with new college logo and the creation of individual logos for each school. With my colleague Susan Lee Quee, I championed the re-branded EMCVPA earning the moniker “campus police” as I would challenge anyone who dared to use the crest or refer to the college without its full name – The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. Ironically, today when I speak about the college in unofficial circles, I refer to it as EDNA. It is the name EDNA that resonates with me and with the student population, alumni and the public at large.

In 2015, we wanted to drive college pride and started the I AM EDNA Campaign, challenging students to consider who they were as ARTISTS/ES and how they manifest the spirit of Edna Manley, the woman, through their art.

EDNA is bold, innovative, and creative; we dedicate this issue of The Collegiate to everyone who manifests the EDNA SPIRIT. We big up all “bright and out of order” artists and amidst the recent news sensation of our 2019 valedictorian’s use of a Jamaican “badwud” in the euphoria of the moment, I would like to say that while the College respects an individual’s right to “free speech” and artistic freedom, we also recognise and respect diversity and so I completely understand that individuals may have felt offended but I daresay we “maketh a mountain out of a molehill”.

Published by Marketing & Communication Department Editorial Team: Coleen Douglas, Stacy-Ann Lewis KimberlyHyatt Graphic Design: Robert Ayre Photo Credits: Jason Hunte Joni Gordon Pierrce Plummer Asher Fuller Administration: Kay-Ann McKenzie

I must confess that the part of the speech that moved me was “No, we will not dance with you as you disregard our creative and artistic processes. No, we will not adhere to the judgement that everyone must, everyone will, and everyone can learn in the same way because no, we are not a programmable member of your box. No, we will not accept that we exist simply to be the cliched cultural item in your entertainment package.” He charged us to treat the artists with respect and nine days later came the conversation that stirred the editorial in October 2013 – the inclusion of the arts in curriculum and moving from STEM to STEAM. I completely appreciate the need for STEM but the ARTS deserve equal attention. It is time that we speak about the college’s development and locate the college’s role in Vision 2030 which refers to Jamaica as a Cultural Superstate. We press on and continue to enrich the aesthetics sensibilities of the Caribbean and promote the cultural diversity of the Caribbean through the highest quality education in the visual and performing arts.

This Issue of The Collegiate represents life at EMCVPA and shows the spirit of the space I have called home for the last six years. There is hardly anything I could say to capture the EDNA SPIRIT but simply invite you to come for a visit and, when you do, you will know. We share highlights of campus events and activities over the first semester from orientation to graduation.

For our faculty feature we have a conversation with Mr. Rafael Salazar who leaves the College after eleven combined years of service to the Wind Department in the School of Music. Lecturer, Dorraine Reid pays tribute to Franklyn “Chappie” St. Juste who gave selflessly of his time and talent to the institution. Our staff feature highlights one of our ancillary workers who is a shining example of someone who takes pride in her work, Charmayne Fletcher. Owen “Blakka” Ellis shares his journey from student to his present position as Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts Management and Humanities. The College continues to engage communities with arts as the School of Visual Arts partnered with US Embassy Kingston to create murals in the Standpipe and Rose Town in Kingston. Head of Department in Applied Arts in the School of Visual Arts, Laura Lee Jones. encourages students to develop an entrepreneurial spirit through the National Business Model Competition.

Artstock remains open with fine art and gifts from our faculty, students, alumni and Jamaican artists community. Stop by for our “one of a kind” gift items Mondays to Fridays, 10 am to 6 pm. We love that we are in Kingston Music City and extend an open invitation to our campus throughout the year. Send us your email so we can add you to our mailing list.

Please feel free to share your own arts news with us and any insight you may have for the arts community.

Until Then One Love Coleen Douglas I AM EDNA _______________________________ Submit all editorial material to marketing@emc.edu.jm with “The Collegiate Editorial” included in the subject line.

Arrival of The Mural Man Mr. Martin’s visit was anticipated over a year ago. With his arrival this October, the project moved into realization with him having a Masterclass under the supervision of Lecturer, Greg Bailey with students of the Mural Design group. His creative journey and how he became the mural painting wanderer that he is today unpacked his journey coming from his core as a trained educator and clip art and teaching strategy developer to clip art creator for educators to illustrator and photographer. The adventure of a request from an educator in Namibia who requested the use of his clip art for a book illustration and who later invited him over to create a mural in her school community. The whimsical cartoon-like drawings are the signatory hallmark of Martin’s child-sensitive illustration used when executing his murals.

Miriam Smith Building a community takes communication and a mind to share ideas and move to a common goal. The School of Visual Arts therefore, as a component of our mandate for community outreach, actively seeks engagement for our students to participate in real world community activities that expand their experiences, allowing them to give back to communities in support of a cause. This is core to our teaching and learning strategy. Therefore, as a significant component of our painting programme each semester, the School of Visual Arts provides, through the Mural Design class, the opportunity for students to experience working in diverse community settings across Kingston and in instances beyond such confines, for the realization of collaborative output in the form of murals. The key signifier of the collaborative process each semester is an effort to forge new social and political possibilities communicated through murals.

Through Martins’ presentation, the students were able to further identify how uniquely positioned they are, to not only personally maximize their creativity as earning assets, but of their responsibility to work with neighborhoods to create impactful community narratives through murals.

From meeting with members of the Standpipe community, a number of ‘must haves’ significant to the pulse of the area were to be included - representation of music, sports, a jerk stand and of course a representation of the namesake of the space, a standpipe! The vibrancy of members of the community was profound! Students provided sketches which Phillip Martin, in his own indefatigable humorous style, worked within the frame of the word ‘standpipe’ to create a full illustration capturing the shared sentiments of all parties.

School of Visual Arts Strategic Objectives Students are encouraged to regard the city of Kingston as an open classroom.

Community involvement and collaboration with public and private sectors are also sought and encouraged. Therefore, as a key element to the creation of each mural, the final design created represents a fusion of the students’ concepts and ideas from partners and members of collaborating communities. Likewise, it is important that members of the community also make their mark in the execution of each mural which further empowers and gives license of ownership of the final outcome, bridging and creating new alliances and camaraderie.

Through the initiatives of the Unites States Art Envoy programme, Artist and Educator, Phillip Martin, ‘The Wanderer’ or ‘The Mural Man’ as he is affectionately called, was engaged to collaborate with students of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Visual Arts Mural Design class for a four-week project with the Rose Town and Standpipe communities for the execution of two murals.

Second-year mural design student, Akealia Gayle in action on the Standpipe mural.

Standpipe Vibes Under the guidance of Phillip Martin, students engaged in the execution of the first mural at a key corridor identified by the community that intersects Cedar Valley and Gentle Lane. The wall adjacent to the basketball court that was selected was primed and prepared with members of the community. The prep and design were expertly executed over two days. Music amplified from Smiley’s shop quickly joined as the backdrop for the commencement of the addition of colour for the day.

Much instructions from non-mural painters and passers-by punctuated the process with much admiration and hailing of ‘respect’ throughout the afternoon. Thankfully, preparations

were made for the rains as it showered down. The students and members of the community had an organic synergy as everyone became cognizant of the importance of dialogue and representation within these spaces. Members from the US Embassy team also joined in the process of executing the mural. With much interruption due to the rains, a slowed drying period expanded the timeline which went over into a period of seven days before the mural was finally completed!

Tajae Pringle and colleagues working on the Rose Town mural

Creating a conversation point, a space of congregation, a place of pride, participation and ownership, artful magic happens when murals are created through collaborative efforts of individuals and entities generally existing in disparate spaces. Working in the Standpipe community provided an incredible experience for the students as they worked ‘under the expert guidance of the community members’ who stood with them; as they painted, something magical unfolded.

Community murals are signatures of a collaborative spirit that builds a collective bond which was palpable particularly within the Standpipe community.

Curtains came down as the closing ceremonies were held on November 7th for the Rose Town Community and on the 9th respectively with the Standpipe Community, which was attended by representatives from the College, the US Ambassador to Jamaica, Donald Tapia and key individuals of both communities.

Rose Town The Rose Town engagement took a similar frame of consultation and meeting with key voices in the community.

One thing stood out. The Rollins Enterprize building, which was a restored structure afforded by the Prince of Wales Funding, stood as a lone beacon in a space which carries the echoes of a time past and a time yet to come as the space is clearly viewable from all sides with roads and avenues...with no houses for over two hundred meters in all directions.

The atmosphere and dedication around those committed to ensuring that the Centre became a space that reflected the sentiments of the community participated shoulder to shoulder with the students and lecturers in seeing to the production of the mural. The need for necessary negotiations in understanding the style of an artist and personal expectations sometimes met in uncomfortable quarrels requiring concessions at times, to ensure the spirit of the space is embedded in the design and representations for a realistic end. Rose Town is famous for its clay, and much of the contribution emphasized the focus of education and skills attainment for the development of Rose Town. These depictions in the mural were again expertly crafted within the hallmark style of Phillip Martin. The students gave their attention to executing every detail designed to communicating Rose Town to all viewers.

US Ambassador Tapia (right) with Muralist Phillip Martin at the Standpipe mural handing over Ceremony.

Phillip Martin and our students were certainly in overdrive this semester as a major walk through and site visits were had in the Swallowfield Community. Students, along with community members ably led by Lecturer Greg Bailey, will be executing more murals for the end of this semester to create a positive response in the face of an upsurge of violence in the community. Watch this space!

We celebrate with Phillip Martin on the fact that he executed in Jamaica his 59th mural at Standpipe and his 60th mural at Rose Town, both significant milestones and we thank the US Embassy for trusting us with the process as we continue to work with communities across our island.

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EMCVPA

Presenting the Promoting Research in the Arts through the

9 The College hosted the Biennial Rex Nettleford Arts Conference from October 9-11, 2019 under the theme ‘The Arts: Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Exchanges.’ The conference examined the ways in which the arts are implicated in the health and sustainability of our education systems, economies and societies and position the arts as central to the innovative capacity required to champion development locally, regionally and globally. The Rex Nettleford Arts Conference celebrates the life and work of the Hon. Professor Rex Nettleford whose vision for Caribbean creativity and identity the College upholds.

Award-winning Poet Jericho Brown shared in the activities as keynote speaker at the Opening Ceremony and a special Reading and Book Signing Event on Thursday October 10, 2019 at 6 pm. The Conference sessions featured over 60 offerings in a variety of formats including workshops, lecture demonstrations, performances and exhibitions including a collaboration with New York School of Visual Arts (NYSVA).

The NYSVA exhibition brought together 63 of the myriad posters they created for display in the vast New York City subway system, offering a glimpse of the history of the College and the collective talent of its acclaimed design and illustration faculty. Curated by NYSVA Executive Vice President Anthony P. Rhodes, who has served as creative director for the posters since 2007.

The School of Drama hosted its One Wo/Man Shows which featured the final year productions of two graduates - Samantha Thompson’s ‘Beauty and the Plus Sized Beast’ and ‘Phobia’ by Rajeave Mattis; the top productions of 2016 and 2017 respectively. One Wo/Man’ is a showcase of new one monodramas, which emerge from the School of Drama BFA students’ final year project called ‘Independent Study’.

As the BFA Theatre Arts students’ capstone assignment, ’Independent Study’ asks the student to pull together all of her/his theatre knowledge and competencies from the last three years of training. These include research, devising, dramaturgy, playwrighting, design, directing, and of course acting, as the student is required to conduct research into a topic of interest or curiosity that leads to the production of a one wo/man show which s/he will devise, write, design, direct, and act in.

You were LIGHT...I am LIGHT because of you Dorraine Reid remembers Franklyn “Chappie” St. Juste remain my most treasured memory of you. The production was successful because you made it yours. You walked into the hall of the institution unexpectedly and said the following words “Dorraine you were not smiling last night; it means you are not happy. If you are not happy, then I am not. I bring the light”. Award winning light you did bring.

Chappie Lx 2000, go. Going…lights fading up. Lx 2000 gone.

October of 2000, that’s when I met you; In the School of Drama’s lighting boothe at Edna Manley College. I was a ‘freshaz’ student. Soft spoken, pleasant and gentle, you voluntarily schooled me in the terms of “Lx”, “dimmer”, “cue sheet” and many more. This was the genesis of a long-term mentorship relationship; an action that was meted out to all those with whom he interacted.

Fast forward to March 2018; I sat in the director’s chair next to you and watched you school another student in similar terms. That is testament of commitment to a space, people and cause.

“Be the light that helps others to see” - Roy T. Bennett So it was with you Chappie. You illuminated the many stories told across the Caribbean with an assortment of lights, and being behind the scenes, while allowing the world to view them through the various lenses that captured them, and from different angles. You had a good ‘shot’ at life and I’m grateful I was worthy enough to be in the frame.

Franklyn Chappie St Juste, you were a gentle giant; a pillar of support, meticulous, and unapologetic about your standards.

You were the ‘go-to’ man, always willing, even on a nobudget. Your radiant aura was not solely attributed to your skills and talent, but because you gave selflessly and made sure others shone. Quite frankly Franklyn, there is none like you.

I’ve gone on since 2000 to light many theatre productions and on each occasion, you were my sounding board to help me light up the scene. I developed a skill because you insisted that I learnt it. The staging of Belly Woman will

With each fading-up, fading-out and sharpe blackouts, we anticipate the next fade-up by you. But not now. You left behind this fade-up, a rich legacy through which we’ll continue to see and tell stories. It will shine in the lives of all those who have interacted with you. I am blessed to have met you. Edna Manley College is blessed to have met you.

“When he shall die, take him and cut him out into little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine. (William Shakespeare) We will look up and see your twinkling shine.

Lx 2190, Dimmer 90. Go. Going…fade to black. Lx 2019. gone.

NBMC

NATIONAL . BUSINESS . MODEL . COMPETITION A STUDENT’S VEHICLE TO THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY Laura Lee Jones In March 2016, Joie-Ann Mills participated in the National Business Model Competition (NBMC) representing the Edna Manley College. This marked the third staging of the NBMC in Jamaica but the first time hosted by the College. The NBMC initiative is sponsored by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) and other key stakeholders from corporate Jamaica. The competition is geared at helping young entrepreneurs from tertiary institutions develop business ideas using the business model canvas. The National competition is fashioned based on the International Business Model Competition (IBMC) which is a unique student startup competition focused on the inputs of the entrepreneurial process.

the internal competition.

While students who have participated in the competition have graduated from the College, it is rewarding to know that they continued to pursue and develop their business ideas and for some like Shelly-Ann Thompson and Celia Williams, these ideas have become their core established businesses. Ryan Scott, who is the serial entrepreneur of the lot, is currently working on finalizing his ICheck Out business model to move to test and validation.

Conversations about the creative industries and the orange economy are ripening and now is the time for students to extract the sweet rewards of such industries and economy.

2019 NBMC participants L - R (Ryan Scott, Sasha-Kay Hinds, Antonio Mundell, Brad Pinnock) Every year since 2016, EMC has managed to field at least one team at the National competition. The process starts with an internal competition running from November through to February. Successive years have seen representation from Ryan Scott (2017 & 2018), Celia Williams (2017), Shelly-Ann Thompson (2018), Sasha-Kay Hinds, Brad Pinnock, Antonio Mundell and Ryan Scott (2019).

The business ideas coming from the EMCVPA students have spanned the spectrum of film, tech services, fashion accessories, lifestyle services and natural fibre paper products. Business names such as Film Natives, Skillsbank, MeLine Fashions, ICheck Out, Golden Designs and RAAW Solution are a few of the ideas that have germinated through

The competition provides a platform to explore and develop the new ideas, however farfetched they may seem at first.

Twenty years ago, who would have thought that the notions of an Uber or an Airbnb could upstage and disrupt established transportation services and tradition hotels? Well, it did‌ and there is more to come.

It is an opportune time for students to see themselves in the mix of this orange economy. While perched in this prestigious institution of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and the Performing Arts, students should explore entrepreneurship to disrupt the status quo. Explore news ways of looking at the creative process and creative output enabled not only through the creative mind but also with the use of technology.

I AM EDNA Owen “Blakka” Ellis THE OCEAN’S EMPTY WITHOUT ME! “Blakka, how do you come up with these corny, cliché quotations?”

Accompanied by reassuring laughter before and after, that was Honor Ford-Smith’s response when I told her I wanted to take a break from performing as an actor/comedian because I want to do more ‘arts for a cause instead of performing for applause’. Honor is a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York, and she has known me for many years. We were talking about my personal journey and why it might be a good idea to do York’s MES program. I considered replying with something like ‘Well you share much of the blame and deserve some of the credit, because my life’s a book that you’re helping to edit’, but even I had to admit that this would sound particularly cheesy. And I knew she’d probably just throw up her hands in exasperation and remind me of how apt I am at being a creative idler. So, I tried to be serious. I told

Honor Ford-Smith

Honor about my desire to work on programs that offer youth, especially young men, opportunities to influence their sociopolitical environment through structured collective action. I told her of my “I&I GEAR” idea: Community intervention that employs art and performance in a process of social education for young urban males around issues of Image/Identity, Gender equality, Environmental Awareness and Reproductive health – for those are the issues which interest and ignite me.

And even if my little mental rhyme was more than a bit on the corny-cliché-quotation side; even if literarily it seemed a fickle, fragile tree, there was a firm root of truth in it. Honor

is indeed one of many persons who have helped to influence the course of this river that is my life. But where and when did it all begin?

Kingston Jamaica, long ago: I was like nameless, formless water; an aquifer being filled.

There but scarcely acknowledged, I was a baby barely weaned when I was delivered to Auntie Becca - Rebecca Elizabeth Williams, my guardian, who was a case study in contradiction. A cantankerous fish monger with a violent temper, she who was always eager to feed a stranger or help a neighbour, and equally disposed to causing shame and inflicting injury. She had no children of her own but took in dozens belonging to her younger sister and cousins. I was one of the many she raised with her painfully confusing blend of maternal passion, verbal abuse and physical violence.

Then I met Phyllis Welsh, the first adult to affirm in me a feeling of worth and a sense of purpose.

I was nine years old and she was my Grade 3 teacher at Trench Town Primary. She laughed at my funny faces just like the children did, and she praised my work. She also did the unthinkable: She visited my guardian at work to commend my behaviour and aptitude in school. Yes, the nice, decent teacher lady took time out and found her way to the crowded sidewalk in front of the Chinese shop at the corner of West Road and Third Street where Auntie Becca had her fish vending cart, to offer words of praise and recommendation. But Miss Welsh did a lot more. She organized field trips to the theatre, and she put on tea parties at school.

She taught us songs and choreographed dances and she put me on a stage to perform. Miss Welsh was in her own seemingly small but significant way, ‘decolonising’ my education and shaping my life. She moved rocks and discovered a spring. I finally found surface.

The flow I became was strengthened by the other tributaries of me I discovered in high school. I became the school clown and resident comedian. There was, and remains, a mango tree in the middle of the front yard at Excelsior High School.

It was a place where students found shade from the sun and drank readily from a fountain of laughter. Many days I missed important classes as I poured myself daily into that pool, eliciting the loudest laughter with true stories about life with Auntie Becca; stories many classmates thought I made up.

Those sessions provided a much-needed catharsis that kept me balanced and proved the ultimate training ground for my later work as a stand-up comic.

By 1978, I was flowing positively with a sense of power, pride and purpose, and my personal course gushed forward freely. That was the year I entered the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts [School of Drama] and washed upon ideas about the arts as a tool for empowerment and transformation. There, my currents were quickened, and my surges strengthened by my encounter with the concept of Popular Education through courses in Drama-in-Education and Community Drama. So, between 1978 and 1981, I studied in an institution that took pride in its ‘unique tripartite programme’, geared towards preparing graduates to:

this surging circle perhaps, is the comedy duo called Bello & Blakka.

• Practice theatre at the highest professional level; • Teach theatre to students from kindergarten to secondary levels of the educational system; • Use theatre in formal and informal education for community development and social change.

Honor Ford-Smith was one of my lecturers then. And I remember well, one of her classes. It was October 1978.

As part of a street theatre experiment, she got the class to gather at the Simon Bolivar statue on National Heroes Circle in Kingston, dressed only in black garbage bags. We beat old cans, made a raucous noise and quickly assembled a crowd.

We then proceeded to create characters and situations, performing short scenes based on ideas suggested by the audience. And finally, we engaged them in a discussion to evaluate the experience. I also remember that it was during the processing discussion after an intense improvisational exercise in another of her classes that I was first made to grapple with the concept of staged performance as ‘acting in solidarity’ with a community or a cause. Her introduction of what I considered a highly politicised concept into a discourse about characterization and theatrical improvisation, broke new ground in my thinking, and broadened my course.

Upon graduation I was invited to be a founding member of Graduate Theatre Company - the school’s Community Theatre and Popular Education outreach arm. Graduate Theatre Company was later renamed Groundwork Theatre Company and established an enviable reputation as a dynamic development NGO doing pioneering work with youth in schools and community settings around the Caribbean. I later left the company to teach Drama, English Language and English Literature in the secondary school system for a couple of years before ending up teaching the Community Drama course at the Drama school, from 1993 to 2004. The course had two components.

Community Drama 1 explored drama as a vehicle for highlighting, exposing and discussing social and political issues; and examined forms like street theatre and forum theatre. Community Drama 2 looked at arts intervention, group facilitation and community animation strategies for education/development.

Swirling around also, in that larger body of my moving stream, is my whirlpool of a career as an actor/comedian/ writer/musician – a pulsing pond often gushingly glamorous but increasingly unfulfilling. At the most visible surface of

Blakka & Bello I met Winston ‘Bello’ Bell in the early 70s when we competed for our respective high schools in the annual secondary school’s drama festival. We first worked together at a workshop in 1976 and met again at Edna 1978. We quickly discovered common artistic and spiritual affinities. We also developed a keen sense of creative compatibility working on many collaborative projects. Bello brought his guitar, an amazing voice and a riveting stage presence. I offered metaphors, symbolism and comic sensibilities. And we both carried reservoirs of ideas from richly storied lives. We were a great team. I embellished his songs and he gave nuance to my poetry. In 1985 as we were preparing to perform on a concert as a singer/dub-poet duo, a nice lady walked into the rehearsal and everything changed.

Always happy for an audience and anxious for some honest feedback, we performed our piece and turned to the lady for an opinion. She smiled and told us in a soft, sweet voice that “it’s really nice; profound and solemn, but boring!” She reminded us that poets Lorna Goodison and Dennis Scott were appearing on that same show, so there’d be enough good poetry and ‘deep stuff’ on the billing. She suggested that we employ our acting, improvisational and comic skills in the performance instead of bombarding people with more serious stuff. “People want to laugh,” she said.

The lady was Honor Ford-Smith, our former acting instructor and an elder in the business whose opinion we valued. So, Bello put a pause on his poignant song about world peace and I parked my poem about the real, raw reality - and we created a music-infused comedic skit. The piece took a light-hearted look at the various definitions of ‘culture’.

It included a spoof on folk choirs and cliché island songs.

It involved an impersonation of renowned academic and cultural spokesperson the late Professor Rex Nettleford and poked fun at fanatical Afro-centric pretensions. It worked. It demonstrated the power of comedy and satire to facilitate critical and self-reflexive analysis. More importantly, it made people get up and cheer and roar with laughter. And a comedy duo was born.

Blakka in early days published and scripted a couple of theatrical productions.

In between all of this, I meandered through myriad assignments touching many aligned fields of work, from artsin-education projects for urban inner city youths in Jamaica to popular theatre training with community based NGOs from all over the Caribbean; and doing workshop stints in places as diverse as Saskatchewan in Canada, Gottingen in Germany and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

On reflection, I can see how my identity and destiny have been shaped and sharpened by my ‘Edna experience”. This is where I find and feel a deeper rush. Maybe that’s why I came back home to EMCVPA. I’m a river.

Owen Blakka Ellis We went on to make appearances at The Apollo Theatre in New York, The Hackney Empire in London, on our own TV special on Channel 4 in the UK, and to perform for thousands of people all over North America and the Caribbean. Bello & Blakka was a major professional stand-up comedy act in the Caribbean and a successful entertainment entity, until we decided to take a break in 1995. My entertainment career also included acting in various commercial productions and working as the percussionist/backup vocalist for pioneer dub poet Oku Onuora. With Oku, I played on Jamaica’s pioneer international music festival Reggae Sun Splash, appeared at venues in Paris and performed at the ‘Jazz en France’ festival in Angouleme. I also found time to write songs for international reggae artist Judy Mowatt, had a few poems

And there is an ocean here that feels empty without me.

Graduating class of 2019

charged to “create magic with their art and create magical moments for the world at Graduation Production 2019

Excerpt from Valedictory Address…

Waldane Walker …One has not crossed if all have not crossed, and I, we all, must acknowledge that this victory is not only for the individual, but for all those persons who were with us along the journey. In this moment, I want to recall my grandmother, my biggest fan, who would cut plays and comics from newspapers, saving them for when I would visit, inspiring me to use my passion for energising my opportunities. In 2017, my biggest fan with a most beautiful laugh and kindred spirit, at 88 years old, was taken from me with the most cruel and vile intent. I questioned the pursuit of this degree then. Now today, perched upon your shoulders in exuberance, I honor you Nettie Rowe and dedicate this achievement to you.

My sincere apologies for encroaching upon this celebration with such a somber reflection. Yet, I would like to impress upon you the respect I have for my ancestors, as without them our journeys would be rendered inconsequential. Permit this moment of levity as I recall the words of one of my favourite theatre practitioners, Antonin Artaud, “those who live, live off the dead”. Here, now, let us lift our hearts in gratitude, giving thanks to God for the opportunity to be here today and

for guiding us on this journey. As this celebration marks the journey and achievement of the graduating class of 2019, I humbly reflect on our tenure through story. Stories beginning with dreams from which we were violently awoken, stories that stained our truth via the minds and putrid lips of those who failed to believe in us, stories that gripped us by the neck and slammed our heads underwater, insisting that we drink after being dragged to the well. Our stories here began in 2015, when Ebony Patterson, EMCVPA alumni, addressed the graduating class then, urging them to step forth and turn the world upside down with their art, beautifully. As I completed my debut performance in this very auditorium, as you see most of these students doing today,(YES, THE ONLY TERTIARY INSTITUTION THAT DOES A PRODUCTION FOR A CEREMONY) I accepted that I had to be one of these artists of whom she spoke, later realizing that being a student of this institution was my first loaded ammunition at this. I then discovered through Eugene Williams that I am a creole actor.

This meant that amongst all the other actors of the world, I am uniquely possessed, not only because of my black skin or speech patterns, but by definition of my training, my dispossessed history and the will to simply produce art that speaks truth. This therefore positions us as artists with distinct qualities, staining our journeys as we travel... Stanislavski says to us, “love the art within ourselves and not ourselves in the art”. Therefore, we must be bold in presenting our hearts through the art we choose to share with this world.

This journey has taught me what it takes to present my own truth through my art. We have submitted to these processes and we have accepted that they expand the self, accepting that when art is genuine, it is bondless. I challenge you, class of 2019, to tell your stories through your art, and to be honest with yourselves.

We are proud of the accomplishments of the Graduating Class of 2019 and excited for their future. Congratulations to the creative team of Dorraine Reid, Ibo Cooper, Paul Newman and Leighton Jones who led students in the schools of Arts Management, Dance, Drama and Music in a magical production and wish them all the best in their endeavours.

Campus News School of Music bids ADIOS to Rafael Salazar He is integral to the school of music. He is more than what is on paper …he is Mr organiser, supportive of all pour programmes, organiser, he is my chamber music partner. A very good supportive faculty member - Roger Williams, Dean SoM One of the selfless and caring individuals I have ever met…he is very dependable, hardworking and never says no - Kerry Ann Latham, Senior Secretary SoM Rafael is a really cool guy and good friend with a disciplined no-nonsense approach to his work and his music – Derek Been, Lecturer/Engineer SoM Born in Santiago, Cuba, Rafael Salazar, was taught at home by his cousin at home to play the clarinet. He later completed a Degree in Clarinet Performance, Teaching, Orchestral Performance and Conducting Ensembles, from the ‘Conservatorio de Musica Esteban Salas’ in Santiago de Cuba. He is an active Performer, adjudicator and clinician. He is Principal Clarinettist of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jamaica (POJ) and Music Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica (NYOY), where he conducts the Wind Symphonic Band.

He joined the EMCVPA in 2008 as part time faculty and later joined as full-time member of faculty in 2013 after ten years as Director of Northern Caribbean University Band and Head of the Wind Department there. His most recent position is the Head of the Woodwind and Brass Division and Conductor of the College Concert Band.

He has performed as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Oriente (Cuba), the Jamaica Military Band, the Jamaican Youth Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Olive Lewin (Jamaica) and the New England Youth Ensemble from Maryland (USA), under the baton of Dr. Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse.

As a professional Clarinettist, Saxophonist and Conductor, Mr Salazar has given numerous recitals and had collaborated with outstanding musicians from all music genres, in Jamaica, Cuba, Europe, the Caribbean and the USA. He has participated in the famous Festival of the Aegean in Greece, the Salzburg Festival in Austria, and attended the Ameropa Chamber Music Festival in Prague. Also has led workshops and seminars in Jamaica and the USA. He leaves the College to join the Jamaica Defence Force as Director of Music. We wish Rafael all the very best and extend an open invitation to ‘pop in’ and play with faculty if he finds the time.

Staff Highlight Our Unsung Heroine – Charmayne Fletcher

Charmayne Fletcher is a member of the Ancillary team at EMCVPA and is stationed in the School of Drama. She is described by her colleagues and students as MOTHERLYand all that comes with it. She has been a part of the Edna Manley College family for almost 15 years where she has gone above and beyond to ensure that her colleagues and students are comfortable in their spaces. Charmayne has a purpose in giving service and she gets to do what she loves here at EMCVPA while she enjoys the Arts and the campus landscape. “I can relate to the arts, and I enjoy the greenery of the landscape. I love being where nature is”, she said.

Charmayne describes herself as being tolerant and nurturing.

So, she has developed the skill of giving the students she interacts with their space while nurturing them and teaching them by example to pass on the love as they will soon become nurturers themselves. She gets the opportunity to watch them grow in their Art forms and mature in their personal lives. She enjoys watching the evolution and transfer of artistry from generation to generation, year to year. Her greatest joy and accomplishment comes on graduation day knowing that they have made it through the struggles, knowing it was a good struggle.

Stacy-Ann Lewis

When asked where her drive and passion come from, Charmayne said, “I guess I am a compassionate person by nature, so it is innate. Life experiences have also taught me that life is not easy, and people sometimes need a Godparent to get by, especially young people who are trying to find themselves”. Charmayne Fletcher is indeed a Godmother to many. Her current and past students love her very much and can only sing praises about her. ‘Aunty Charmayne is the best, she is like a mother to every student at School of Drama, even outsiders. She shows concern towards our health and development as aspiring actors. A great supporter’ SoDr Yr 2 students.

Her wish for all her students is to find their purpose in life. “I hope that each student realizes their talents and abilities and go forth with confidence and find their place in society and the world at large.

“Charmayne is kind-hearted and a mother to all” – Colleague “She’s honest and dependable. She is loving, caring and sharing. She looks out for others more than she does for herself. She will have her last and give it to you” – Colleague.

EMCVPA SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION AND ALLIED PROGRAMMES CORPORATE ARTS SUPPORT PROGRAMME “Innovative thinking, creative problem solving, flexibility are highly valued and needed to succeed in today’s economy. The arts provide the most powerful methods for developing these abilities.”

Kelly Polack

clients. Our Arts Managers in training can produce your event from concept to execution supported by performances from students in the performing arts schools. Our School of Visual Arts students can assist with your visual communications and create personalised corporate gifts.

The School of Continuing Education and Allied Programmes, Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts is pleased to introduce our suite of programmes for businesses to access courses in the arts for leisure, entertainment or professional development.

Our full listing of programmes are available at www.emc. edu.jm/browse-programmes/continuing-education/

From group workshops to one on one session in the visual and performing arts, the corporate arts support programme provides creative solutions for businesses with a desire to engage their employees, upgrade their skills or entertain their

School of Continuing Education and Allied Programmes continuinged@emc.edu.jm

Please contact Ms. Shanon Hodges at shanon.hodges@emc. edu.jm

876 619 EDNA (3362) ext. 2042

The Collegiate is a newsletter published by the Marketing and Communications Department of EMCVPA