Carolyn Cooper | World-a-reggae poster contest celebrates ten years

Just over a decade ago, Michael ‘Freestylee’ Thompson, one of Jamaica’s most accomplished graphic designers, had an absolutely brilliant idea. He conceived an international poster contest that would celebrate the global influence of Jamaican popular music. Michael completely understood the free flow of creativity across artistic genres. He particularly appreciated the intricate connection between visual art and music, as seen in the design of album covers, for example. He also valued the cross-cultural connections that artists make all the time as they reach out to similar spirits in distant places who share their vision.

Michael branded himself as ‘Freestylee – Artist Beyond Borders’. This was not just because he was born in Jamaica, lived in the US and traversed the globe on the digital highway. Thompson’s conception of his art as borderless also signified his refusal to be imprisoned in narrow definitions of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, or ‘pure’ and ‘commercial’ art. And his work was outer/national. He was rooted in Jamaican culture and, at the same time, incisively engaged with the whole world of international politics. Michael was a student at what was then the Jamaica School of Art in the 1970s, a time of revolutionary consciousness. From quite early in his career, he chose to address a whole range of difficult global issues in his compelling graphic designs.

Michael shared his vision of the poster contest with Greek graphic designer Maria Papaefstathiou, whose exceptional work he had discovered on the Internet. Michael immediately knew they were connected by design. Maria graduated from the Technological Institute of Athens where she was an award-winning student in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design. She now specialises in social poster design and has been exploring portrait design. Her 2022 exhibition, “Portraits of Jamaica”, mounted at the Regional Headquarters of the University of the West Indies, was outstanding. 

‘A FITTING TRIBUTE’

Michael and Maria launched the International Reggae Poster Contest (IRPC) in 2011. The response was overwhelming: 678 designers from 80 countries submitted, altogether, 1142 posters! This was confirmation of Michael’s conviction that the contest could become the platform on which to advocate for the establishment of a world-class Reggae Hall of Fame and performance centre in downtown Kingston. Michael’s vision was broader than Broadway. He wanted the cultural centre to be an iconic building that would embody the inventiveness of Jamaica’s musical legends.

Michael’s grand view is shared by many of us. Just yesterday, Carlos Pipher’s letter to The Gleaner editor was published with this headline: “Allocate permanent venue for reggae music”. Pipher makes a strong case: “Reggae deserves a permanent physical space where shows, reggae carnivals, exhibits are organised, memorabilia sold and it has a ‘Wall of Fame’ portraying our reggae legends. This would be a great initiative for the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport to undertake, a fitting tribute to this genre of music, its founders, and an investment that would over time generate huge revenues.”

The small scale of the present Jamaica Music Museum is certainly not a “fitting tribute” to our collective creativity. All the same, the Director/Curator Herbie Miller is doing the best he can with limited resources. One of the huge successes of the museum is the annual “Grounation” at the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) lecture hall. This year’s theme is “Sounds and Society: 60 Years of Music, Political Activism and Social Change”. The topic of today’s event at 2 p.m. is “Fire Burning: Music, Governance and Dons”. Leahcim Semaj, Donna Hope, Cordel Green and Clinton Hutton are the panellists and the moderator is George Davis. It will be streamed on the IOJ’s YouTube channel.

STELLAR EVENT

In 2012, the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) hosted the inaugural exhibition of the top 100 entries in the International Reggae Poster Contest (IRPC). It was a revolution. For the first time in its almost 40-year history, the NGJ was mounting an exhibition of poster art. The intersection of visual art and music was manifested in the theme: “World-a-reggae”. The lyrics of the Ini Kamoze, the Hotstepper, expressed the essence of the poster contest: “World-a reggae music on ya eh.” The opening was a stellar event attracting hundreds of reggae and dancehall fans as well as art enthusiasts.

The winner of that first contest was Alon Braier, a freelance illustrator and reggae musician living in Jaffa, Israel. His brilliant poster, ‘Roots of Dub’, featured King Tubby, Lee Scratch Perry and Augustus Pablo. Ainsley Henriques, then honorary secretary of the United Congregation of Israelites in Jamaica, caught Freestyle’s vision of cross-cultural exchange. He negotiated sponsorship from the Israeli government and Alon was able to come to the Promised Land of reggae for the opening of the exhibition. Incidentally, many Palestinian graphic designers have also entered the competition. Music and art can heal old wounds.

Over the last decade, 28 exhibitions have been held all over the world including Greece, Cyprus, Poland, Germany, England, Spain, the US, Cuba and Mexico. I must big up Ambassador Sandra Grant Griffiths who took the exhibition to Mexico City. One of the highlights of the series of events she coordinated was a reasoning with Rastafari at the Embassy of Jamaica. On Sunday, February 19, the 10th anniversary exhibition of the contest will open at the NGJ. Both Maria and Valisis Grivas, winner of the contest, will attend. Vasilis’ portrait of Queen Nanny of the Maroons is a powerful celebration of all the cultural warriors of Jamaica, like Michael ‘Freestylee’ Thompson, who are committed to fighting for freedom from oppression in all its forms.

- Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com