Gungo Walk: Sharing our culture with the world

Alessandro Boyd, Gleaner Writer

Joy Mechanics, (directed by Michael Holgate and Michael Sean Harris) in partnership with the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA), has embarked on a mission to ensure that the dynamism and versatility of Jamaica's music and culture are expressed and preserved by all.

One such initiative towards this mission is the staging of the Gungo Walk World Alternative Music and Arts Festival.

This was announced on August 9 on the grounds of the EMCVPA in Kingston at the press launch for the festival.

The aim of the festival is to develop the craft of Jamaican music and culture in order to share it with the world.

"We are all Jamaicans and we are all expressing ourselves in different mediums. I think it's very good that we can come together and showcase this. Every time I think about Gungo Walk, I get excited because it feels like such a big family event, a big ball of energy that can take over a lot of things," said Harris, who is also assistant director at the EMCVPA School of Music.

"The aim of this is to have a platform for people who are doing different types of Jamaican expressions in music and (the) arts. I can see us in the future bringing people from other Caribbean islands and countries to be part of this," Harris added.

The festival has also been strategically dated to culminate with the college's orientation activities in order to provide exposure and inspiration to the new students on the talents that can be unearthed.

"Peter Pearce and Howard Moo-Young are two of the artistes who are going to be in our vendor marketplace. Paintings, drawings, and sculptures will be showcased, among other pieces of art, many of which will represent Jamaica 50," Stephanie Wallace-Campbell, a member of the booth and sponsorship team told The Sunday Gleaner.

The one-day festival will give its patrons a feast of all aspects of the visual and performing arts at the hub for the arts.

"We are reaching out to people ages five and up because we want to engage our children in the arts as well. In our kids' village, we are going to have activities for them such as painting. We intend to influence the people who are coming and establish a love for art," Wallace-Campbell added.

Also giving their support were Di Blueprint Band, Charmaine Limonius, Clayton Lynch, Mystikal Revolution and Pentateuch.

Gungo Walk is an official Jamaica 50 event, and will be held on August 25, 2012.