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Showcasing Jamaica's young, artistic talent

Published:Sunday | July 28, 2013 | 12:00 AM
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Some of teh participants in teh competition whose works are featured in the exhibit, with DEKAL Wireless staff and Danielle Wilson (second right).- contributed plhotos
Judge Philip Supersad (left), and Danielle Wilson (third left) with some of the artists from José Martí - their works were some of the standouts in the exhibit.
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June 28 marked the culmination of the art competition, The Youth Craft Project (TYCP), a community, education and marketing initiative conceptualised, crafted and executed by Danielle Wilson for technology and wireless Internet service provider DEKAL Wireless.

TYCP started in rural Jamaica about three months ago with a view to display the best and brightest emerging artistic talent all across Jamaica and provide a medium to take their art, creativity skills - and themselves - to the next level.

June 28 also marked the prize-giving and the opening of an exhibit to showcase the standout and finalist art works from the TYCP competition.

"A great concept with amazing talent from around Jamaica on display. It serves as a strong motivator," said Dennis Harris, managing director of Courts, Jamaica.

Incredible Talent

"The talent of the young people is incredible. We need more corporate entities to do what DEKAL Wireless has done to showcase these talents." said Donna Rose, special assistant and adviser to the Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites.

With a push from the Ministry of Education, more than 190 students between the ages of 11 and 18 from more than 40 high schools in Jamaica, submitted self-portraits to an online voting system powered by DEKAL Wireless' network.

Works were judged by Gene Pearson, Philip Supersad, and Edward Channer, with a two-pronged criteria - number of votes received online, and talent.

The winners were:

1st place - Lowen Allen II - 'Virtual Reality'. (José Martí Technical High School, Age 15)

2nd place - Alexis Falloon - Act 'Like a Woman, Think Like A Man'. (Camperdown High School, Age 18)

3rd place - Anthony Smith - 'A Penciled Me'. (Knox College, Age 16)

7th- 9th grade - Anna Kaye Smikle - Crazy Kay (Knox College, Age 13)

Special Needs - Mikel Anderson - (The Academy, Age 17)

Artist, avid art collector, and managing director, of local food chain Mother's, V. Carlysle Hudson was also in attendance. He remarked, "Good concept. I applaud the sponsors and organiser of the show. The creativity and quality of the art work were exceptionally high for 11 to eight-year-old students. We should encourage more of these projects. It is good exposure for students of this age. I would encourage the public to go and view the exhibition on its own merit and also support the student artists."

TYCP's online catalogue allows visitors to view actual artworks from this year's installation at www.dekalwireless.com/create. This year's focus was self-portraits in high school.

"The goal of TYCP is to be the premier artistic showcase for youth in Jamaica, to exhibit the highest-quality paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, and videos, that use some form of technology and to have the participants in TYCP share with the DEKAL Wireless brand and have the brand share with each participant equally in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and to expose and hone the talents of the Jamaican youth." said Danielle Wilson.

GREAT OPPORTUNITY

The TYCP exhibit is located at 2 Northside Plaza, Liguanea, Kingston 6. The building recently received a facelift in order to attract foot traffic, and to encourage a genuine love for and an appreciation of art.

Supersad commented, "It's really a great opportunity for young people, and it brought me back to my younger days just starting out in Kingston, when this sort of exhibit would be done weekly in available spaces. This sort of exhibit would be done for the common man to see and appreciate the art. I hope it signifies a rebirth of that sort of situation. It really is a grand opportunity for the students to experience public criticism of their work and an awareness of themselves in their art. It substantiates the schools' efforts to offer them development in a field in which they have expressed talent. I am very proud to be a part of this project."

The Youth Craft Project exhibit is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. For more information about The Youth Craft Project, and the exhibit contact: kgilfillian@dekalwireless.com.