The National Gallery of Jamaica celebrates the year 2024 as the 50th Anniversary of its establishment, first opened to the public on November 14, 1974 at the historic Devon House. At that time, the management team was tasked with three key objectives:
- Conservation through the acquisition of artworks;
- Recreation, through exhibiting works for accessible viewing by the Jamaican public
- Education, through programming, scholarship and community building.
Five decades later, the present NGJ management and staff remain steadfast in the commitments that characterised its establishment. Additionally, the Gallery has persevered through the changing dynamics of the Jamaican society and cultural infrastructure, all the while expanding its collection, exhibitions and public offerings and continuing to evolve to serve its various publics, including our audiences in western Jamaica, with the establishment of National Gallery West in 2013.
With so much achievement and growth to reflect on, the management and staff of the NGJ will be dedicating all of its public programming and communication for the year 2024, to the observance and celebration of the NGJ 50th Anniversary. Themed “Continuity … A Legacy of Artistry”, the Gallery will be directing its energies to pay homage to past accomplishments, while simultaneously reinforcing our commitment to even greater accomplishments in the future.
Key events in our public programming for the year have been scheduled as follows:
- The Face of Us exhibition will continue to be on view until March 31, 2024, with additional programming for February and March to be announced.
- June 30, 2024 to September 29, 2024 – The exhibition entitled Continuity: NGJ 50th Anniversary Exhibition will highlight contemporary Jamaican artworks which demonstrate continuing trajectories with works from the permanent collection.
- September 12, 2024 to October 6, 2024 – Japan/Jamaica Photographic Art Exhibition A collaboration between the NGJ and the Japan Embassy in Jamaica, there will also be a reciprocal exhibition of Jamaican photography scheduled to be hosted in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
- November 10, 2024 – Devon House: Revisited – An artistic intervention at the NGJ’s former home.
- December 15, 2024 – 2024 Kingston Biennial Slated for December, the NGJ’s flagship biennial exhibitions create a platform for international exposure and fertile interactions for Jamaica’s creatives and even expanded continues the Gallery has persevered through the changing dynamics
Visitors and supporters can look forward to more details on these and other initiatives in support of the NGJ 50th Anniversary. We are excited to move forward into 2024 with the theme NGJ 50: Continuity… A Legacy of Artistry and look forward to engaging with our various publics locally and internationally, in the celebration of this milestone.