Outward Reach

Seven Jamaican Photographers and New Media Artists

On view August 1 - September 28, 2012

Opening Reception Wednesday, August 1 at 6pm

OAS | AMA F Street Gallery
1889 F St., NW (Corner of 18th Street)
Washington, DC 20006

Hours MON-FRI 9 AM-5 PM

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AMA | Art Museum of the Americas of the OAS and the Jamaican Mission to the OAS announce the opening of Outward Reach: Seven Jamaican Photographers and New Media Artists at its F Street Gallery, arranged in celebration of Jamaica’s golden jubilee anniversary of Independence. The exhibition features photography, new media and video work of seven Jamaican artists living and working in the United States. This convergence of topical creativity and expression across national boundaries further accentuates AMA’s mission of fostering core OAS values of hemispheric cultural exchange, freedom of expression, and innovation.

The exhibition is “Outward Reach” because the artists are firmly rooted in their place of origin while looking beyond its geographic boundaries. They have produced a dynamic body of work that has emerged in recent years which puts a fresh face on Jamaican art, engaged with art practices on their island home even as they thrive in the United States.

Andrea Chung and Jacqueline Bishop look homeward from the United States. Cosmo Whyte, Radcliffe Roye, and Kerry-Ann Brown-Louis create a hybrid space that contains elements of both places. Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow and Tal Rickards examine colonialism, gender, and the environment. The island remains central to their output.

Photography and video have long been sidelined in the creative discourse of the region, with much more attention paid to such traditional areas of artistic production as painting and sculpture. This exhibition seeks to shed light on why these artistic practices remain so underrepresented in the region.

Drawing on the arts to showcase a constructive vision of the future of the Americas is a critical component of AMA’s mission and indeed this exhibition. These artists creatively combine forward-thinking aesthetics with topical social and political issues, sparking conversation across the hemisphere.

In addition, in recent years the Museum has worked to put a new face on Caribbean art, a face that is edgy and engaging, in addition to acting as a trampoline for young artists to launch an international career. The works exhibited in the F Street Gallery have consistently garnered attention and reviews in national publications. This exhibition promises to be another of the successful exhibitions held in AMA’s F Street Gallery.

ARTIST LIST
Jacqueline Bishop
Kerry-Ann Brown-Louis
Andrea Chung
Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow
Tal Rickards
Radcliffe Roye
Cosmo Whyte