amjamin

'The Head' (right), one of the most intriguing photographs taken by Jamaican art photographer Ken Ramsay The soft lights reflected off the row of framed, black and white photographs, and as sun set in the distant horizon and the trees swayed in the cool evening breeze at Redbones Gallery in Kingston, the hues in the skies provided a creative perspective to the silhouettes and faces frozen in the frames. The occasion was to showcase and celebrate the works and life of Ken Ramsay, one of Jamaica's most prolific and well-known art photographers. "He always had different perspectives of life," recounted Anthony Bailey, Ramsay's nephew and one of the organisers of the exhibition. "This always reflected in whatever he did - from the riding boots and the scarf, which made a statement to his love and passion for capturing the beauty around him." Each piece of Ramsay's work, a heady mixture of creativity, craftsmanship and detail, has a story ...

A collage showcasing ArtUpDownTown, a collaboration between CARIMAC and Studio 174.  Think of downtown Kingston, and pictures of a sea of humanity traversing across alleys, vying for space in between handcarts, vendors on the pavements trying to outsell the other flash past. It might seem chaotic to many, but this is symbolic of vibrancy and, most important, life. This enigma, which unfolds like layers of mysteries being solved, has been captured by a group of youngsters, as they highlight ‘ArtUpDownTown’ For those familiar with political terminologies, Kingston can very well be defined as the proverbial north-south divide, the ‘sterile’ and the ‘unkempt’, ‘ArtUpDownTown’ is an attempt to converge those two distinct aspects of Jamaica’s capital city. Capturing downtown Kingston life on mix media, ArtUpDownTown highlights its sights, sounds and the vibrancy “Its aim is to empower more Jamaicans to tell their own stories through audio, video, and photography, whil...

These are stories captured in megapixels, streaming hues, freezing expressions - moments that are there to stay forever. Spearheaded by high-school students from rural Jamaica, photography is taking a different dimension - converging this art form with human-rights advocacy. The Resolution Project advocacy initiative of Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Foundation has been, since its inception in 2004, equipping and training students to acquire these proficiencies. "The Resolution Project allows the young people to voice their perspectives through the arts. They use the art form to express themselves - how they see and experience their specific communities," informed Alicia Glasgow, arts and media specialist of the JNBS Foundation. "Students are exposed to arts, culture and heritage in their environments and use photography to promote this positive aspect of our society." "I wasn't fully aware of the potential (of photography)," qu...