Art Bytes

OLIVE MORRIS GETS GOOGLE DOODLE

 

Google recently created a doodle to honour Jamaican-born British activist Olive Morris's 68th birthday. The doodle was designed by artist Linett Kamala, also of Jamaican heritage, and shows Morris at her old stomping grounds — Railton Road, Brixton.

Morris was a prominent leader in the fight against discrimination in Great Britain during the 1970s. She has had buildings, gardens and awards named after her. In 2018, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of most women in the UK gaining the right to vote, Olive Morris was listed by The Voice newspaper as one of the eight black women who contributed to the development of Britain. The Evening Standard listed her as one of the 14 “inspirational black British women throughout history.”

She helped to create self-help places in communities, and in 1969 defended the Nigerian diplomat Clement Comwalk against police violence.  She was part of the Black Panthers' Youth Collective, helped to found the Brixton Black Women's Group in 1973, one of Britain's first networks for Black women and co-founded the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent in 1978, considered instrumental in rallying movements for change.

Art Bytes

Jamaican artist Arthur Simms’ A Totem for the High Line is now installed at the 16th Street Spur Preserve in New York City’s Chelsea District.

The National Gallery of Jamaica has named Ashley James as guest curator for its 2024 Kingston Biennial which opens December 15th. Titled Green X Gold, the biennial will be the closing highlight of the 2024 Gallery’s 50th anniversary. The exhibition will cover works on the environment, nature, and land, inspired by the Jamaican flag’s ecological symbolism. 

The National Gallery of Jamaica will host a five-day Writivity workshop from August 12th to 16th  to help students sitting the Visual Arts CSEC exams with their reflective journals. The reflective journal is a part of the School-Based Assessment and the final grades of the CSEC exam.

Jamaican artist Garfield Morgan has another exhibit in Canada. This time his work is on display at the Don Wheaton Family YMCA in Edmonton.  until October 31st.

The National Gallery of Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary exhibition, Continuity, runs from June 30 to September 30th, 2024. Continuity revisits ten NGJ’s iconic exhibitions, including the Biennials of 2014, 2017 and 2022 and Jamaica Jamaica, (2020).

Pages