Kingston, 4 February 2020 – The Jamaica Jamaica! exhibition — which tells the story of the island’s music; and has been seen by thousands of people in France and Brazil — is finally on show in the birthplace of Reggae music.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, officially opened the exhibition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston on Sunday.

Minister Grange said it was timely to welcome to Jamaica, the exhibition which “celebrates the musical innovations born on the island, especially during Reggae Month”.

The exhibition titled 'Jamaica Jamaica: How Jamaican Music Conquered the World’ is part of the official Reggae Month programme, but Minister Grange explains that the exhibition will run until 28 June 2020.

Jamaica Jamaica! aims to tell the story behind the musical genres of kumina, revival, mento, ska, rocksteady, Reggae, dub and dancehall. It also highlights the impact of the local sound system culture, street culture, and visual arts on popular culture.

The exhibition is being mounted at the National Gallery of Jamaica through a collaboration with La Philharmonie de Paris, which first launched the exhibition in 2017.

According to the Minister, the exhibition “brings together rare memorabilia, photographs, visual art, audio recordings and footage unearthed from Jamaica's best museums and most elusive collectors and studios, while collaborating with legendary local visual artists to convey the essence of a true Jamaican music experience.”

Minister Grange also announced that a statue of the ‘King of Reggae, Bob Marley’ that was done by Christopher Gonzales would be included in the exhibition, which she has described as “a must see”.

The opening hours for the National Gallery of Jamaica are: Tuesday to Thursday 10am-4:30pm; Friday 10am-4pm; Saturday 10am-3pm; and every last Sunday of the month from 11am to 4pm.

While Jamaica Jamaica! is mounted at the National Gallery of Jamaica, there will be a full range of programming, including film screenings, and artist and curator talks; special language group tours in German, French, Japanese by appointment; and children’s musical programming on Saturdays.

The exhibition is curated by Sebastien Carayol, Herbie Miller and O’Neil Lawrence.

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