Kingston Creative to launch ‘Cultural Weekend’

Kingston Creative is planning to launch its 'Cultural Weekend' after the full reopening of the entertainment sector.

The Cultural Weekend will be a three-day event, Friday through to Sunday, centred in downtown Kingston. Co-founder and Executive Director of Kingston Creative Andrea Dempsey Chung says the event will be a scaled-up version of Artwalk, an event that the non-profit arts organisation hosted showcasing the works of various visual and performing artists.

"Before, the Artwalk was kind of headquartered at F&B Downtown. We are planning to have set-ups in different bars and venues throughout downtown Kingston and different eateries. So, it's really gonna bring the whole place to life," she said.

Dempsey Chung says this is the first of many projects that the group has to roll out after it is "abundantly safe to do so".

"Things were relaxed last month, but we did not jump up and say let's start back an Artwalk," she said "We want to make sure the health of the country is paramount. We are all parents, we all have children, we all really, really care about being safe, and so that's why we haven't started back the Artwalk yet. We want to wait until it is abundantly safe to do so."

Dempsey Chung told THE STAR that the pandemic has had a major impact on the art community, including claiming the lives of many of its members.

"I think the creative community is no different from the rest of Jamaica. All of us are just weathering this as best we can. We all just know we have to press on," she said. "We know that we have to continue their legacy. We are a creative country and we want to make sure that the creatives who are here can benefit from their creativity and live their best life, if you will; can achieve their fullest potential; and I think that's what drives us on."

She added "We're talking about an $84-billion industry. For Jamaica to recover post-COVID, the creative industry is going to have to recover too. There's no scenario in which we don't get back on track but Jamaica miraculously does, because we're a big part of this economy, both formally and informally."

Since the shutdown of the entertainment industry last year, Kingston Creative has hosted several virtual events to "keep the community alive". The art group has also added new murals to the Water Lane exhibition and has started doing small guided tours of the district on Sundays.