ATLANTA — The drive to erect a facility saluting Jamaican culture in Atlanta starts on August 24 with a Bricks Campaign, organized by the Jamaican Museum and Cultural Center.
Dr. Apollone Reid is president of that organization which was formed in September, 2019. Since then, her team has launched an interactive website (www.jmccatlanta.com). It outlines their plans and includes an online museum.
She said the Bricks Campaign will last five months. It aims to collect $5 million over three years. Once the funds are secured, work on the Jamaica Museum and Cultural Center will start. The expected completion time is 18 months.
Brick campaigns are popular, especially in North America. Donors purchase a brick, which is then engraved with their name, message, or a dedication, and installed in a designated area.
History of Jamaican Culture
In the interim, the Jamaica Museum and Cultural Center educates visitors to its website with the history of Jamaican culture. The organization has a collection of artifacts and paintings from noted Jamaican creatives, including Basil Watson, the renowned painter/sculptor who lives in Atlanta. They also feature painter Bernard Hoyes and artist/designer Tamara Gammon.
Like similar facilities in the Jamaican Diaspora, Reid said the Atlanta museum will reflect Jamaica’s diverse arts and music history.
“The museum will display the mission of the JMCC from Jamaica’s genesis. It will display artifacts from the Arawaks, slavery, the Maroons, changing currency, and the slave rebellions. Our national heroes and paintings of our great achievers in music, politics, beauty queens, and entertainers will be showcased. There will also be memorabilia from 1962 independence, athletes, and political figures who have changed or impacted the world,” she disclosed.
