by Howard Campbell
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – Visitors to Montego Bay’s trendy hip strip will see some famous faces. They will see them as they stroll through one of the tourist mecca’s most popular areas.
The art walk is a stretch of murals with the likeness of legendary artists such as Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, and Toots And The Maytals. It was officially launched on June 2, five months after work started. It is the brainchild of hotelier Christopher Issa, who came up with the idea in 2019.
Jamaican artists Rohan Blair, Damion Elliott and Anthony Taozen Smith did most of the paintings. The initial mural, an homage to Montego Bay, is done by American Josh Paiz.
“They were given a free hand in how to portray the history of our music and the artists. The three murals on the road were done by Anthony Taozen Smith, the first two were his designs and the Jimmy Cliff image was selected by Jimmy Cliff himself,” Issa disclosed.
Cliff, best known for starring in the 1972 movie The Harder They Come, was born in St. James parish where Montego Bay is located. His mural is located on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard which was renamed in his honor in 2019.
The Art Walk also bears depictions of Cocoa Tea, Lady Saw, Buju Banton, and Vybz Kartel. There is also a mento band, The Jolly Boys. Smith’s mural shows a woman with a butterfly as a statement against domestic violence.
This marks the second reggae-themed mural unveiled in Montego Bay in just one year. Earlier, in May 2024, the Reggae-Dancehall Wall of Fame was inaugurated at Catherine Hall, which hosts the yearly Reggae Sumfest event.
