Institute of Jamaica (I.J.)
This organization was established in Jamaica in the year 1879 by Sir Anthony Musgrave with the mission “For the encouragement of Literature, Science and Art in Jamaica.”. It was regarded as the chief agency to help the government in the promotion and preservation of Jamaican culture.
This institution has various specialized ns which includes:
This institution has various specialized ns which includes:
- The African Caribbean Institute Jamaica/ Jamaica Memory Bank which was established to document and disseminate information on the impact of Caribbean presence in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
- The Jamaica Music Museum, founded in 1976
- The Junior Centres established to develop the potential of (5-18 years old) in the visual and performing arts and to broaden their appreciation of Jamaican Culture where classes are held in painting, dance, drama, music, pottery, woodwork and craft.
- The Natural History Museum of Jamaica which was established in 1974 for the maintenance and display of Jamaican flora and fauna.
- The National Gallery of Jamaica established for the public display of Jamaican art.
- The National Library established in 1979.
Working People’s Art Class (W.P.A.C.)
The Working People Art Class (WPAC) was founded by Edward Rupert Burrowes in 1948, and was an institution which aimed at enabling common working people to learn and develop their artistic skills. The original name was the Working People Free Art Class, and Edward encouraged all Guyanese regardless of status to join. Edward Burrowes was from the lower middle-class. He was born in Barbados in 1903 and was brought to British Guiana as a baby. He can be described as the father of Art Education in Guyana. The Burrowes School of Art is named after him.
Edward Burrowes devoted most of his life to teaching art, and the WPAC contributed to developing a national consciousness in the awareness of the country and its peoples. Edward Burrowes was the only teacher, and gave classes on traditional Western artistic methods in any available time to anyone who chose to attend. It was funded by businesses and institutions. The British Council became interested in the WPAC, and provided help in the form of ₤50 worth of art materials annually, materials that could not otherwise be obtained in British Guiana at the time.
The WPAC had several meeting locations and put on annual shows at Easter in the St. Andrews School Hall. Three groups were eventually formed; the Traditionalist who followed European styles, the Modernists who followed modern art trends, and the remaining ones who did landscape and genre paintings.
In 1954 its exhibition of paintings and sculpture had contributions from the WPAC and from other groups and individual artists. The WPAC continued until 1956. The class had ended by 1961.
The WPAC helped a number of Guyanese artists at the start of their career. In 1947 Donald Locke attended a Working People's Art Class taught in Georgetown by Edward Burrowes, which inspired him to take up painting. Donald Locke later contributed regularly to WPAC exhibitions, and became a secretary or assistant to Burrowes in the early 1950s. Stanley Greaves was another Guyanese artist who attended the WPAC as a teenager and later became well known. Emerson Samuels was another artist who studied at the WPAC. The painter Aubrey Williams studied with Edward Rupert Burrowes in the Working People's Art Class after returning from a two-year term with the Agriculture department. In conclusion, these show that The Working People’s Art Class was successful, in that it helped to start the career of many Guyanese artists, and helped working people to develop their art skills.
Edward Burrowes devoted most of his life to teaching art, and the WPAC contributed to developing a national consciousness in the awareness of the country and its peoples. Edward Burrowes was the only teacher, and gave classes on traditional Western artistic methods in any available time to anyone who chose to attend. It was funded by businesses and institutions. The British Council became interested in the WPAC, and provided help in the form of ₤50 worth of art materials annually, materials that could not otherwise be obtained in British Guiana at the time.
The WPAC had several meeting locations and put on annual shows at Easter in the St. Andrews School Hall. Three groups were eventually formed; the Traditionalist who followed European styles, the Modernists who followed modern art trends, and the remaining ones who did landscape and genre paintings.
In 1954 its exhibition of paintings and sculpture had contributions from the WPAC and from other groups and individual artists. The WPAC continued until 1956. The class had ended by 1961.
The WPAC helped a number of Guyanese artists at the start of their career. In 1947 Donald Locke attended a Working People's Art Class taught in Georgetown by Edward Burrowes, which inspired him to take up painting. Donald Locke later contributed regularly to WPAC exhibitions, and became a secretary or assistant to Burrowes in the early 1950s. Stanley Greaves was another Guyanese artist who attended the WPAC as a teenager and later became well known. Emerson Samuels was another artist who studied at the WPAC. The painter Aubrey Williams studied with Edward Rupert Burrowes in the Working People's Art Class after returning from a two-year term with the Agriculture department. In conclusion, these show that The Working People’s Art Class was successful, in that it helped to start the career of many Guyanese artists, and helped working people to develop their art skills.