Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding has opened the highly anticipated ‘Jamaica Making: The Theresa Roberts Art Collection’ exhibition at the Victoria Gallery & Museum in the United Kingdom.

The exhibition features a mix of established names and emerging talent in painting, sculpture, photography and mixed media from Theresa Roberts’ extensive private collection.

Theresa Roberts herself was amongst the guests, who braved stormy conditions to attend the celebratory event to mark the opening of the exhibition last weekend. Also in attendance was Basil Watson, the son of renowned Jamaican painter, Barrington Watson, both of whose art work is on display in the exhibition.

In opening the exhibition Golding remarked that, “It is a wonderful privilege for me to join that shining star of Jamaica, Theresa Roberts, and her husband, Andrew, and to have been asked to declare open the exhibition “Jamaica Making” – a showcasing of Jamaican art depicting our people, culture and experiences over our 60 years of independence.”

The exhibition is curated by Dr Amanda Draper from the Victoria Gallery & Museum and Dr Emma Roberts, Associate Dean for Global Engagement and Programme Leader of BA History of Art & Museum Studies at Liverpool John Moores University. A programme of events and activities accompanies the exhibition. Details of these alongside further information about the exhibition can be found on the VG&M feature page.

`Jamaica Making: The Theresa Roberts Art Collection’ opened to the public last Saturday (February 19) and runs until July 9, 2022.

Admission to the exhibition is free and the VG&M is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. Complementing the VG&M exhibition is `Retention of a Colonial Past’, a contemporary textile installation by Jamaican artist, Desanna Watson Past. This is on display on the Ground Floor of LJMU’s Art & Design Building and

Desanna Watson is artist in residence until March 9.