The Africa-Caribbean Students’ Club at The University of the West Indies, Mona, in collaboration with The Olympia Gallery and The P.J. Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy, is set to present ‘In Spirit and In Truth’, an exhibition of contemporary Black Jamaican art that explores the retention of African heritage in Jamaican culture.

The exhibition will run from Thursday, February 27 to Saturday, March 15 at The Olympia Mini Gallery in Kingston. Curated by Kevarney K.R. and Suzanna Missenberger, the display will feature works by Justeen Bailey, Kamala Davis, Dwayne Grant, Daniel Harrison, Kevarney K.R., Suzanna Missenberger, Rashleigh Morris, and Sonn Ngai.

‘In Spirit and In Truth’ will be open to the public at The Olympia Mini Gallery, located at 202 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6.

According to the organisers, the exhibition seeks to elucidate how African philosophical and spiritual traditions continue to shape Jamaican cultural practices. Drawing from belief systems such as Revival, Obeah, Myaal, Rastafari, and Afro-Christian traditions, as well as influences from La Regla de Ocha in Cuba and Haitian Vodun, the collection aims to serve as both an artistic and historical record of these continued connections.

Curator, Kevarney K.R told Our Today that the primary aim of the exhibition is to “link traditional Afrikan worldviews with the spiritual and creative expressions of Black Jamaicans.”

“Thus far, the exhibition has been well received by the audience and has been praised for highlighting the centrality of Spirit in both Afrikan and Afrikan diasporic religious practices,” he added. “The audience has expressed their appreciation for the visceral experience that the show offers, as well as the familiarity with which they relate to the objects on showcase.”

The themes of the exhibition include African and Afro-Jamaican spirituality, ancestral veneration, ritual practices, sacred spaces, and the use of symbols and altars.

The exhibition hopes to illuminate the profound ways in which African metaphysical worldviews and practices remain embedded in Jamaican society.

More photos from the gallery: