Sagicor Foundation has pumped J$25M into the rebuilding of the Hope Brooks Painting Studios, at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) in St Andrew. 

Ground was broken at the facility on Thursday, November 21.

The Edna Manley College is one of the beneficiaries of the 25th Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run in 2023. The J$25 million is part of what was a record-breaking J$91.8 million raised by the event. Work on the facility will commence shortly, and should be completed by the first quarter of 2025.

At the event, Christopher Zacca, President and CEO of Sagicor Group Jamaica said “when we witnessed the damage to the studio by a fire, it was an easy decision for us to support this rebuilding”. Zacca, who is also Chairman of the Sagicor Foundation, said this is more than a construction project, but an investment in Jamaica’s creative or orange economy, which is a critical pillar of national growth”. The sector is a major economic driver, which is also critical to Jamaica’s global brand.

Sagicor’s support will see the establishment of a new and improved facility, where students and faculty can continue to create, innovate, and inspire. Principal of the Edna Manley College, Dorrett Campbell, said the groundbreaking represents “a moment of triumph and renewal”. She said, “the fire that engulfed the Hope Brooks Studio in October 2021 was more than a physical loss, [it] tested our resilience as an institution”. Campbell says the new facility “is an investment in the future of art in Jamaica and the Caribbean, and the future of art education in the international arena”.

“It was our first studio,” Jamaican multimedia artist Ebony G Patterson recounted. “We would eat here, we would sleep here, we would exist in community,” as they worked on art pieces. Patterson, who is a 2024 recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, says the space provided their first experience as professional artists.

The Hope Brooks Painting Studio was named in honour of the former Head of the Visual Arts School at Edna Manley College. Brooks said the groundbreaking is “a great moment” representing “support for the arts which is very important to the development of this country”. Brooks still serves as an adjunct lecturer at the tertiary institution.

The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts is the only one of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean. 

The paediatric unit at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) was also a 2023 Sigma Run beneficiary. Next year’s event, slated for February 16, 2025, will be launched on December 10.