"CREATIVITY AND Resistance: Maroon Cultures in the Americas," a travelling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, opens on Monday at the Institute of Jamaica, East Street, downtown Kingston.
The exhibition focuses on a fascinating chapter in the history of the African Diaspora, and was developed by the Smithsonian Institution's Travelling Exhibition Service (SITES) and the Smithsonian Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, DC. It has been brought to Jamaica by the United States Embassy, Kingston.
Dr. J. Michael Korff-Rodrigues, the embassy's Counsellor for Public Affairs, said he first heard of the exhibition in a brief news item. During a visit to Washington, DC, in May 1999, he asked about the possibility of bringing it to Jamaica.
At his request, SITES agreed to send the exhibition abroad for the first time. It had previously travelled to 16 cities within the United States.
"I quickly realised that this was a remarkable exhibit of immense cultural, historical and social value to Jamaica," Dr. Korff-Rodrigues said. "It seemed to me a unique opportunity for people from all walks of life to study aspects of the Maroon culture not only from the Jamaican perspective, but also to learn more of the links between contemporary Maroon communities in the Americas.
"These include the Maroons of Surinam, French Guiana, and those of the Seminole communities along the United States/Mexico border, as well as the four leading Maroon communities in Jamaica: the Leeward Maroons of Accompong, the Charles Town Maroons, the Moore Town Maroons, and the Scott's Hall Maroons."
The opening ceremony takes place at 3 p.m. at the Institute, 10-16 East Street, Kingston. Professor Rupert Lewis of the Department of Government, University of the West Indies, Mona, a member of the Institute's Council and chairman of the African-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank's Advisory Board, will be the guest speaker.
The exhibition runs until mid-January.
