Shining a light on Jamaica’s nighttime vibes

Curtains came down on the JPS 101 Night Lights Photo Competition, with an exhibition and announcement of the top awardees, at the company’s Kingston headquarters. Several entrants and invited guests attended the recent handover event that saw more than $1 million in prize money awarded.

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Vice-President for Customer Experience and Commercial at the JPS, Pia Baker, congratulated all participants and expressed satisfaction at the overwhelming response the competition was able to garner – having attracted over 2,200 entries.

“The level of talent and engagement displayed throughout the competition is nothing short of remarkable,” she said. “JPS is proud to be able to facilitate the creative expression of local artists and for the public to experience a lighter side of the brand – both literally and figuratively.”

She further noted that the company was a great supporter of the arts, citing some of the more recent sponsorships provided for productions, including the Jamaica Poetry Festival, Osmosis Caribbean’s ArtBeats fine art showcase, Voicebox’s Our Christmas Wish, Genesis, Reset,and Sounds From Yaad.

Media and PR Manager at the JPS Audrey Williams explained that “it was a challenging but enjoyable task to select the top photos. Once we got to the Top 20 photos, the judges selected their top picks. The remaining top photos were then entered into the People’s Choice Awards, which gave our JPS online community the opportunity to weigh in on the creativity of their peers by liking photos in order to cast their vote.”

When the dust settled, Donnette Mason’s Lighting my way home came out on top from the Judges’ Picks. Overlooking Mandela Highway on a Rainy Night by Ricardo Edwards copped second place and Sherard Little’s Harbour View took third place.

For the People’s Choice Awards category, Brian Gillings triumphed with two of his entries, Symmetry and Lights, as well as Streaks of Light moving into Infinity copping the first and third place spots, respectively. Nile Browne’s The City Never Sleeps was voted second in the category.

Andrew Smith, photography and journalism lecturer at the University of Technology, provided remarks on behalf of the judges, marvelling at the quality of submissions the team deliberated on.

“Jamaica is not short of talent. The entries we received were testament to the fact that there are many stories waiting to be told, and I must applaud JPS for providing the avenue for established and upcoming artists to flex their creative muscles.”

In a surprise move, JPS awarded the remainder of the Top 20 entrants High Commendation awards and accompanying cash prizes.

The JPS 101 Night Lights Photo Competition challenged local amateur and professional photographers to capture Jamaica’s beauty at night. The competition was held to celebrate the company’s 101st year of operating in Jamaica.