The National Gallery of Jamaica is excited to officially introduce Ashley James, PhD, as the Guest Curator of the Kingston Biennial 2024. Anticipated to be a closing highlight of the NGJ’s 50th anniversary year, the Kingston Biennial is set to open on December 15, 2024. The exhibition, titled Green X Gold, will concern environment, nature, and land, with its name and themes inspired in part by the ecological symbolisms of the Jamaican flag.
The Kingston Biennial is the flagship exhibition of the National Gallery of Jamaica, highly anticipated by audiences at home and abroad. In 2019, it was reconfigured into a thematic and guest-curated exhibition, wherein a critically-acclaimed curator, external to the NGJ, is invited to lead the exhibition’s artistic direction. Working in collaboration and consultation with the NGJ’s Chief Curator O’Neil Lawrence and his Curatorial Team, the Kingston Biennial guest curator is also responsible for developing the exhibition’s theme, and selecting the artists and their works. Artists selected for the exhibition are Jamaican and larger Caribbean creative practitioners based locally and in the diaspora. Many will recall the Kingston Biennial exhibition of 2022 – themed “Pressure” – which was curated by US-based Jamaican academic and curator David Scott, PhD.
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The 2024 Kingston Biennial guest curator, Ashley James, Ph.D., was born of Jamaican parentage and currently holds the post of Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. There, James has curated the critically acclaimed group shows Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility (2023) and Off the Record (2021), and co-curated Deana Lawson: Centropy (2021). Prior to joining the Guggenheim, James served as assistant curator of contemporary art at the Brooklyn Museum and has contributed essays and research for many books, magazines, and catalogues. James holds a Ph.D. from Yale University in English literature and African American studies.
For the 2024 Kingston Biennial, James has derived the theme Green X Gold, which excavates the many meanings, ideologies, and mythologies put forward through depictions of the land and sea. James notes that ideas of environment, nature, and land are of course applicable to a wide range of discursive frameworks across interests and across the globe, yet its historical and geographical contingencies render them especially and acutely germane to Jamaica and the broader Caribbean region. The presentation will center artists who assume a critical, refractive, or otherwise inquisitive relation to environment and its depiction.
The title derives from the “green” and “gold” of the flag, symbolising bountiful land and the bright sunshine, respectively, something known to most Jamaicans. James also notes that “green” and “gold” may also connote currency and precious metals, speaking to themes of commerce, resources, and value. The connective “X” speaks to ideas of mapping, enmeshment and multiplicity.
As she prepares for the project ahead James has stated:
I am thrilled to have been chosen to lead this year’s Kingston Biennial, working in concert with the excellent team at the National Gallery. A focus on contemporary Caribbean art begets unique art histories and ideas and I look forward to the manifold conversations that will arise from the gathering together of an exciting constellation of artists making work in the Caribbean and its diaspora, and especially in Jamaica. It is an honour for me as a contemporary curator and as a Jamaican-American, in equal measure.
The theme developed by James is one that the NGJ believes is timeless and pertinent to some of the works featured in the NGJ 50th anniversary exhibition. Senior Director, Mrs. Nadine Boothe-Gooden has said that:
The Kingston Biennial 2024, themed “Green X Gold,” delves into the intricate interplay between ecology and culture, encapsulating Jamaica’s rich natural environment and its cultural heritage. The theme lends itself to a plethora of interpretations and even global relevance, while referencing the Jamaican flag.
This year’s biennial seeks to inspire artists to explore and reinterpret these themes through diverse mediums, fostering a deeper appreciation and understanding of Jamaica’s unique identity. By engaging with “Green X Gold,” artists and audiences alike are encouraged to reflect on the balance between progress and preservation, innovation and tradition. The Kingston Biennial 2024 not only showcases the artistic talent of the region but also serves as a call to action for sustainable practices and cultural reverence, emphasising that the preservation of natural and cultural resources is essential for “Continuity” of future generations.
The NGJ Management and Staff look forward to working alongside Dr. Ashley James during the 2024 Kingston Biennial, as an opportunity to deepen intellectual and artistic discourses associated with the Jamaican flag’s symbolisms around nature, in relation to ideas of nationhood. Additionally, the NGJ looks forward to collaborations with the artistic community for the Kingston Biennial, to deepen public engagement on these topics and general appreciation of contemporary Jamaican art practice.
