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The opening concert in our 2016-2017 season has a sombre feel, commemorating the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Starting with The Banks of Green Willow by George Butterworth, who was killed in action on 5th August 1916, aged 31, this work is complemented by Ronald Corp’s The Somme – A Lament. The mood lifts with the choral arrangement of Serenade to Music by Butterworth’s contemporary, Vaughan Williams and the programme closes with Brahms’s glorious German Requiem.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

Christopher Harris, Jockey Rider

Jamaican Intuitives     13-26 October

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see a unique Jamaican branch of contemporary art which was first acknowledged post-independence and which continues to flourish. There are no pretty beach scenes; no ‘tourist’ art. The work is challenging and powerful.

Until Jamaican Independence in 1962, the larger part of Jamaica’s art establishment took only European and North American style art seriously. This was a legacy of colonialism. With Independence, the importance of the arts and of acknowledging and exhibiting Jamaican artists was recognised in helping to shape a national cultural identity.

It was the late Dr David Boxer, Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Jamaica for over 35 years, who coined the word ‘Intuitive’ – now an official art term. He defined the context in which these remarkable artists’ accomplishments should be considered:

‘These artists paint and sculpt intuitively. They are not guided by fashion. Their vision is pure and sincere, untarnished by art theories and philosophies, principles and movements. They are, for the most part self-taught…. Their visions (and many of them are true visionaries) as released through paint or wood, are expressions of their individual relationships with the world around them – and the worlds within.’

All five artists in this show were born and (have) spent their lives in Jamaica. Their work has been part of major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Jamaica, and has been shown across the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

• Christopher Harris was born in 1974. He was one of the fourteen selected exhibitors in the prestigious Young Talent V Competition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 2010. Encouraged to draw from an early age by his father, a farmer and a portraitist, Christopher’s work connects to his Ashanti forefathers.
• Kingsley Thomas was born in 1941. He worked in Kingston as a journalist for the now closed Jamaica Daily News before moving back home to rural Portland. A number of his lyrical paintings and sculptures refer to stories he covered as a journalist.
• Leonard Daley 1930 – 2006. Partly surreal, partly realist, Daley’s images tap into Jamaica’s collective consciousness and history. In 1999, at the opening of Daley’s one-man show at the University of the West Indies, Dr David Boxer declared him to be ‘one of the truly great natural painters of the century.’ Daley was awarded the prestigious Bronze Musgrave Medal in 2002.
• Evadney Cruickshank, born c1950. Evadney started painting after observing her then partner, the artist Sylvester Woods, at work. Her narrative paintings record daily life in her rural community – Pocomania services (an African-based religion), street dances, clearing up after hurricane damage. Her dry sense of humour infuses her work.
• Birth ‘Ras Dizzy’ Livingstone c1932 – 2008. Ras Dizzy first came to public attention in the 1960s as a Rastafarian poet/philosopher selling his writings on the University of the West Indies campus. A remarkable colourist, he portrayed himself in his paintings as a prize-winning boxer, a judge, a horse race jockey. A poetic insight was written on the reverse of each work.

Opening Party on Sunday 15th October 2-5 pm featuring the Koromanti Mento Band. Mento is Jamaica’s folk music and the precursor to ska and reggae. The High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Seth George Ramocan, will be guest of honour. Jamaican Intuitives is part of the official Jamaica55 celebrations.

Exhibition continues until 26 October.

Highgate Gallery open Tue-Fri 1-5; Sat 11-4; Sun 11-5. Closed Mon.

To celebrate the Highgate Heritage Weekend we have a wide range of free history themed children’s activities including:

• Dress up with your parents as one of the colourful characters in Lauderdale House’s history
• Pretend to be royal – take a photo behind our cut out of King Charles II, Nell Gwynn and their baby
• Explore our ‘artefacts’ box – a selection of curious household objects from the past. Guess what they are; what they were used for and how old they might be!
• Go around the House with our family trail

We also have the Arts Award Discover Trail -Free but £6 if you wish to apply for a certificate (latest start 3.30pm).

If you’re arty, love Lauderdale House and aged 6 to 11 you could receive an Arts Award!

This is an opportunity to go around as a family with our Arts Award Trail looking at the House and gardens in a new light, drawing pictures and making observations.  It will take about an hour to complete.  Children can do it just for fun or if you’d like recognition of all your hard work you can hand it in with the £6 fee and we will send it off and Arts Award so the child receives a certificate to say s/he has completed the first stage in a series of awards recognising their interest in the arts.

Curious about Highgate, its origins, stories, green spaces and buildings?  Come in and talk to people who have an interest in and passion for local history.  There will be representatives and stalls from the Roman Kilns in Highgate Woods, Camden Tour Guides, HLSI, Lady Gould’s Charity, Highgate School Museum, Friends of Kenwood, Highgate Horticultural Society, Friends of Hornsey Church Tower, Friends of Highgate Library Shepherds Hill, Highgate Society and lots of information about Lauderdale House.

Lauderdale House experts Nick Peacey and Peter Barber OBE join forces with our Heritage Education Officer Maddy Gilliam to share new discoveries about our fascinating former residents.

Friends of the Highgate Roman Kiln – Michael Hammerson and Nick Peacey – will tell you about its remarkable discovery in 1969 in Highgate Woods, how it was lifted out of the ground and divided for safekeeping at Bruce Castle Museum and the hut in Highgate Woods; and their mission to reunite it in its original location. Find out also how local people have tried to recreate the way it worked.

Stay on after for refreshments before the next talk.

Former General Manager of Ham House where Lord Lauderdale made his home when he married its owner Elizabeth Tollemache 2^nd Countess of Dysart after the death of his wife and he left Lauderdale House. She will talk about Lauderdale, Elizabeth and Ham House – and Lauderdale’s music.

To celebrate the Highgate Heritage Weekend we have a wide range of free history themed children’s activities including:

• Dress up with your parents as one of the colourful characters in Lauderdale House’s history
• Pretend to be royal – take a photo behind our cut out of King Charles II, Nell Gwynn and their baby
• Explore our ‘artefacts’ box – a selection of curious household objects from the past. Guess what they are; what they were used for and how old they might be!
• Go around the House with our family trail

We also have the Arts Award Discover Trail -Free but £6 if you wish to apply for a certificate (latest start 3.30pm).

If you’re arty, love Lauderdale House and aged 6 to 11 you could receive an Arts Award!

This is an opportunity to go around as a family with our Arts Award Trail looking at the House and gardens in a new light, drawing pictures and making observations.  It will take about an hour to complete.  Children can do it just for fun or if you’d like recognition of all your hard work you can hand it in with the £6 fee and we will send it off and Arts Award so the child receives a certificate to say s/he has completed the first stage in a series of awards recognising their interest in the arts.

Soundworlds of Lauderdale House from Tudor times to today, a programme specially created for the Lauderdale House Local History Weekend (24 and 25 February), featuring words and music by Henry VIII, Charles I, Purcell, Beaumarchais, Haydn, Verdi, Debussy and Zeigenmeyer.

Insieme – Italian for ‘together’ – share their love of music and words with you through skilful, imaginative and joyful performances.

‘we listen with rapture and watch with glee; a sensational two hours bursting with charm’ Fringe Opera

www.insieme.co.uk

Insieme, chamber opera ensemble are a new creative residency for 2018 at Lauderdale House featuring 10 talented singers and musicians who combine strings, woodwind, piano, voice and the spoken word:

Johanna Byrne – Artistic Director

Clare Clements – Musical Director

Eleanor Hemmens – Soprano

Brian Parsons – Tenor

Joe Corbett – Baritone

Caoimhe de Paor – Recorders

Mona Kodama – Violin

Guillem Calvo – Violin

Juan Drown- Viola

Frederique Legrand – Cello

Clare Clements – Piano

Johanna Byrne – Spoken Word

2018 marks the centenary of the birth of composer, conductor, author, music lecturer and pianist Leonard Bernstein, whose most famous scores include West Side Story, On the Town, Candide and On the Waterfront.

Commissioned from Bernstein by the Dean of Chichester Cathedral for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals Festival, the Chichester Psalms received its UK premiere on 31st July 1965 and has gone on to become a highly popular staple of choral societies to this day. Consisting of three short movements, the Chichester Psalms is sung in Hebrew.

Our programme of 20th- and 21st-century compositions is completed with choral works by Janacek, Morten Lauridsen and Vaughan Williams.

Get into the Christmas spirit with an evening of sacred music, popular festive songs and traditional carols from acclaimed choir Voxcetera. 

Enjoy beautiful choral works spanning 400 years, from anthems by Byrd and Praetorius to contemporary composers including John Rutter, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen and Cecilia McDowall. And there’ll be dazzling arrangements of popular songs and carols such as Winter Wonderland, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and Ding Dong Merrily on High.

It isn’t Christmas without a Christmas concert – so why not start the season in beautiful surroundings with joyous, tranquil and uplifting music.

Voxcetera chamber choir sings Gabriel Fauré’s much-loved, moving masterpiece, with soloists Ellie and Jamie Sperling, accompanied by violin, cello, harp and organ.

The concert will also feature Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine; a selection from Gustav Holst’s Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, a collection of ancient Indian sacred texts; and Henry Balfour Gardiner’s dramatic Evening Hymn.

And you’ll hear beautiful music from contemporary composers: the hypnotic Northern Lights by Ola Gjeilo; and Paul Aryes’ sun-drenched love song Quanto sei bella.

Voxcetera is a north London-based chamber choir, directed  by its founding conductor Jane Hopkins. Recent activity includes concerts at St Martin-in-the-fields, East Finchley Arts Festival, overseas tours and recording work.

Voxcetera returns to the beautiful St Michael’s Church with two dazzling works for choir and strings, written nearly 300 years apart.

Vivaldi: Gloria

In a crowded field, little beats this for exuberant Baroque joy. Yet it is full of variety, from the slow and tender “Et in terra pax” to the effervescent “Domine, Fili unigenite”, the choir accompanied throughout by sprightly strings, oboe and trumpet.

Ola Gjeilo: Sunrise Mass

“Most of my favourite composers are film composers working in America today” says the New York-based Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, and this thrilling mass pays tribute to the emotions, adrenaline and sense of wonder of film music. Scored for choir and strings and using traditional Latin texts, the 30-minute piece is strong on melody and rich in harmony, opening with gorgeous shimmering chords that emerge magically out of silence. It’s unmistakably modern, but it’s also in touch with early sacred music including Gregorian chant.

with:
Voxcetera chamber choir
Jane Hopkins, conductor
Ellie Sperling & Bethany Partridge, soloists
String orchestra, oboe, trumpet, organ

Voxcetera is a chamber choir celebrating sacred and secular music from medieval times to the present day under the direction of its founding conductor Jane Hopkins. The choir’s achievements include its popular Christmas concerts; performances with chamber ensembles of Fauré’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’ Requiem and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, at St Michael’s Highgate; tours to Germany and Ireland; performances at St Martin-in-the-Fields, St. John Smith Square, St. Stephen Walbrook and East Finchley Arts Festival; appearances at the Science Museum, British Library and the Southbank Centre; and a variety of recording work.