Kingston Creative 5th Anniversary Interview

Interview with Richard Johnson, Journalist

RJ: Are you pleased with where Kingston Creative is at this stage?

ADC: In 2017 when we shared the vision of catalyzing national sustainable development, creative economy growth and Downtown Kingston transformation, it seemed extremely daunting, but someone said, “this is going to move faster than you think!” And she was right. Within a few short years, we have built a loyal creative community, a team of over 100 volunteers, staff and advisors, delivered 67 murals, hosted over 100 events, offered over 8000 training opportunities and forged strong partnerships with government, private sector and multilaterals.

Kingston Creative has made strides in just 5 years and we are pleased with the projects that we have been able to implement, but even more so, we are pleased with the impact that we have had. All of the people employed and earning from the Artwalk and murals and entrepreneurship programmes are Jamaican creatives. We are very happy to see the job creation, urban regeneration and even the goal of removing the stigma from Downtown Kingston communities starting to take shape. It is encouraging to observe the more subtle shifts - that creativity is now being viewed more seriously as a path to development and that decision-makers are bullish on Downtown, now more than at any time before.?

RJ: What is the biggest misconception about the work you do and how do you try to correct/educate?`

ADC: The biggest misconceptions are that we just paint murals, we only focus on Kingston or that this is wholly an “Uptown” affair, masterminded by a few with a secret agenda to gentrify Downtown! ?Our focus is island-wide and regional as this model can be exported to cultural spaces across Jamaica and the Caribbean. The approach is community-centric and ground up; it’s a long term conversation about sustainable national development, not short-term beautification. Finally, we are strongly opposed to destroying heritage and architectural assets and excluding or displacing the residents of Downtown Kingston in the process of transformation.

Our approach to addressing the misconceptions has been two-pronged – we now have a greater focus on community outreach and inclusion supported by a Community Coordinator and an MOU with PIOJ’s Community Renewal Programme. Secondly, we just do the work. There is a way in which only your results can tell the real story.?There is often a lot of talk and promises, so we want to ensure that we are out there consistently doing the work and delivering tangible benefits to the creatives and communities that we serve.

RJ: What would you say is your biggest success to date and why did this particular thing work?

ADC: We have trained creatives, offered grants and hosted events but I would have to say that developing the Art District around Water Lane has been the very visible and impactful “tip of the iceberg”.?It may be only 10% of what we do, but it is a very visible indicator of change and it allowed people to hope - to dare to dream about Downtown again.?

?Water Lane works because it makes artists visible and clearly communicates their value and the value of the Downtown space. It works because it is not just a cultural tourism destination, but an economic engine – artists can use this space to create higher value creative content and grow the ecosystem.?When an emerging fashion designer, musician or dancer shoots their videos there, performs, hosts events or sells products there, they generate additional value. It has also played a big role as a catalyst, kick-starting creative placemaking conversations not only across Downtown, but in Black River, Port Antonio and Montego Bay.?We hope to see may more creative places that generate economic, social and artistic value cropping up all across the island.

RJ: What aspect of the overall project are you least happy with and why?

ADC: The organisation was started with 100% volunteerism, and that is admirable, that in the early stages artists were willing to use their sweat equity to get the process started.?But even now that there is momentum, and we can see the possibilities, support for the core of what Kingston Creative does has been lacking. ?It has become standard in development to support short-term projects - everyone wants to fund a mural - but transformation doesn’t happen without a core team that stays in place from project to project, doing the research, building the partnerships needed to ensure that we have the long term impact that we want to see. ?Young?people and community members also want to be more involved and the reality is that only a very small percentage of our society can afford to volunteer. We hope to find a way to garner more support for the core of the organization and not just for the projects.

RJ: What can we look forward to from Kingston?Creative in the short to medium term?

?The team is really energized by getting to the 5-year milestone and we hope that in the next few years, we will see culture front and centre in our development plans, and Caribbean creatives thriving.?We will continue the approach of deepening relationships and building new partnerships to achieve this. Especially in light of the pandemic, I am particularly buoyed by the team’s focus on both community outreach and Caribbean outreach. We are a small region and Kingston Creative believes in collaboration, so you can look out for the launch of the Caribbean Creative Network which will help us to scale our impact.

?We will also continue advocacy and international outreach, as behind the scenes, we have been presenting at the Edinburgh International Culture Festival, at the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN) convening in Singapore, in Niamey at the ACP-EU Culture Ministers Conference, and most recently in Dubai at the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE).?We will soon have a few international art project announcements to make. These are important income earning opportunities for our creatives and we are really focused on ensuring that Jamaica remains a part of the discourse on the global stage.?

Finally, the establishment?of the Kingston Creative Hub in 2020 (a partnership with the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the Development Bank of Jamaica and the Hub Coworking) is a real game-changer. We plan to develop it as a force for creative entrepreneurship, both as a base for training, mentorship and support; but also as a content creation and working space. The murals on the Hub and in Water Lane create a visible centrepiece, and we hope to build out the Art District infrastructure from this point, east to the IOJ and west to the National Gallery and south to the new Rok Hotel and Victoria Pier.

There are of course always things that can be done better - and the willingness of the KC team to address these issues as they appear and make changes augurs well for KC's growth.

What do you think about Kingston Creative?

Please leave a comment or email your feedback to [email protected].

?