Performance Art in the Jamaica

Live and action art in Jamaica.

Jamaican art has produced many recognized artists who have depicted the island through media ranging from sculpture to painting.  The beginnings of this art movement were not easy.  During the slave period, art was not a profitable commodity and therefore was not encouraged by the overseers and plantation owners.  The creation of art was considered a slothful occupation.  The creation of art hindered efficiency, causing plantation owners to loose money.  “Plantation economies could ill afford art in the leisurely sense, so their early forms of expression were manifested in performance art such as carnival.”