Painting The City: Rae Town

Just blocks away from the General Penitentiary, in the heart of Rae Town, Kingston Creative, in association with Women Empowering Women, held their first Rae Town ArtWalk last Saturday. It is the first in a series of community arts events that will be held by the group in hopes to "encourage more earning from community tourism and to position Kingston as the creative capital of the Caribbean." 

The Kingston Creative Artwalk has plans to tour other communities such as Allman Town, Beat Street, Tivoli Gardens, and Trench Town and I am so eager to attend. 

The Entertainment

As soon as I stepped off the shuttle bus provided by Kingston Creative, I could see the almost finished murals being painted at the Rae Town Ball Ground. It warmed my heart to see the artists that designed the murals working alongside members of the community, each taking turns to construct two beautiful pieces of artwork. The first piece, that faces the street tells the well-known story of Rae Town Old Hits, A popular old hits dance hosted by Capricorn Inn and resident sound system, Klassique Disco. It is said to be the longest-running sound system session held in Kingston and even the world. On the flip side, the wall facing the ball ground paints the story of people of the Rae Town community featuring imagery of fishermen from the nearby fishing village and a child playing on the ball field.  

The entertainment segment was one of my favourite parts of the Art Walk. I enjoyed the dance performances by St. Michael’s Primary School Dance Group and Kimani Davis, the Southern Strikers Marching Band brought the vibes with their lively musical selections, the Paradise Street ECI brought back memories of old school reggae with their rendition of popular reggae hits and live music performances from Teshae Star, Johnice Solomon and Shani Johnson stirred emotions with songs that touched on social issues affecting the country. 

 Community Tour 

In addition to the entertainment and mural paintings, they offered a walking tour of the Rae Town community. Here participants had the option to dig deeper and learn more about the history of the famous town. The tour started at the Cholera Cemetery then took us pass the General Penitentiary and back to the Capricorn Inn where the live performances were being held. 

Transforming and Strengthening Communities Through Art

Entertainment aside, I left the artwalk in good spirits as I reflected on all the perks of these Kingston Creative Artwalks and what it is doing for the community. Some may see the murals as oddly placed paintings on walls in communities but what I saw was the community showing up and working together to create a masterpiece that also acts as a reminder of efforts and time well spent.

These murals bring added value and will help to encourage and drive tourism to the Rae Town community. The youth in the community are also trained by the Kingston Creative team to be what is called "cultural hosts" that will plan and execute future events and walking tours. 

About Kingston Creative

Kingston Creative Founded in February 2017, Kingston Creative is a registered non-profit company that is working to promote creativity, culture and the transformation of Downtown. They believe that Kingston is a Creative City and that culture is a catalyst that can spark social and economic development in Downtown Kingston. Over the next five to ten years, They aim to create an Art District and Creative Hub in Downtown Kingston.

Kingston Creative hosts art events at the end of every month. If this event sparked your interest and you’re interested in attending one of Kingston Creative’s event,mthen I would encourage you to follow them on social media. Their Instagram handle is @Kingstoncreativejm and their facebook handle is www.facebook.com/kingstoncreativejm

You can also visit their website at www.kingstoncreative.org