Renowned Jamaican photographer Howard Moo Young will be official judge of the awards of the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation's Photography Club Awards, scheduled for Thursday, October 26 at the Harbour Street, Kingston headquarters of Grace Kennedy.
General Manager of the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation, Tanketa Chance Wilson, pointed out that the awards ceremony, part of an overall Awareness Week of activities for the Foundation, is aimed at constructively engaging students in a co-curricular activity. "We are very proud to provide this showcase for the talents and creative expressions of our students and to also provide an avenue for career and personal development in that process" she said.
In addition to taking photographs on field trips and elsewhere, the students learn printing, digital modification and other current techniques. The Foundation actually operates two camera clubs, the Learning Institute of Central Kingston (LICK) and later, the Spanish Town Photographic Artists Reaping Knowledge (SPARK) Photo Club. The programme, which began with 8 students in 2006, now includes over 40 students, who are using the latest DSLR cameras, having begun with disposables.
Chairman of the Foundation, James "Jimmy " Moss-Solomon says the Board was heartened to see the progress made by the students and the evidence of their impact on the wider society through exhibitions and awards external to Grace Kennedy. "The students are not merely taking pictures, they have and continue to exhibit a markedly high standard of work, which has been acknowledged by the likes of the JCDC, and the Institute of Jamaica, but also the commercial world, where they are receiving assignments and are also selling their photographs.
In addition to Grace Kennedy (included retired CEO Douglas Orane), the Foundation has a valuable partner in the US Agency for International Development (USAID) which provided funding for the DSLR cameras as well as printers and other accessories and workshops and field trips. Catalyst, a faith-based organization out of the U.S. was also instrumental in making the initial donations of cameras and training.
The Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation had its genesis in 1979, in response to escalating violence and the general lack of opportunities in the Jamaican society in that period. Upon being approached by the staff, the management agreed to create a vehicle to assist community members in obtaining educational and other opportunities, matching staff contributions on a 2 - 1 basis.
An avid photographer since the age of 14, Moo Young is also an outstanding,multiple award-winning graphic artist and painter, with an extensive list of creative and commercial credits. As an artist, his stamp has been placed on many now iconic brands, including National Commerical Bank (NCB), the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC), Victoria Mutual, Gold Label rum, and Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) to name a few.
Photographically, his oeuvre includes the noted Bob Marley Collection from the famed One Love Peace Concert in 1978, during which reggae superstar Marley led then intense political rivals Michael Manley and Edward Seaga in a symbolic joining of hands to show unity amid escalating political violence, a moment captured by Moo Young and preserved for posterity.
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