One note of correction on this article, the location of the event will be YWCA and not the YMCA as stated here. The YWCA is on 51 Arnold Rd Kingston 5 Jamaica of South Camp Rd.
Art clash! Painters go easel to easel at YMCA
Mel Cooke, Sunday Gleaner Writer
Sunday June 26, 2011
Scheed At Work
First there was singing and deejaying, then cracking jokes, dance and fashion. Now the competitive format which has made steady gains in the performing arts comes to the fine arts with Battleart, a one-day competition among young painters which takes place at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Kingston on Hope Road, St Andrew, on July 30.
It is the first in a series of such competitions, each of which will entail a different aspect of the arts.
Scheed Cole of Scheed International, which is organising Battleart, said: “It is a challenge, a competitive challenge.” He hopes to attract entrants from the secondary-school system, to which letters will be sent inviting participation by students in their final year.
Fifteen contestants will be selected, based on the portfolios submitted, which five judges – including Cole – will assess. Then, on the ‘Battleart’ day, the contestants will be whittled down to five, from which the top three will be selected.
First prize is $15,000; the first runner-up gets $10,000; and a painting set will be presented to the second runner-up. However, there is the prospect of employment, as Cole said “a main reason for this is to find persons who can get jobs”.
As the battling artists will be required to do complete work in two-hour spells, The Sunday Gleaner asked if this would compromise quality. Cole said it would not, as “we are not going to give them a lot of things to paint. Whatever is required of them can be done in that particular time”. Plus, he said, working quickly is important as “you want to increase quality and efficiency at the same time”.
The day’s format is two two-hour challenges, the first to paint geometric objects and the second to paint organic forms. “We are testing their ability to do realism,” Cole said.
In addition to watching the artists at work, the audience will be treated to a Capoeira demonstration as well as have the opportunity to get their portraits done and get involved with fruit sculpting. Also, Cole said, there will be a mural board on which anyone can paint.
Battleart does not stop with the painters. “This is the first of many. We are going to go through poetry, drama, music, you name it,” he said. “For one competition we will select a wall in a particular community and people will do murals. We have no sponsorship and the budget is small, but we are stretching it.”
And he puts Battleart in the context of avoiding a more literal battle. “It takes the negative energy out and puts it in a creative form. It leaves you devoid of anger and it creates employment as well,” Cole said.
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