The arts and cultural institutions

The Institute of Jamaica, an early patron and promoter of the arts, sponsors exhibitions and awards. The institute administers the National Gallery, Liberty Hall, the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica, and the Jamaica Journal. The institute is also the country’s museums authority. The Jamaica Library Service, Jamaica Archives, National Library, and University of the West Indies contribute to the promotion of the arts and culture, as do numerous commercial art galleries. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust is responsible for the protection of the material cultural heritage of Jamaica.

Local art shows are common, and the visual arts are a vigorous and productive part of Jamaican life. Several artists, including the painters Albert Huie and Barrington Watson and the sculptor Edna Manley, are known internationally.

The poets Claude McKay and Louis Simpson were born in Jamaica, and the Nobel Prize-winning author Derek Walcott attended the University of the West Indies in Mona. Jamaican Creole faced decades of disapproval from critics and academics who favoured standard English, but the Panamanian-born author Andrew Salkey and poets such as Louise Bennett-Coverly and Michael Smith made the language an intrinsic part of the island’s literary culture, emphasizing the oral and rhythmic nature of the language.

Jamaican theatre and musical groups are highly active. The National Dance Theatre Company, formed in 1962, has earned international recognition. Much of the country’s artistic expression finds an outlet in the annual Festival. In the 1950s and ’60s Ernie Ranglin, Don Drummond, and other Jamaican musicians developed the ska style, based in part on a Jamaican dance music called mento. Reggae, in turn, arose from ska, and from the 1970s such renowned performers as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Lee Perry made it one of the island’s most-celebrated international exports. Dancehall music—which focuses on a rapping, or “toasting,” deejay—also became popular in the late 20th century. Jamaican musicians release hundreds of new recordings every year. Reggae Sumfest draws large crowds of local and overseas enthusiasts.

Sports and recreation

Cricket is played throughout the island, including at Kingston’s Sabina Park and on makeshift pitches (fields). Jamaica has produced many players for the regional West Indies team, notably the Panamanian-born George Alphonso Headley and fast bowler Michael Holding. A 25,000-seat multipurpose stadium was constructed in Trelawny for the 2007 International Cricket Council World Cup.

The National Stadium in Kingston is the major venue for football (soccer) and track and field (athletics). Football has challenged cricket’s supremacy since 1998, when Jamaica’s national team, the Reggae Boyz, qualified for the World Cup finals in France. Basketball is probably the fastest-growing sport in schools and colleges, owing to television coverage of professional teams from the United States. Other sports, such as golf, tennis, and diving, have developed in tandem with the tourism industry but are beyond the financial reach of most Jamaicans. The game of dominoes is extremely popular.

The island has a distinguished Olympic record in track and field, beginning in 1948 with a gold and two silver medals in London. In Atlanta in 1996 the hurdler Deon Hemmings won Jamaica’s first gold medal in a women’s event. At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, sprinter Usain Bolt set new records and took the gold medal in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprints. He repeated those feats at the London 2012 Games and the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games, becoming the first person to win both events in two, and then three, consecutive Olympics. The island’s heroic, if unsuccessful, national bobsledding team was wildly popular at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary; the team’s unorthodox ways were later depicted in the film Cool Runnings (1993). The team continued to make appearances at subsequent Winter Games.

Jamaica is usually placed among the top teams in international netball. Horse racing is popular and takes place at Caymanas Park in Kingston. A few Jamaican boxers have excelled internationally. In 1962 Jamaica hosted the Central American and Caribbean Games.

Jamaica has a number of protected natural areas, including marine parks and forest reserves. Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park encompasses not only the Blue Mountains and the John Crow Mountains to the east but also the Port Royal Mountains to the west. In 2015 the Blue and John Crow mountains were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. They were cited as a mixed (cultural and natural) site on the basis of their biodiversity and their role in Jamaica’s history as a place of shelter and settlement for escaping Taino slaves and Maroons (enslaved Africans who fled captivity and formed communities in the highlands).

Media and publishing

The Jamaican constitution guarantees freedom of the press. There are three newspapers—the Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica Observer, and Jamaica Star—that are based in Kingston and maintain print and online editions. The major local television stations are privately owned, and there is a variety of commercial radio stations. A government-appointed Broadcasting Commission monitors and regulates broadcast radio and television as well as cable television.