NEWS AND REVIEWS IN ART, TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

Jamaican IT

With Kumina drumming as a backdrop, the colorful spirit of Jamaica comes alive in the banners and posters created by local artists for the annual Bussu Festival at Swift River.

The artwork advertising the festival named after a small river snail was the result of an innovative grassroots training program run by an art teacher and poet from San Antonio, Constant D. Edwards.

Under the guidance of Edwards, 10 young men from the rural countryside were taught the intricacies of using their natural creative talents for a Commercial Arts project that benefited the festival at a time when the village was recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Gilbert.

Swift River, in fact, has become a focal point for local artisan expression. While Christian Service International sponsored the artwork for the festival posters, Greenstar Corporation invested in a portable computer and scanner, a digital camera, a small solar oven, and a set of solar voltaic panels for power.

On the left is a piece from a gallery of artwork created by Edwards' students.

In addition to teaching Jamaican youth photography and computer skills, Greenstar has also recorded traditional music on CDs that are on sale at the local market and over the Internet.

Edwards, meanwhile, can often be found hiking through the towns and countryside, inspiring talented youths and writing his own insights through verse.

Based in Los Angeles, Greenstar establishes solar powered community centers in the developing world. These wireless centers provide villagers with electricity, pure water, health and education information. Additionally, the centers afford local citizens an opportunity to preserve, create, and market the music, art, and crafts indigenous to their culture.

Greenstar's India: Chalk Paintings, Andrah Pradesh Video. Women from the village of Parvatapur design "Muggulu" or chalk paintings for the such important local festivals as Sankranti. During this harvest period, unmarried girls create chalk designs in front of their homes. Creating these paintings, which symbolize harmony, sustenance and warmth, are part of the coming-of-age process for young Telugu women.

John M. Leighty