SPECIAL: Legacy of a Nation

During the celebration of a Diamond Anniversary, couples or organizations typically reflect on the journey of how they reached such a pivotal milestone. In the context of a country, we should look back on the journey of what makes us Jamaican, a unique and highly visible people globally. In commemoration of 60 years of Independence, our motto….”Out Of Many, One People”….is the inspiration for the theme of this exhibition, Legacy of a Nation: One People, One Family, One Identity.

Among the artefacts preserved in the National Collection of the Institute of Jamaica are treasures that represent over 600 years of Jamaican heritage. Some a lot older. Together, they reflect much of the history and multicultural diversity of our people. By looking closely at them, at who made them, when and how, artefacts will often unexpectedly reveal much more than just what simply meets the eye.

Legacy of a Nation: One People, One Family, One Identity is a display of sixty objects – all National Treasures. These pieces, selected to mark sixty years of an independent Jamaica, may once have been regarded as specific in time, or associated with a particular part of our history. What the display aims at, however, is to help all Jamaicans recognise that, in their local contexts, each item is, as it were,  a piece of a puzzle. All necessary to complete the picture of ourselves. All wanting to be accepted and claimed by each of us.

The exhibition will be organized under four themes based on each group of people that contributed to  the  Jamaican identity:

• The Africans;  
• The Europeans (Spanish, English, German, Jews);
• The Asian (Chinese and East  Indians);
• The indigenous groups: the Taino, Maroons and Rastafarians.

The sixty (60) artefacts chosen will encapsulate these groups and show our audiences the wide breadth of our past, and how everyone has contributed to our island’s identity. We should be proud of our past and heritage….so let us stand together on our island…our rock…Jamrock…and celebrate 60 years together.