Garvey Maceo High student, Olufemi Allen (left) proudly shows off his Stewart’s Hardware plaque for the ‘Most Outstanding Art Piece’ and NCB Gift Certificate with Junior Atkinson, head of department and art teacher

Dubbed the ‘largest hardware store in Clarendon’, Stewart’s Hardware Limited has shown keen interest in building solid, long lasting relationships with the youth of the surrounding communities of May Pen and Central Jamaica.

The stores annual art show, ‘Art Affair‘ has retained its distinct feature of reaching out to surrounding school communities such as Vere Technical High, Garvey Maceo High, Glemuir High, Spanish Town High, and Foga Road High for support. The calendar event combines the students raw talent with the skill of renowned Jamaican artists –Webster Campbell, Ray Jackson, Jeffery Perry among others- to produce an art show that has had a positive impact on the students involved.

“It is refreshing to see the confidence and excitement displayed by the students towards visual art as a result of being involved in this Stewart’s community project. Despite the challenges, there has been significant change in the students’ attitude in the three years they have been participating. They now look forward to the ‘Art Affair’ and are eager to learn from their peers and the more seasoned artists.” explained Junior Atkinson, head of the Art Department at Garvey Maceo.

In December last year, Stewart’s Hardware introduced an Inter-Secondary School Art Competition which was judged by a panel of veteran artists who assessed the students’ mastery of originality, concept creation, use of lighting and contrast.

See Full Story Here: The Jamaica Gleaner

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