The Community Center in Plummer Park hosted “Two Faces of Jonkonnu: Resistance and Joy” on Saturday, August 10. The event, presented by International Eye LA and Jamaican artist Marie Kellier, focused on reviving Jamaica’s Jonkonnu tradition. It was supported by a grant from the City of West Hollywood Arts Division.
International Eye LA, a nonprofit organization, promotes creative, multicultural activities in arts, culture, business, education, and humanities. The event attracted an audience that engaged with Kellier’s presentation on the history and cultural context of Jonkonnu, framed through a modern perspective.
The venue featured large banners of lithographs by Jamaican artist Isaac Mendes Belisario, depicting Jonkonnu performances and costumes from the 1800s. These lithographs, originally published between 1837 and 1838, have been reissued by the Jamaica Gleaner to highlight the tradition’s near disappearance. Paintings by Jamaican artist Bernard Stanley Hoyes provided a contemporary interpretation.
Jeffrey Anderson Gunter, as Master of Ceremonies, introduced Jonkonnu characters including Queen, Belly Woman, Pitchy Patchy, Actor Boy, Jack in the Green, and Devil. Original music composed by Ricardo Wilson, M.D., accompanied each character’s entrance in costumes designed and made by Kellier. The presentation detailed each character’s history and significance.
Kellier’s research into Jonkonnu, a performance tradition developed by enslaved Africans in Jamaica during the 1700s, formed the basis of the event. “Amidst the toil, confinement, and rigors of enslavement, artists, musicians, dancers, and other creatives from diverse African communities gathered the materials and supplies they needed, found ways to communicate with each other, carved out time to develop characters, fabricate costumes, and present this unique and iconic art form with dance, pantomime, and music,” Kellier said.
A performance of the Belly Woman character examined cultural retention and creative resistance during enslavement.
Kellier announced plans to create additional Jonkonnu characters and is working on a manuscript, website, and feature-length film while seeking more funding.
The event concluded with acknowledgments of supporting organizations and a photo session with the Jonkonnu characters. International Eye LA is also supported by grants from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, and the Office of Supervisor Holly Mitchell, with additional support from the LA County Department of Arts and Culture and California Arts Council.
For more information, contact International Eye LA at internationaleyela@gmail.com or (213) 656-3663.
