Jamaica’s Education Minister unveils Creative Education Pathway at Marcus Garvey Awards

Jamaican Senator Dr. the Honourable Dana Morris Dixon, Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, delivered the keynote address at the Marcus Garvey Awards for Excellence in the Performing Arts, hosted by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).

The annual awards ceremony marked the culmination of the JCDC’s Festival of the Performing Arts, celebrating Jamaica’s top talents in dance, drama, music, speech, and visual arts. Since its inception in 1994, the awards have provided training, exposure, and recognition for thousands of creatives, nurturing generations of artists who continue to shape Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries.

In her address, Minister Morris Dixon congratulated the awardees for their discipline, creativity, and impact on national life, while unveiling several new initiatives aimed at formalising and strengthening Jamaica’s creative economy.

“Excellence in the arts is excellence in nation-building,” Minister Morris Dixon declared. “Creativity is a gift and a calling — one that requires courage, sacrifice, and hard work. Whether through performance, teaching, design, or innovation, you are blazing the trail for others to follow, and we are deeply proud of you.”

The Minister announced the Government’s commitment to developing a structured Creative Education Pathway, designed to transform raw talent into viable, sustainable careers. The initiative will include:

• Early identification of talent through expanded arts exposure in primary and secondary schools.

• The establishment of three performing arts secondary schools, integrating artistic excellence with strong academic foundations.

• A Cultural Apprenticeship Programme offering mentorship, certification, and stipends for emerging creatives.

Under the apprenticeship programme, 200 young people will be trained and receive stipends of up to JMD $69,000 per month during the pilot phase. Participants will be paired with mentors in theatre production, music, film, visual arts, stagecraft, arts management, and other creative disciplines.

“We must build a talent pipeline — one that nurtures creativity from the earliest years, refines it through specialised education, and connects it to markets both local and global,” the Minister emphasized. “This is how we move from individual brilliance to a thriving, self-sustaining creative industry. We have so many brilliant and talented students. The new education system will recognise and encourage creative interests.”

Minister Morris Dixon also highlighted Jamaica’s potential in the global creative economy, citing data from the International Finance Corporation showing that creative industries worldwide generate over USD $2 trillion annually and support nearly 50 million jobs.

“This is not art for art’s sake,” she said. “This is about nation-building, our identity, economic diversification, and social cohesion. Our children must be able to translate their passion into purpose — and their talent into livelihood.”

She also expressed gratitude to the Honourable Olivia “Babsy” Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, for her partnership and ongoing advocacy for cultural development.

As the Marcus Garvey Awards celebrated Jamaica’s next generation of performing arts stars, Minister Morris Dixon’s remarks reaffirmed the Government’s intent to unleash the island’s creative potential through education, opportunity, and innovation — ensuring every child with artistic talent can see a clear pathway from the classroom to the world stage.