Basil Watson to open art academy in Jamaica

Renowned artist and sculptor Basil Watson plans to open an academy in the land of his birth as he looks to mentor aspiring Jamaican artists.Watson made the disclosure to The Gleaner weeks before his larger-than-life statue of American civil-rights icon Martin Luther King Jr is to be unveiled. Watson was given the nod for the job by the city of Atlanta out of a group of 100 sculptors who had applied to create the image.

“I have plans to open an art academy to assist young Jamaicans in the near future. I have to pass on my craft, and this will be an opportunity to ensure that young, aspiring artists have access to an avenue to express themselves and hone their talent,” Watson said.

The statue measures 18 feet and will be mounted in front of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium near Martin Luther King Jr Drive. It will be unveiled later this month.

“It has been a humbling experience. I grew up when Mr King was actively beating back against prejudice and was shot down for it. My father painted a picture of him in 1969, so things have come full circle in an uncanny way,” Watson, who has lived in Atlanta for the past 18 years, said.

Watson’s work is well documented in Jamaica. It is on full display at the National Stadium in Independence Park: his artistic interpretations of the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt; the ‘Pocket Rocket’, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce; Herb McKenley, Merlene Ottey; Veronica Campbell-Brown; and Asafa Powell.

Watson has also sculpted a statue of cultural icon Louise ‘Miss Lou’ Bennett-Coverley, while another statue of Bolt is to be unveiled in the retired sprinter’s birth parish of Trelawny.

Asked if he would return to live in Jamaica, Watson answered in the affirmative.

“Jamaica is home. I will and must return,” he told The Gleaner.

Basil Watson was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government in 2016 for his artistic accomplishments.