The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) is the premier
arts tertiary institution in the Anglophone
Caribbean. The 2010 Gleaner Award recipient
for Arts and Culture, it has given birth to
some of the most popular and talented
practitioners within the realm of the creative
arts. The College is the first of its kind within
the Caribbean to provide tertiary level
training in
the arts, offering internationally
recognized programmes accredited by
the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ)
which lead to qualifications at the master’s,
bachelor’s, certificate and studio certificate
levels, through its six schools – Visual Arts;
Drama; Dance; Music; Arts Management and
Humanities; Continuing Education and Allied
Programmes. Up until 1976, the Schools of Visual Arts, Music,
Dance and Drama operated from different
locations. However, through an initiative of the
Government of Jamaica, they were relocated
to one campus to form what was called
the Cultural Training Centre (CTC). In 1983,
the Organization of American States (OAS)
designated the College the Inter-American
Centre for Caribbean Cultural Development,
recognizing it as a regional cultural resource
institution. The year 1995 marked a new
beginning in the history of the CTC, when it
was designated a College and brought under
the tertiary unit in the Ministry of Education,
Youth and Culture. It was renamed the Edna
Manley College of the Visual and Performing
Arts, in honour of national artist and cultural
icon, the Hon. This led to
the consolidation of the College under one
administrative structure, with a Board of
Directors, Principal and two Vice Principals. This institution has been mandated to enrich
the aesthetic sensibilities of the Caribbean
region by facilitating excellence in the arts,
culture and pedagogy; through the provision of
the highest quality programmes and training. EMCVPA continues to create opportunities
that will ultimately lead to the development of
our region through the arts, urging its students
to create, persevere and achieve through
adversities towards their goals.
