Greetings everyone, My name is Akaila Simms and I'm a contemporary artists who loves to dig deep into my Caribbean Culture to discover more about the past and give life to it. My talents include: stage and film acting, dancing, writing (songs, poetry, scripts), and fashion styling. I am 19 years old and always eager to practice my passion. I recently earned an AA degree (associate of art in theatre) at the Edna Manley college of the visual and performing arts school in Kingston Jamaica. I aim to follow my heart, so that others will do the same.

I am a self published author of 3 novels and a children's book. I am a natural creative that enjoys meeting and collaborating with creatives alike. I am currently working towards growing my personal brand Higher Thinka, tagline: Creativity Breathes Uniqueness. I would love to see creatives in the Caribbean be recognized for their gifts and passion.

Danielle Russell is a Jamaican filmmaker who has written, directed and produced several short films and documentaries. Her work has been shown in countries such as Australia, China, Indonesia and across the Caribbean.

Danielle holds an M.F.A in Film & TV Production from the Communication University of China in Beijing and a B.A. in Media and Communication from CARIMAC.

Danielle lives in Kingston, Jamaica where she is currently developing her first feature length screenplay and sits on the board of Women in Film and TV, Jamaica.

Danijah Taylor aka Danijah Danijah is a young Jamaican multi award-winning writer, author, educator, and content creator. In 2017 the entrepreneur created the social enterprise Studio Dan, a Jamaican based production studio that specializes in the self-publishing of authentic Jamaican and Afrocentric reading books, textbooks and the hosting of live edutainment events. All focused on improving literacy, creativity, and critical thinking in our youth “penpowerment”. Over the past three years Studio Dan "penpowerment" has impacted several at-risk youths in Ghana, the USA and Jamaica. One of which was the successful free creative writing workshop called "Writing 4 Life".

Born in Havana,Cuba.1954
BFA San Alejandro National Academy of Cuba.
MFA Higher Institute of Art of Cuba.
More than forty years of teaching experience in art schools and universities of Cuba, Jamaica and Spain.
Has been participated in more than 150 exhibitions around the world.
Works in collections of Arab Emirates, Argentina, Bermudas, Canada,Cuba,France,Germany,Jamaica,Poland,Russia,Spain,Trinidad-Tobago,United States, Venezuela.
Has been published as art critique in different magazines and newspapers of Cuba, Jamaica and Brazil.

Awards:
2009. The Caribbean Hall of Fame Award.
2006.Triennale de l'Estampe eh la gravure originale. France.
2002.National Fine Arte Exhibition. Jamaica.
2002.Tokyo International Mini-Print Triennal. Japan.
1991.National Honour for Pedagogical Labour curriculum studies. Cuba.

It is impossible to have a credible discussion about Hip Hop in Jamaica without mentioning Five Steez. Although the country isn't a hot spot for Hip Hop talent, the underground Kingston MC has graced international festivals and has been acknowledged by Earmilk, Okayplayer and The FADER.

Reminiscent of the golden era, with a new twist, a common man’s perspective and an unheard Jamaican narrative, Five Steez’ music has been described by critics as ‘poignant’ and ‘soulful’, with lyricism full of imagery, storytelling and wit.

Gladstone Taylor is an author/journalist living and operating out of the creative industries of Kingston, Jamaica. He has been writing professionally for over 8 years. His work is largely a contribution to a collective effort to archive our culture. He’s reported on culture, music, film and television, through platforms such as The Fader, Sole DxB, Bandcamp, Riddim Magazine, Backayard Magazine, Afropunk, Syfy Wire and PopDust to name a few.

Janine Coombs known by her stage name Janine Jkuhl (pronounced J-Cool) is an Alternative- Independent Fusion Recording Artiste and Singer-Songwriter from Kingston Jamaica. Jkuhl admires music and the art of creating music as she is an eclectic listener who is influenced by many genres. This love of different music can be heard fused in her Independent music style which she calls "Jkuhl". She released her first album "Star Gaze" in 2009 and her second Album "Sweet Sway" 2020.
Janine Jkuhl pursued a Performing Arts Degree at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Jamaica. She is a recipient of the Edna Manley College School of Music Honour Roll Recital Award, The Edna Manley College Arts Foundation Scholarship and a recipient of the Indonesian Bali Sama Sama Creative Residency.

Hi, my name is Jenille Brown and I'm an animator and character designer based in Jamaica. Being in a new industry in the region I'm very invested in being part of its growth and development into a viable way to make a living right here at home. My project is about drawing together people who have started to figure it out in their own way.

Juleus Ghunta is a Chevening Scholar, children’s writer, and an advocate in Jamaica’s adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) movement. He holds an MA in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford, UK. His writings on ACEs have appeared in 30+ journals in 15 countries. His second book, Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows – a picture book for professionals who work with child survivors of ACEs – is forthcoming from CaribbeanReads Publishing. He is the co-editor the December 2019 and March 2020 issues of Interviewing the Caribbean Journal (UWI Press), which are focused on Caribbean children’s and young adult literature.

Kenardo Ellis, artistically known as FY-Aado is a root and jazz artist. His contemporary blend of classic soul and reggae has created a unique sound, resonating amongst both the mature and youthful musical ear.
Inspired by artists like Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Lucky Dube, Delroy Wilson to name a few, FY-Aado has infused his unique sound together with the teachings from these muses, creating his soul roots style of singing and performance.
He hails from Manchester Jamaica and undertook studies in music at The Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts. FY-Aado was the former lead singer of the 6Points Band, which he also played with on numerous stages in the island.

Kevin Jackson is an animator with 8 years experience and a film director with 12 years experience making short films, commercials, corporate videos and docu films. He Teaches animation, digital media and script writing at the University of the West Indies, Mona, the Heart VTDI and Northern Caribbean University. He graduated from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and is currently pursuing his Master's in Media Management. He has served as the President of the Jamaica Animation Nation Network and as the Marketing and Communications director for the Jamaica Film and Television Association.

Possessing the experience that comes from many years and many lives, Dr. Stines has a long and varied performing history ranging from classical ballet to Yoruba “Orisha” dances. Her dance career began in Jamaica with Alma MockYen , continued to the Martha Graham School and finally to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater . She originally established L’ACADCO: A United Caribbean Dance Force in Miami, Florida in 1978. She relocated the company to Jamaica on her return to the country in 1982.

Today, L’Acadco is regarded as one of Jamaica’s leading contemporary dance companies and Dr. Stines as one of the experts in the development of contemporary technique as well as popular and traditional Jamaican dance. She has lectured in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and The Caribbean. In 1994, Dr. Stines unveiled a new modern Caribbean dance Technique called L’Anyah Reggae Technique later known as L’ANTECH. Culminating from years of research, this innovative technique is a blend of classical ballet and several Caribbean folklore forms.

Regarded as one of the four pure modern dance technique to develop out of the Caribbean, L’ANTECH, the language, gives the audience choreography embodying a wholeness of body, mind, and soul. The technique is now included on the CAPE level examinations. She has been Consultant Artistic Director for CARIFESTA in Haiti and Consultant producer to CARIFESTA in Surinam. Her Ph.D. is on Cultural Studies in Dance from the University of the West Indies Mona Campus. She functions as cultural consultant to movies such as Baby Mother—London, Revelations—Jamaica, Beyonce and Jayz Everything is love, Luke Cage Season 2 and more. She is the author of SOUL CASINGS: A Journey from Classical Ballet to the CARIMOD DAAANCE Technique and Does The Caribbean Body Daunce Or Daaance?: Dr. Stines appears in the Netflix Series Luka Cage Episode 11 titled The Creator and was nominated for the Canadian Dora Mayor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography for the Watah Theatre production “Lukumi: A Dub Opera ,The Doctor Bird Award For Excellence in Dance, The RJR/Gleaner Award for Dance and is also featured in Luke Cage Season 2 Episode 11, “Skanking Sweet” by Chronix as well as Beyonce’ and Jayz’s song “Black Effects” on their 2018 Album titled “Everything Is Love”, released June 2018.

With her appealing curves and equally tantalising dance moves, Latonya Style is undeniably one of Jamaica’s most renowned and distinguished Dance Instructors with more than two decades of experience in teaching all levels and all ages, in various dance genres. Latonya has an undeniable passion for Dancehall and is highly sought after as a Master tutor in this genre. She tours extensively across the globe, spreading the authentic dancehall culture in far away places such as Asia, Australia, Europe and South America. She has been a successful dancehall practitioner since 1999 when she started choreographing and touring with top dancehall Artistes and has performed at every major stage show across Jamaica and some overseas. Ms. Style is the founder and CEO of Dance Jamaica (DanceJA) a Talent/Entertainment Organisation, which portrays the culture of Jamaica and its vibrant people.

Latoya Wakefield is a children's writer and a passionate creative who dabbles in art, dance and photography. She is an advocate for culture and you'll find that her books such as "Irie the Caterpillar" , "Back to Basics: A-Z of Danxehall" and "Xaymaca: A Dream is Born" portrays cultural elements. She just released her newest children's book, "Jamaican Mango Talk Di Good Tings Dem" and is working on several projects.

Lesli-Ann Belnavis Elliott, ATR uniquely combines two of her passions - being an Art Therapist and Photographer / Artist. She has conducted art therapy sessions with persons varying in age, diagnosis and settings in Jamaica. Her photography is informed by her being an art therapist and having the skillful ability to merge art and psychology and infuse it in different art techniques. She understands some of the concerns persons face and the impact it has on their emotional, developmental and interpersonal well beings. Her photography speaks to social issues where she masters the ability to evoke emotional responses and provocative discussions.

B.F.A. Founder Philanthropic Visual Poetry Performance Artist Healer and Visionaire Sustainable Vacation Art for Social Enterprising Art is Healing Art is a universal language that helps bring people together and I use art to find solutions to our social, environmental, and economic issues. This is my life and dream which I have been pursuing in various ways over the years. I was born knowing my path in this word, thanks to divinity for lighting the way through out my childhood dreams. I have been giving back to the community since I was 14 via various charity organizations and today as I write to you I am celebrating 13 years of service.

Some times I think to myself, OMG I can’t believe it. One thing I can say is that we must be very conscious of the life we expose our children to and the things we practice because it becomes very hard to drop old habits. Hahaha! I was always a very sensitive child growing up with extremely high sensitivity to the world around me including the emotions of others. I think sometimes that I feel their emotions more intensely then they actually do (if that makes sense). I am only happy if the person next to me is happy and of course I do experience the opposite if they are experiencing it. Let’s share happiness! Empathy gives us insights into other’s lives enabling us to understand what they are going through in order to help them and I must say, boy-o- boy, do have quite a lot and I believe that this is the drive behind my work.

I am not the person to sit and talk about the same problem over and over forever because doing that hurts like needles poking me in the eye ball. I am one who will shut up and act towards developing a solution, even if I fail one hundred times, I will make it my destiny to succeed in creating the change that is necessary for a brighter tomorrow. My dream is to see my country become sustainable and improve dramatically (in her society, ecology and economy) to the point where we can help other Caribbean and or developing countries, which is a responsibility for every country based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Life is not a destination it is a journey. Selah! Lisa Lej 2020

Mary White; Phenomenal Woman of God, Mother, Author of Glass Houses, storyteller, Dinthillian & Philanthropist! Mary hails from the beautiful parish of St. Mary, Jamaica/ Known for her infectious and kinetic personality and recently for her philanthropic connections with Pringle Home for Girls. As Mary says, "Perspective is a Heaven of a Thing!" Her mission is to inspire others to cope through their life challenges by sharing her trauma of the gruesome death of her Mother, who was murdered by her nephew. Perspective transformed and reshaped her mind to tag a purpose to her pain, birthing Glass Houses.

Nailah Asabi Henry was Born in Kingston Jamaica in 1991 and grew up in Port Antonio, Portland. She returned to Kingston to attend Edna Manley College where she pursued her Degree. After college Asabi sang at various hotels along the North Coast specializing in Jazz and Reggae. After having her son in 2017 and taking a break from music she decided to pursue her musical passion again in 2019. Instead of going back solely to the Hotel Industry she decided to jump into the larger industry as well, Dancehall and Reggae. “Bamboo” by Asabi is her very first single out now. Her upcoming singles “Caribbean Peach” and “Winey Don” will be released later this year.

The Rastafari Indigenous Village is an intentional community located in the Montego River Valley, Montego Bay Jamaica. Our mission is the sharing of our interpretations, perspectives, stories, experiences and livity for the preservation, conservation, sustainability, strengthening and reclaiming of our own diverse creative identities. We have evolved IRITS Alliance - network of creative cultural, environmental, agro-tourism agitators, to manifest our universal mission of human wellness and survival.

Raymoniya is a youth, environmental and human rights advocate. She is the Founder and Director of The International Empowerment Platform (I-YEP) which focuses on creating opportunities for international youth to contribute to global discussions. She also serves on the steering committees for both the Religious Group Steering Committee of the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) as well as the Pan-Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) Youth Advocacy Network. In 2018 she was selected to be a part of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. She enjoys traveling and trying new cuisines even though she has what many would consider a ‘basic palate' -owed to her being allergic to many different food types.

Richard Miller is from a little community called Lennox Bigwood District, where he is known as “Strawman”. Richard started basket weaving at (10)ten years of old. “I was inspired and taught by one of my cousin that goes by the name Rafael. I then taught my mother, brothers and sisters how to do the basket weaving”. Since then, Richard’s mastery in the art of straw weaving has won him national acclaim in newspaper articles, competitions and the opportunity to display in many resorts  such as Half Moon, Doctors Cave Beach, Jamaica Jamaica, Hedonism 3, Breezes and Round Hill Resorts.

Romona McLean-Foster is a certified Pattern Maker/Designer, Visual Artist, and is the Creative Director for the brand La Mona Designs and Variety specializing in Clothing, Fashion and Gift Items. The brand creates alluring custom wear and limited-edition ready-to-wear clothing and accessories that flatters the body. Eco-friendly creations are also utilized to preserve the environment through sustainable fashion methods. Her aim is to ensure that clients and customers Get quality, value for money being stylish yet comfortable. Most of her collections are versatile and timeless, reversible, and convertible, complementing almost any outfit you may already have.

A bilingual content creator, digital marketer and recently a podcast host! Sarah has leveraged her experiences of marketing, learning languages and dancing to conceptualize Caribbean Creatives The Podcast. She developed the concept during her Panama exchange programme in 2018 & decided to take action April 2020. “For me, I wanted to create something for people like me – a new generation of creatives- who valued regional integration & who are not afraid to build a network that crosses culture and language”. Caribbean Creatives is who I ultimately want to be. Its not about the land that divides us, but the stories that connect us.

I have been performing at the highest level of professional musicianship for over 40 years. Since leaving the Salvation Army School for the Blind in 1979, and doing courses at the then Jamaica School of Music and the Foster Davis School of Music, I became a member of the world famous Fab 5 aggregation and have performed with some very big names in global entertainment. I have been complimented on my perfect pitch, my “encyclopaedic knowledge” of many forms of music, including instant recall of even the oldest songs and my ability on electronic keyboards.

I'm an ambitious young lady who lives in Waterhouse, when I was younger I didn't know about the film industry so my company is here to make the industry more aware to individuals in Jamaica and the Caribbean. I'm a past student of Pembroke Hall High, Excelsior Community College of Performing Arts and I did a certified course at the University of the West Indies Community Film Program (uwicfp). In my spare time I network alot by going to Kingston Creatives meeting, Jafta meetings and just support friends in their business ventures. I love acting, movies, helping others and having fun with friends and family.

I am Tajaih : the Alchemic Writer/Poet.
I accept and acknowledge the pain points & taboos of the human race (such as struggles with identity, limiting beliefs and lack of self-love) and focus on them with a positive lens to normalize energetic balance of who we are as people: spiritual beings having a human experience.” As an alchemic Writer, I use my Words to shift the beliefs systems that may cause self hate in this day and age. In a time like this, I realized that we all need more Creators, Storytellers, Artists and Poets in this World to bring back our memories of who we are. So I kick my fears aside, and Create!