Labour Day legacy, Tivoli Gardens art and Jamaican folklore highlighted in JIS magazine

Jamaica Magazine’s May 23 programme placed focus on Labour Day service, public access, community art and the value of Jamaican folklore, while noting that the 2026 Labour Day holiday will be observed on May 25.

Ahead of the holiday, the Forestry Department is offering free seedlings from May 18 to 29. Individuals may collect up to five seedlings, including one fruit tree, while supplies last, from the department’s head office in St. Andrew and its nurseries at Williamsfield in Manchester and Moneague, St. Ann. Distribution runs Mondays to Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., except Monday, May 25.

The programme also revisited the Institute of Jamaica, where the 2024 National Labour Day project improved accessibility under the theme “Ramp Up the Access... Show You Care.” Volunteers, public agencies, community members and private-sector partners helped restore and beautify the historic 1879 institution, adding wheelchair ramps and transforming the Alfresco Lounge into a more attractive cultural hub. The segment said plans are also being considered for an elevator that would improve access to museums, galleries, libraries and the 300-seat lecture hall.

Another feature centred on fine artist Conroy Green, a self-taught Jamaican painter whose mural in Tivoli Gardens was inspired by community resident O’Neal Ko, also called Coco. Green said the work promotes Afrocentric pride, community togetherness, beautification and emotional renewal after the 2010 incursion. He said residents and passers-by have welcomed the project, which includes a female figure representing motherhood, African identity and the importance of women in Jamaican culture.

Green, who has pursued fine art for six years and professionally for four, said the pandemic pushed him to earn from his talent. His works include oil and acrylic paintings, among them Mapogo and the canvas piece that led to the Tivoli Gardens mural on Zaki Avenue.

The episode closed its main features with Jamaican folklore, examining Anancy, Rolling Calf, River Mumma and Old Hige. Contributors said these stories carry Indigenous knowledge, wit, warnings, humour and identity, and argued that Jamaicans should value African-rooted folk traditions with the same energy given to foreign tales.