STUDIO 174

• To facilitate and work at developing the education and professional training of inner-city youth and young emerging artists in fine art studies and production for creative careers in the downtown Kingston area.
• To invite young artists from abroad to work with our local artists in a workshop environment.
• To create public art and to change the physical face of the downtown Kingston environment.
• To develop art therapy projects for inner-city children in Kingston and around the island and create follow up opportunities for annual participation with Kingston on the Edge Art Festival and the JCDC National Visual Arts Competition.
• To showcase the works of participating young artists in venues throughout Jamaica, the Caribbean, and internationally in galleries, established festivals, community events and alternative spaces, thereby creating both local and foreign art markets for underexposed local talents.

Studio 174 was founded by Rosemarie Chung in 2006 to serve educational and cultural needs of children and young adults in inner-city Kingston. As a professional artist and art educator with an international background, Ms. Chung has a strong calling to nurture and develop the creative talent evident in often unnoticed communities in Jamaica.  The direction of Studio 174 is a broader view of building stepping stones for undereducated and underexposed populations in high-risk areas of violence and extreme poverty. Art classes are held on Saturdays free of cost and are a component of educational services that aim to be explorative, expressive and experimental, working with the genesis of concepts through the manifestations of ideas.  Younger students are guided by older and more advanced students, which creates a locally based, inclusive and collaborative industry of the arts.

Other programs include English classes as well as mathematics since a large number of participating inner-city youths often have limited access to formal education due to financial constraints.  As such, volunteer assistance is always needed in all fields, which are filled by utilizing our talented and trained graduates from Edna Manley Visual Arts College in Central Kingston.

It is also consistent with our projected goals to create partnerships with similar organizations worldwide, to create exchange program opportunities which will broaden the minds of our children by exposing them to other cultures, languages, and artistic expressions.  Rozi Chung believes that offering a creative global perspective to our underserved communities in Jamaica will create greater aspirations, stronger collaborative bonds, and a disciplined yet innovative work ethic that will effect positive growth and the realization of the full potential of our inner city youth.