The Jamaican Museum and Cultural Center (JMCC), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is advancing its multi-year campaign to secure a permanent physical home with a new virtual fundraising event: a Zoom-A-Thon held on April 18. This online gathering marks the latest push in the institution’s years-long effort to raise capital for a dedicated space that will celebrate Jamaican heritage and achievement across the diaspora.
Organizers confirmed in an official press statement that the virtual fundraiser will feature a lineup of prominent Jamaican community leaders and public figures based in North America. Participants include Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami; Dr. Garfield McCook, a senior executive with the JMCC; Pastor Fidel Donaldson; and reggae singer Ian Sweetness, who will bring musical performance to the virtual event.
Founded in September 2019, the JMCC’s core mission is to document and highlight the diverse contributions of Jamaicans at home and across the global diaspora. While the institution works toward its permanent physical space, it currently operates a fully interactive public website (www.jmccatlanta.com) that details all of its ongoing projects and educational programming.
The center’s most ambitious initiative to date is its Bricks Campaign, a three-year fundraising drive with a target of $5 million to break ground on the permanent JMCC facility. Once the full funding goal is met, organizers project construction of the new building will take approximately 18 months to complete.
Bricks fundraising models are a longstanding popular community fundraising tool across North America. Under the JMCC’s model, individual donors can purchase a personalized brick that will be engraved with their name, a personal message, or a dedication to a loved one, before being installed in a dedicated public area of the finished museum.
Even without a physical space, the JMCC already delivers robust educational content to the public through its digital platform, educating visitors on the full depth and complexity of Jamaican cultural history. The institution has already built an impressive collection of original art and historical artifacts, featuring works from leading Jamaican creatives, many of whom have ties to the Atlanta area. The collection includes pieces from Basil Watson, the renowned Atlanta-based painter and sculptor, acclaimed painter Bernard Hoyes, and multidisciplinary artist and designer Tamara Gammon.