African to Jamaican: Music and Creolised Black Culture

The Jamaica Music Museum, in the heart of Kingston, turns its gaze once again to the enduring journey of the African spirit with the 2026 edition of Grounation, its flagship public education series. This year, under the theme “African to Jamaican: Music and Creolised Black Culture,” the series invites reflection on the resilience of African heritage as it transforms, adapts, and blossoms into the vibrant expressions that shape Jamaican sociocultural identity.

Over four Sundays in February, within the storied walls of the Institute of Jamaica, Grounation 2026 encourages the restoration of Africa’s centrality to the Caribbean’s cultural memory. The series contemplates the Middle Passage not as an absolute rupture but as a crossing – a bridge bearing living African memories that would take root in new and unexpected forms.

“Grounation 2026 addresses the fundamental and shared character, spirit, and guiding principles that inform the society’s collective beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours. These core values are deeply rooted in the nation’s history, particularly its African heritage and the legacy of overcoming slavery and colonialism,” Jamaica Music Museum Curator Herbie Miller explained.

The four-part series unfolds through the sessions Africa Calls/Jamaica Answers: Reuniting the African Nation, African Roots, Jamaican Fruits: From Folk Traditions to Cultural Arts, Pan-Africanism, Nyabinghi, and Ska: The Foundation of Black Consciousness, and Jamaican to the World: Reggae, Rastafari, and Jamaican Popular Culture. Together, the sessions explore African retention in Jamaican cultural life, from folk traditions and rituals such as Kumina, Revivalism, and Mento to the rise of Pan-African consciousness, Nyabinghi rhythms, ska, and reggae, while also reflecting on Jamaica’s global cultural impact and the ways Rastafari and Jamaican music have shaped spiritual, political, and popular culture worldwide.

Presenters will include Prof. Rosalea Hamilton, Salwa Halloway, and Basil ‘Bagga’ Wilson. Performers comprise the JaMM Orchestra, L’Acadco: A United Caribbean Dance Force, and the Supersad Drummers.

“We at the Jamaica Music Museum consider music and the arts in general as important conveyors of historical, sociological, and anthropological knowledge. They are portrayals of the journey that has brought us to this point and beyond entertainment, the best of the arts are as valuable to one’s identity as the lessons learned in the classrooms.”

While planning for Grounation 2026 has taken place against the challenges brought on by the devastation caused by Category Five Hurricane Melissa, the Jamaica Music Museum remains fully committed to maintaining the high standard and quality that Grounation is known for. JaMM also encourages patrons to support the Institute of Jamaica’s Hurricane Relief Drive by donating non-perishable grocery items or making a cash contribution.

Grounation is open to the public and takes place at the Institute of Jamaica Lecture Hall, 10–16 East Street, Kingston, each Sunday on February 1, 8, 15, and 22.