Petrona Morrison (born 1954) is a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n sculptor and media artist. Her work is largely inspired by African art; she uses found objects in assemblages that have both personal and broader social themes. A native of

Manchester, Jamaica The Parish of Manchester () is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Dio ...

, Morrison was sketching from the time she was a child. She began training as an artist at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, graduating in 1976. In the mid-1980s she studied for her MFA at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, during which time she spent a year in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. She divided her time between the United States and Jamaica before returning home for good in 1995; she continues to travel for residencies. She has taught at the

Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, (formerly Jamaica School of Art and Crafts), is an art school in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1940, Edna Manley pioneered evening art classes at the Institute of Jamaica's Junior Centre but it wa ...

since 1988. She was artist-in-residence at the

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...

. Her work may be seen in the collection of the

National Gallery of Jamaica The National Gallery of Jamaica, in Kingston, Jamaica, is Jamaica's public art museum. It was established in 1974 and is located in the Kingston Mall, a commercial and cultural center on Kingston harbour. The National Gallery of Jamaica also h ...

. She was awarded the Gold

Musgrave Medal The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 ...

in 2014. In 2017 Morrison exhibited work in the Jamaica biennial.

Selected exhibitions

* ''Petrona Morrison and Veronica Ryan: Sculptural Works''.

Bronx Museum of the Arts The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by ...

, United States, 1996–1997. * ''Annual Exhibition'',

, Jamaica, 1999. Work: "Absence" * ''Jamaica Biennial'',

, Jamaica, 2017. Work: "Selfie."

References

1954 births Living people Jamaican women sculptors Jamaican women artists 20th-century Jamaican sculptors 21st-century Jamaican sculptors People from Manchester Parish McMaster University alumni Howard University alumni Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Jamaican artists 20th-century women sculptors 21st-century women sculptors {{Jamaica-artist-stub