March 02, 2020
I first attended New Wave JA about 2 years ago in 2017, and the theme of the night was “Arts + Architecture”. At the time, I was an architecture student so I was pretty intrigued to find out what the event had in store. The venue was filled with like-minded contemporaries, both in and out of the industry, who were all genuinely interested in networking and learning about alternative design processes and creative practices.
Since then, New Wave has become a staple event and platform in Jamaica that has gained prominence thanks to the efforts of curator and creative director Lindsey Lodenquai. Through her initiatives, Lindsey has been able to highlight the abundance of talent and creativity in Jamaica’s rich cultural landscape, by allowing both established and up-and-coming talent to thrive in a singular environment.
“New Wave is a creative event and social media platform for culture and talent in Jamaica.”
So firstly let’s get introduced, who is Lindsey Lodenquai, what’s her background?
LINDSEY: My background is… well I’ve been a dancer for as long as I can remember but I’ve sort of put that on pause for now. However, my degree is in Entertainment and Cultural Enterprise Management from the University of the West Indies, Mona.
It’s a program that encompasses event planning, marketing, PR, communications, all that type of stuff.
Dancing, how’d you get into that?
LINDSEY: I started doing ballet at the age of five and then got introduced to modern dance. After a couple years of doing ballet, I noticed all my friends were going to Tony Wilson’s School of Modern Dance. So you know being a kid, you always want to go where your friends are going. So I made the transition from ballet to modern and I’ve been at Mr. Wilson’s – The Company Dance Theatre ever since.
Would you say creative expression was fostered in your household?
LINDSEY: My parents have always been very open with me doing things that I showed genuine interest in and enjoyed. They’re very supportive of me trying new things. When they realized that I was really fond of dancing they were very facilitating towards this hobby of mine.
Okay, so let’s talk about New Wave JA… what inspired the effectuation of New Wave and what is it all about exactly?
LINDSEY: New Wave is a creative event and social media platform for culture and talent in Jamaica. That’s pretty much the premise of who we are. What we do is curate various events and exhibitory shows that feature every genre that’s within the creative space. We usually incorporate different elements in our events, like for instance we would have art, film, open mic, music… just different things. Keeping our patrons entertained and always providing a space for people to network and have a really dynamic experience.
Jamaica has a very nurtured and cherished artistic community. Can you tell us more about New Wave’s impact on said community?
LINDSEY: I think New Wave has given a voice and a platform to a lot of people to really showcase and express their creativity and artistry. New Wave started in 2016 and before that, not a lot of alternative types of creative expression were being highlighted. Jamaica – as you probably already know has always been big on the music scene. There’s always concerts or shows featuring musicians and their talents but what happens to the visual artists and the filmmakers, the comedians, the dancers. I think that we’ve been able to showcase a wider spectrum of creativity that’s emerging in all the different scenes through our events and our social media platform.
“Our events are usually developed based on what’s making an impact on Jamaica’s culture at the moment.”
Is this platform accessible to all talents – emerging and established?
LINDSEY: Yeah, for sure!
Do you source them; do they source you – what’s the curation process like usually?
LINDSEY: We pretty much keep an eye out for what’s happening, what’s trending now, who are the new up-and-coming players, who do we think needs to get featured. Our events are usually developed based on what’s making an impact on Jamaica’s culture at the moment. That’s the vibe. So we would typically reach out to acts and talents, as our events are highly thought about – highly curated so we really try to pick the perfect persons at the perfect time.
Are there any challenges?
LINDSEY: Yeah, of course… finances are always a problem. Luckily we’ve been able to form partnerships with some great people recently, so that’s been a considerable aid for us. There’s also the challenge of finding the right space to host our events, based on the theme and such.
I really want to build out the model in the Caribbean because I think that it’s such a beautiful place for culture and I think that everyone needs to be a part of this, so that it becomes a movement that demonstrates appreciation for the culture and the diversity that we have here.
I understand you’ve also established charitable initiatives like Celebrity Closet, can you tell us more about that?
LINDSEY: So Celebrity Closet is a charity pop-up thrift store that we do annually. This year is going to be our third instalment. This was an idea I’ve had for so long but didn’t know how to fully initiate because I didn’t really have the right platform to execute it. As New Wave gained prominence and started gaining traction I was like “oh let me draw back fi dis idea.” So that’s kind of how it started. I figured that there’s so many influencers and celebrities in Jamaica who receive and have so much clothing and items from endorsements or whatever and they often don’t really use all. They’d probably just wear it once and not really have any purpose for it anymore. So I figured why not get some really awesome pieces that people aren’t going to utilize anymore and sell them for charity.
We’ve had numerous celebrities who’ve donated like Asafa, Protoje, Jesse Royal, Denyque, Tessanne Chin, Becca Dudley who is a UK host for MTV, so many people. Also persons who aren’t necessarily celebrities or influencers have been donating. So “ordinary” people like you and I can also be a part of the donation process.
And there’s also outreach workshops and other volunteer projects in the works?
LINDSEY: Correct. We are building out our outreach portion of New Wave. So far we have visited St. Elizabeth and did an environmental art workshop with the kids in Treasure Beach. We’ve also been into Denham Town which is a very deprived community, probably one of the most devastated communities in Kingston where we did a fantastic workshop with the kids. We did art, drama and dance, getting them involved in various creative fields. The kids from these inner city communities are often so stifled because of either the violence or just the lack of support. So it’s great to give them a creative outlet to express themselves and it’s absolutely incredible when you see what comes out in their work – in their drawings and paintings. They often emulate the things that they feel, the things they see around them and how it affects them. It all comes out in their art and expression. So I think that it’s a really therapeutic thing for these kids to do.
Finally, what’s your culminating vision for New Wave?
LINDSEY: I aspire for it to become the premier event platform throughout the Caribbean. We have been to Trinidad already and hoping to return soon and possibly expand to other islands eventually. I really want to build out the model in the Caribbean because I think that it’s such a beautiful place for culture and I think that everyone needs to be a part of this, so that it becomes a movement that demonstrates appreciation for the culture and the diversity that we have here. I simply would like for this platform to continuously keep ushering in the new waves of culture and talent.
FOLLOW: THE NEW WAVE JAMAICA
