Kingston Creative first Caribbean winner of Aschberg Grant

Kingston Creative has made history as the first Caribbean non-governmental organisation to win a grant under the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals. Kingston Creative was one of only 16 winners selected by an independent panel of experts from 1,068 applications worldwide in 2026, a landmark achievement for Jamaica and the region.

The award will fund the Caribbean Artist Resilience & Empowerment (CARE) Programme, an 18-month initiative to protect the status of the artist and artistic freedom in Small Island Developing States. Beginning in Jamaica and expanding to Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados, CARE, funded by UNESCO, will strengthen the economic security, rights, mobility and disaster preparedness of Caribbean artists and cultural professionals.

“Through the UNESCO Aschberg Programme, we are supporting practical solutions that strengthen artistic freedom, improve the working conditions of cultural professionals and ensure that creativity remains a driving force for sustainable development across the Caribbean, said Yuri Peshkov, head of the culture programme, UNESCO Office for the Caribbean

The win recognises Kingston Creative’s growing leadership in the niche of cultural resilience. In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, the non-profit organisation conducted rapid assessments with over 500 artists, finding that more than 70 per cent had lost income through cancelled performances and exhibitions and 60 per cent had suffered damage to tools or studios. This data collection directly supported UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture in the implementation of the UNESCO Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, embedding the creative sector in Jamaica’s official disaster response for the first time.

Kingston Creative also launched a Creative Resilience Fund that provided emergency stipends to more than 80 affected creative practitioners. This fund was supported by donors like the Clara Lionel Foundation and the Miami Foundation.

“Artists in Small Island Developing States are on the front line of the climate crisis, yet they are too often invisible in recovery planning. This grant is recognition that Caribbean creatives matter and that the systems that protect them must be built here, by us, for the region and for the world,” said Andrea Dempster Chung, co-founder and executive director of Kingston Creative.

Under the CARE Programme, Kingston Creative ‘s task will include conducting needs assessment research on artists in crisis across Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados, and provide grants to cultural institutions in three islands to offer displaced artists residencies, psychological support and three months of safe working space.

The programme prioritises women creatives, youth, Indigenous cultural practitioners including the Maroons, and informally employed artists. Partners include the Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance of Jamaica, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and the University of the West Indies Institute of Cultural Studies.