A salute to fathers

A new mural dedicated to dads across Jamaica will be unveiled on the walls of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) shelter in downtown Kingston on Sunday in recognition of Father’s Day.

Twenty-five-year-old artist Anthony ‘Taoszen’ Smith told The Gleaner that he was happy to create an imagery which will inspire fathers to not only love their children wholeheartedly, but to create time to read with them.

The colourful artwork along Church Street depicts a father reading a book with his child, a piece commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Youth in partnership with the KSAMC.

Smith said that he holds the creation dear to his heart as he wants to see more Jamaican fathers being involved in their children’s lives.

“And not just be more involved, but being involved in the educational aspect, because a lot of fathers are seen as ‘I’m here to provide and protect’, but taking care of the education goes beyond providing the money to take care of the education,” Smith, who has been a muralist for the past two years, told The Gleaner.

He continued: “[It takes] talking to the child, understanding what they understand, understanding the level that the child is at, all of those things. I find it extremely important as someone who is looking to become a father myself. These things are things that I want to start practising from now, so I try to share that message with existing fathers.”

Smith said that while he did not have an easy childhood, he had a loving bond with his father, which is why he is keen on promoting the positivity men can bring into their children’s lives.

Smith decided on his artistic career path while in grade four and went on to study branding and graphic designing at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

But asked why he chose the profession, he said: “I have no idea. I really have no idea. In the beginning when I started, it just felt right. It just felt right, so when I’m doing it, I feel more myself than at any other time.”

The young artist is motivated to continue in the profession as, apart from being profitable, it helps him to convey broader messages to the public in real time.

“One of the reasons I do large-scale public work is so that people in public can actually relate to the work and build relationships,” the Knox Community College alumnus said.

Education and Youth Minister Fayval Williams told The Gleaner that the ministry’s goal of commissioning this latest mural to grace the downtown Kingston space is to encourage fathers to read to their children.

“We know that fathers in general read, but we want to highlight that fact and make it something special and launch it on Father’s Day when we have their attention,” Williams said of the mural, which was also done in partnership with UNICEF. “That’s a picture that we want all Jamaicans to see, and it shows this dad very interested in the child. You can see that it is a very very happy experience for both the father and the child.”

The piece also aligns with the Ministry of Education and Youth’s tagline for Father’s Day this year: ‘Fathers Read, Too’.

Williams said that this message, however, will go beyond Father’s Day to encourage reading with and to children across Jamaica.

During the KSAMC’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Delroy Williams encouraged his fellow councillors to view the work being done.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com