Joe Bogdonavich pleased with ongoing work on Reggae Wall of Fame

Josef Bogdonavich, chairman of Downsound Entertainment, organisers of Reggae Sumfest, has expressed his admiration for the ongoing work on the dancehall ‘Wall of Fame’ mural being painted on the walls of the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay.

Bogdonavich praised the team of artists tasked with completing the mural saying “it is something quite exceptional.

He was speaking with Observer Online during Sumfest’s annual clean up exercise of the shoreline that adjoins the property on Saturday.

The work, which has been ongoing for a few months, has seen the likeness of several individuals connected to reggae and dancehall music such as Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Bounty Killer, Shaggy, Beres Hammond, Sean Paul among others, being spray painted to the wall.

According to Bogdanovich, the artwork is something that will contribute to the culture.

“What’s great about it is that you get this kind of love for the culture and that’s why they are here,” he said.

He went on to reveal that the artists involved in the project are overseas based but expressed that based on their skill sets, were recruited for the project.

“There is this guy called Maximilian and he’s perhaps the number one or number two hyperrealism muralist in the world and he comes from Argentina and he’s here for the third time,” he revealed. “We have another guy from Brazil, we flew them both three years in a row for the different phases and he’s also top in the world.”

Highlighting that the mural is now in its third phase of completion, Bogdanovich said he is unsure of when the work would be fully ready.

In relation to the status of the lease arrangement for the complex, he said that they are hopeful that things will work out some time during the course of the year. Downsound Entertainment won the rights to lease the complex some four years ago but since then have not inked an additional arrangement in relation to the matter.

Downsound Entertainment, it has been revealed, plans to put in a restaurants, boardwalks and other recreational spaces for the benefit of visitors from both local and overseas.

Also among the plans will be the development of a museum that will house the Roger Steffens archive that was acquired by Bogdonavich some time ago. The archive will be one of the most detailed in terms of Bob Marley and reggae history.