“We’re aiming for JMD$3.8 million from the sale of this work and we will donate every cent to Boy’s Town Infant and Primary School,” declared artist and sculptor Facey Cooper.

The sale begins immediately and ends on Sunday, November 6, 2016. “We’re encouraging a company or organisation to purchase and donate the piece to a school, institute, or gallery of their choice.  The installation is a bit grand for a home,” Facey Cooper said. “It is, however, a powerful history lesson.”

The installation represents enslaved individuals who laboured on the Mount Plenty property in the parish of St Ann, Jamaica as documented in 1820 at the time of the death of their owner, The Honourable John Hiatt, Custos of St. Ann.

“I live on the Mount Plenty property and have done so for 36 years. I walk the farm daily, past chain of stone walls built by the enslaved, and I can visit their burial grounds.  When I was shown Custos John Hiatt’s inventory of his slaves, I was shocked that they were listed as ‘property’ and that some of them were valued for less than his animals. There were 125 slaves on the Mount Plenty farm and for me, the inventory brought the reality of slavery into sharp focus,” Facey Cooper said.

The Love of Food

Capitalising on the love of food and art, Mount Plenty Organics in association with the C.B. Facey Foundation — the charitable arm of Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust Limited — hopes to raise $10,000,000 at this year’s event. Facey Cooper revealed that last year’s function raised $5.8 million.

Along with the donation from Facey Cooper, patrons will also be able to purchase works from textile artiste Miriam Hinds-Smith, quilt maestro Jessica Ogden, and paintings from siblings Cecil and Susan Ward.

Food-loving patrons will be treated to fresh, organic, vegan dishes from Stush In The Bush, exquisite Jamaican offerings from Chef Jacqui Tyson, refined rural fare from Hermosa Cove's Chef Conroy Arnold, and world-class offerings from Moon Palace Jamaica Grande Executive Chef Dennis McIntosh.

Patrons will be able to enjoy, for their US$80 or JMD$10,000 contribution, fresh vegetables and microgreens from the Mount Plenty Organics farm, fresh fruits, whole roasted pig, whole roasted cow, along with decadent desserts.

Interested parties are advised to contact Susanne Fredricks at fredrixauctions@gmail.com for information on the installation 62 Men and 63 Women.

About C.B. Facey Foundation at Boys’ Town

The C B Facey Foundation has been the charitable arm of Pan Jam for over 30 years. The Foundation is helping to shape the society by investing in the arts, the environment, and education.

The main thrust at Boys’ Town Infant and Primary School, situated in the Trench Town community of Kingston, is to transform the quality of education at the school, making Boys’ Town a model school by 2020. This project will be an example for public and private partnerships within the Jamaican education system.