The School of Visual Arts, formerly the Jamaica School of Art, is the oldest art school in the English-speaking Caribbean. It began as a workshop conducted by Edna Manley in the 1940’s at the Junior Centre of the Institute of Jamaica. By 1950, it gained full-time status at 4 Central Avenue in Kingston. Over the next twenty years, the School grew and a new premises at 11 North Street was acquired. Thereafter, the School operated from two locations: Central Avenue (for three dimensional studies) and North Street (for two dimensional studies). After the establishment of the Cultural Training Centre (CTC) in 1976 and later that of the evolved Edna Manley College In 1995, it became and has remained one of the four schools at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, located at 1 Arthur Wint Drive.
