Sculptor Basil Watson, CD, has been named Jamaicans.com’s 2025 Person of the Year at the 27th annual Best of Jamaica Awards, held on Friday, January 30, 2026, at the Miramar Cultural Centre in South Florida. The honour recognises Watson’s sustained excellence and his long-standing commitment to elevating Jamaican artistry on the global stage.
Speaking with Jamaicans.com following his selection, Watson grounded the honour in collective achievement rather than personal acclaim. “We are ‘Out of Many, One people’; and for the achievements of one, credit must also go to the many,” he said.
Baptized in Jamaican Artistic Heritage
Born Basil Barrington Watson in Kingston Jamaica, Watson grew up immersed in art. He is the son of renowned Jamaican painter Barrington Watson, and his early exposure to visual storytelling would go on to shape a lifelong commitment to form, discipline and meaning.
Watson began producing sculptures in Jamaica, where he first turned to three-dimensional form as a way to expand his visual language. As he has explained, “I found sculpture as I sought to explore a more plastic vehicle of communication. The energy, vigour and emotive quality of the human figure intrigues me and this has sustained and anchored my work.” That fascination with the human form remains central to his practice, informing both his technique and subject matter.
A Kingston College Old Boy and a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Watson developed his craft within Jamaica’s formal art institutions before taking that foundation onto the international stage. What followed was a career defined by precision, scale and historical intent.
From Kingston to some of the world’s most prominent civic spaces, Watson’s work has steadily placed Jamaican and Black narratives into public view. Through monumental sculpture, he has shaped how stories of struggle, leadership and achievement are preserved, insisting that these histories occupy space, endure and be treated with respect.
My Work Carries Jamaica With It
Watson, who describes art as “the harmonious expression of one’s vision of life,” is an internationally renowned artist who has spent more than 45 years translating life’s defining qualities — freedom, strength, beauty, energy and resilience — into finely crafted works. He is best known for large-scale public monuments honouring pivotal historical figures and moments.
In Jamaica, his work includes several sculptures dedicated to sport and athletics, with monuments located from Montego Bay to Kingston. Internationally, his public works can be found in major cities across the United States and the United Kingdom, including the Monument to Rosa Parks at Legacy Plaza in Montgomery, Alabama; the University of South Carolina Desegregation Monument; a bronze sculpture of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta; and the award-winning National Windrush Monument, commissioned by the UK Government in commemoration of the Windrush Generation.
Despite his global reach, Watson has consistently approached his work through a distinctly Jamaican lens. During his acceptance remarks, he reinforced that his connection to the island remains central to his identity and practice. “I lived the first forty-four years of my life in Jamaica, and I carried that with me — and always will,” he said, underscoring how deeply Jamaica continues to shape his work and worldview.
Art as Record, Responsibility and Truth
Watson’s practice is rooted in the understanding that public art carries responsibility. His work is intentional in both scale and subject, created to command space and invite engagement. Working primarily in bronze and stone, he centres histories that have often been overlooked, asserting their place within the public record with permanence and care.
Addressing the audience at the awards ceremony, Watson spoke directly about the importance of cultural ownership and storytelling. “…we need to tell our stories. And if we don’t tell our stories, somebody’s going to tell them for us — and it might not be what it really is,” he said.
Recognition at the Best of Jamaica Awards
Basil Watson’s selection as Best of Jamaica 2025 Person of the Year recognises a career defined by consistency, purpose and global impact. It affirms his place among Jamaica’s most significant cultural figures and underscores the importance of artists who approach history with care, discipline and intention.
Watson accepted the honour with characteristic humility, grounding his recognition in community rather than individual achievement. Drawing on a familiar Jamaican proverb, he noted that “if you want to go far, go with your community,” adding that the moment was evidence that “Jamaica is going places.” He reminded the audience that while individuals may be celebrated, “for the achievements of one, credit must go to many.”
He went on to acknowledge a lineage of figures who carried the Jamaican flag before him — naming Nanny, Paul Bogle, Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, Cat Coore, Jimmy Cliff and Usain Bolt — emphasising that their legacy continues forward, and that “we all walk with them.”
The full Best of Jamaica Awards 2025 ceremony is available to watch on our YouTube channel.
