NASSAU, Bahamas, April 6, 2022 — The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made an excellent choice in appointing Jamaal Rolle as Ambassador-at-large of Cultural Affairs. Known as “The Celebrity Artist”, Ambassador Rolle has achieved world-wide recognition as a Bahamian visual artist for his life-like portrait depictions of famous world figures, government officials, entertainment celebrities, and sports stars.
As noted on Wikipedia, “Rolle is a multi-disciplinary artist, working in mediums such as acrylic, oils, charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, pastels, digital media, and cosmetics and has recently embarked on creating artwork using food.”
He “has received wide attention and critical acclaim for his depictions of U.S. President Barack Obama, Prince Harry, Sir Sidney Poitier, Oprah Winfrey, Johnny Depp, and Michael Jackson.”
According to Wikipedia, during the 2009 U.S. Presidential Election campaign, Rolle was inspired by then presidential nominee Barack Obama and started the “Bahama for Obama” campaign, which used the phrase “I Am the Dream” (an allusion to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech) during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.
Obama also “inspired him to do an oil portrait on Super Tuesday that he displays “at his studio in downtown Nassau and it has received heavy attention from the thousands of American tourist that pass by on a daily basis.”
Wikipedia adds: “During President Barack Obama’s 2009 Inauguration, Rolle presented a portrait to Reverend Al Sharpton at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Rally in Washington D.C. The portrait depicts side-by-side portraits of Obama, Sharpton, and King.”
