S5:E11 From natural talent to creative economy… Andrea Dempster Chung, CoFounder & Executive Director, Kingston Creative
Guest
Andrea Dempster Chung
In conversation with
Stephanie Fortunato
Our host, Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Andrea Dempster Chung, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Kingston Creative, about their long-term strategy to build a cultural district in downtown Kingston – and what it takes to turn natural talent into a thriving creative ecosystem.
Date of Recording
8 September 2025
Date of Publication
23 October 2025
[00:00:00]
Andrea Dempster Chung: If you were to really leverage all of this global resonance and the power of Bob Marley and the iconic musicians, if you were to leverage that for national development or sustainable development, you know, how would that look?
Tapping into that was very natural for us, it was like, okay, let's take our biggest assets. Let's lean into what really works, what's already working, and let's see if we can wrap an ecosystem around it, wrap a framework around it, so that you know, there's a creative economy benefit and we can benefit the creators of this culture.
[00:00:31]
THEME MUSIC
[00:00:37]
Stephanie Fortunato: Hello, and welcome to The Three Bells, one of a series of podcasts brought to you by AEA Consulting for the Global Cultural Districts Network. Through conversations with cultural and civic leaders, we bring listeners important moments and ideas about the evolving role of culture and community.
I'm your host, Stephanie Fortunato, Director of Special Projects for GCDN, and today I am thrilled to be joined by Andrea Dempster Chung, the Co-founder and Executive Director of Kingston Creative in Jamaica.
Andrea's path is a fascinating one; a structural engineer by training, she has become a formidable cultural leader, entrepreneur, and a powerful voice for the creative economy in the Caribbean and beyond. Since founding Kingston Creative in 2017, she has been at the forefront of transforming Downtown Kingston into a vibrant, creative district. Her work is a powerful example of how arts and culture can drive not just aesthetic change, but tangible economic development and social cohesion.
We're going to dive deeper into her leadership journey, the story of Kingston Creative, and the powerful lessons that she has learned about building cities that are not just smart, but soulful. Andrea, thank you so much for being with us.
[00:01:53]
Andrea Dempster Chung: Hi Stephanie. Thank you so much for having me.
…
External Links
Kingston Creative – the official site of the initiative.
Paint the City – a large-scale mural programme aimed at beautifying downtown Kingston and supporting local artists.
Artwalk Kingston – monthly activation by Kingston Creative in downtown Kingston.
CreateTech Caribbean – a regional programme launched by Kingston Creative to support creative entrepreneurs through training and access to finance.
Climate Change Art Park – a public art project by Camille Chedda developed in collaboration with GCDN and Alserkal Advisory as part of A Feral Commons.
About our Guest
Andrea Dempster Chung, is an engineer, entrepreneur and executive. She is the Cofounder and Executive Director of Kingston Creative an organisation seeking to transform Downtown; the founder of Bookophilia, a bookstore that promotes Caribbean literature and the founder of Go Global Art, an art marketing platform which helps artists from developing countries gain access to global markets. +
