Bunny Wailer opens museum
IT HAS been a long time coming. The three-time Grammy award winner and original member of reggae group The Wailers, Bunny Wailer, finally opened his museum.
The launch of The Wailers Museum took place recently, in celebration of his 70th birthday and his first official website (www.wailersmuseum.com) officially launched.
Wailer said he was mindful that he wanted to design and make sure the narrative and artefacts of the museum mirrored his interpretation of his life and legacy and that of the group, The Wailers.
“I felt as the surviving member of The Wailers, it is my obligation and responsibility as the only one alive, who lived and had the most intimate memory of that history, to record it for posterity,” he said.
The museum is heavily influential by Rastafari culture and the seminal role of his father, Thaddeus Livingston.
The space was converted from Bunny Wailer’s personal home into a museum. It also puts in perspective the fact that all three members maintained the ethos of The Wailers in their individual solo careers and so it mitigates the perception of Bob Marley being the main ingredient and Peter and Bunny as just ‘harmony’ singers.
So, the museum consists of a wide scope of artefacts, history, photographs and audiovisual materials.
The masterminds behind the museum are his son Abijah Livingston and his partner (Chucka), and their company, Lime and Chune Limited, along with Maxine Stowe, his manager, are the curators of the Museum.
The Wailers Museum will be open to the public at an official date to be announced in July 2017 to coincide with the annual birthday celebrations of H.I.M. Haile Selassie 1 on July 23, and the Jamaica 55 anniversary celebrations, August 1-6, 2017. At presently, it is available for private viewings, which can be arranged through the Wailers Museum website and by email at bunnywailersarchive@gmail.com.