Visual Arts symposium… Carifesta should be emancipated from politicians

Visual Arts symposium… Carifesta should be emancipated from politicians – regional artists

Aug 26, 2008 News

By Tusika Martin

The Caribbean Festival of Arts (Carifesta) should be emancipated from politicians while at the same time there is need for action within the arts industry in the Caribbean.
This was the call of Visual Artists yesterday during the symposium on ‘Mekking Change: Art and artists in the Caribbean.’
The artists called for Caricom to be more proactive in the promotion of arts within the region, highlighting that little is being done by the cultural desk within the Caricom Secretariat for the sector.
At the same time, the regional artists are seeking to promote their work through the building of institutions rather than by ‘events.’
“What happens after the ‘event’? Institutions prepare for the ‘event’ but nothing happens after the ‘event’,” one Regional artist said yesterday. At the same time, it was pointed out that artists need to be more unified within the region.
“How could we speak of Caribbean Art when we don’t know the history?” a Bahamian artist asked the gathering. One Trinidadian suggested that a regional museum be established with its headquarters based in one country with various ‘travelling’ pieces.
There was also a call for the inclusion of the Dutch, French and Spanish-speaking Caribbean to be more involved in coordinated activities across the region.
Famous Trinidadian artist, Makemba Kuntle, while addressing the gathering pointed out that someone addressed the very topic discussed yesterday some nine Carifestas ago.
“Talking about ‘mekkin’ change is one thing but making change for thirty something years is another thing. To come back now to that same topic again, its as if the years of reaching out, of responsibility, commitment and affirmation, not to mention the struggle to make ends meet, count for nothing,” the Trinidadian artist lamented.
Thirty-six years ago, he said, there was talk about legacy of colonialism and neo-colonialism while today there are talks about ‘legacy of diversity.’
“Then they talked of shaping a culture. Now we speak of marketing it. A topic now might be shaping a culture to suit the market.”
Almost suddenly, he said, artists find themselves overtaken on the outside by an information technology that has them still ‘bazodie.’
“I am not saying that the role of an artist has become redundant, or obsolete, or useless. Just not overstate our case or delude ourselves: our impact on our societies is becoming less and less obvious.”
Yet, he said, artists from around the region are in Guyana, ready to rouse themselves once more, to join in the ‘construction of new beginnings, new landscapes.’
“To start from scratch if need be, for we are fatalistic this way. But not to play like we don’t see the new landscape already being constructed around us as if we were not there. Not to play like we ain’t see that this landscape is decimal, hopeless, soul-less and senseless,” Kuntle said.
He said that the reality is that the problems facing the artistic community in the Caribbean are bigger than the artistic community ‘broader, deeper, longer, and harder, according to the Mighty Sparrow.’
He said that artists have been a ‘pretty powerless bunch’ operating with parameters laid down for them without a say in anything.
Carnival in its various forms across the region, Kuntle said, is undervalued and its possibilities for art education and self discovery are largely ignored.
However, the scramble to package, promote and market it as a tourist attraction would continue until it has lost all meaning, the artist said.
“If there is going to be talk about forming a body that would do follow-up work after this festival is over, I’m for that, so the next Carifesta no bright, young upstart is going to jump up and ask me any question about ‘mekking change’, because we know we went through that already in 2008 and we have things to show for it.”
Among the other presenters at yesterday’s symposium were Maxwell Taylor (Bahamas), Natalie Coleman (Cayman Islands), John Cox (Bahamas) and Yolanda Wood (Cuba).
Like many of the other Carifesta event venues, the security and medical presence was quite obvious yesterday’s forum.
Today the series of symposia will continue with discussions on ‘Defining and Redefining our Cultural Industries’ and ‘Caribbean Cultural Diplomacy’ at the International Conference Centre.

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Visual Arts symposium… Carifesta should be emancipated from politicians – regional artists

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