These artists have bestowed upon themselves the title of ‘leading artists’

May 30, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
I respond to the letter (Kaieteur News May 11th) under the caption, “The artists are not amused” by Mr. Philbert Gajadhar, George Simon, Winslow Craig, Jynell Osborn and Collette Jones Chin.
The content of the letter was a startling revelation in that it is a clear admission that these “leading artists” have made millions of dollars from all the projects mentioned below:
• A waterfall mural at the arrival Area of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. This was sponsored by Splashmins and executed in 2009 by the leading artists. Question: why weren’t these public works advertised in the newspapers and the artists community invited to submit designs, drawings that would have had to win the approval of an Arts Committee before becoming a “public work”?
• Five murals commissioned by the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Culture in 2010. This was a collaborated effort by some of Guyana’s leading artists and students of art and is on display at the National Museum.
• Three large relief and five small free standing sculptures done by Michael Kahn. They are on display in the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology and were executed in 2010 and commissioned by the Ministry of Culture.
• A total of four murals at the University of Guyana again done by the leading artists. How can these works be seriously considered the “Artistic Trail” done by one set of artists who have no recognition.
These artists have bestowed upon themselves the title of ‘leading artists’ but have never won the Judges Award or the National Award at the National Visual Arts Competition in neither the painting nor sculptures categories. Of course there was no category or award for Mr. Khan. What they have produced is a trail of ‘pot boilers’.
The creative artists are the embodiment of the collective consciousness and free will of the entire Guyanese Nation; and their works of art illuminate and inspire change.
On account of their greed and obsession with the accumulation of wealth, entire households of families in the artistic community have had to do without basic necessities, while artists are starved of materials and a lot of creativity is aborted.
I do hope that the Minister of Culture Dr. Frank Anthony would be so moved as to understand now what I have repeatedly said in my letters to the press concerning the destitution of the artistic community.
The arts and sports development fund should be used to develop Guyanese creativity and not just to make some leading artists fat and rich.
Desmond Alli

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These artists have bestowed upon themselves the title of ‘leading artists’

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