Latest update February 4th, 2025 9:06 AM
Culture Minister proposes art fund to help showcase artists’ pieces
– as Commemorative catalogue for 2012 Guyana Visual Arts Competition launched
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony officially launched at the Castellani House, Vlissengen Road, the first ever commemorative catalogue, celebrating the artists who participated in the 2012 Guyana Visual Arts Competition, which was launched on August 31 and featured a week of activities.
Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony receives a portrait from artist Michael Griffith (left).
The 60-page document carries pictures of the work of the various artists, a short synopsis of the artists and their contact information. It also has a citation from the late renowned Guyanese artist Phillip Moore, a synopsis from the Public Lecture conducted by Ms Theresa Hadchity as part of events for the Guyana Visual Arts Competition and messages from President Donald Ramotar, Minister Anthony, and the Coordinator of the Competition Alim Hosein among others.
The document was compiled and produced by the Guyana Visual Arts Committee with support from corporate society such as Ansa McAl, Bank of Nova Scotia, Banks DIH, BK International, Citizens Banks, Digicel and the Guyana Bank For Trade and Industry (GBTI.)
Minister Anthony said the creation of an art market is necessary so that artists can have a place where they can sell their pieces, and in this regard, he said that the ministry is proposing, with support from the business community, creating an art fund, whereby the ministry will buy the pieces and rotate them for shows.
“If we can create an art fund, perhaps if we get 20 companies and each one of them contribute maybe $1M or so, we will have some money to start acquiring art works, and we can have some renowned artists and people who know how to appraise art…appraising them now and seeing good quality for us and maybe we can purchase it with the funds,” he said.
“Companies will benefit because we will rotate the art work in the head offices of the various companies …it’s something that we can work on,” he continued.
He said the need to better market Guyanese art was recognised following the hosting of CARIFESTA. “I recognised that since 2008, when we had CARIFESTA that a lot of people thought kindly about our art and they thought perhaps that we really do not market ourselves, but I feel with this competition that we are getting a lot of attention for our art…and now by capturing this and putting into a catalogue you will be able to not only enjoy the exhibition and ambience, but we now have something where at our own leisure we can browse through it and maybe even contact more of the artists and get more acquainted with their work,” he said.
Minister Anthony praised the hard work of the Visual Arts committee for compiling the catalogue and for nurturing the local art. He was also thankful to those in the corporate sector who supported the creation of the document as all that were approached for support came forward in this regard.
A copy of the catalogue was given handed over to representatives of companies that contributed toward its creation.
There was also the special moment, at the end of the event when the first place winner of the 2012 Guyana Visual Arts Competition, (drawing category), Michael Griffith surprised Minister Anthony. Griffith presented the Minister with a portrait he had created of him.
The Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition was re-launched in 2012 after a 20- year absence, to unearth, nurture and motivate the country’s best and up-and-coming painters, sculptors, photographers, and sketch, ceramic and textile artists. The return of the competition came at the request of artists and continues a tradition that was started in 1994 with the National Exhibition of the Visual Arts. The event will now be a biannual feature.
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