Craftsmen anticipate needed exposure at Carifesta XIII

Jun 30, 2017 News

Guyana is expected to take a sizeable delegation to Carifesta XIII slated for Barbados in August. Among those who will be showcasing their work will be some talented craftsmen, including 60-year-old Brian Van Rossum.

Brian Van Rossum displays some of his jewellery that he intends to take to Carifesta XIII.

Van Rossum, like a few others, has over the years utilised the Main Street avenue in Georgetown to showcase their craft. He, however, has high expectations that the exposure at the Barbados-hosted Caribbean Festival of Arts (Carifesta) will help his business to evolve considerably.
Van Rossum has been involved in the craft business for over 30 years. Business, according to him, is usually slow, but there are some people who continue to have an appreciation for handicraft.
When asked why he chose to be involved in the craft arena, Van Rossum quickly quipped, “If you are not creative you will be destructive and I don’t want to be a destructive element…So I decided to lean on the positive side of my mind.” He claimed that he had long realised that he had a creative side, even as he added that he was well prepared for this path of life since “I got my degree in all faculties of life.”
Among his first pieces were hand-crafted plant hangers. Also, he and his brother Paul, who now resides overseas, have collaborated in the past to do some outstanding interior decoration. In fact, Van Rossum revealed that among the most outstanding projects that the duo was hired to do was a carpet for the Bank of Guyana. However, as a solo craftsman, Van Rossum concentrates mostly on the production of hand-crafted jewellery these days.
Yesterday he was anxious to show off some of his pieces which he anticipates will earn him a ‘pretty penny’ at Carifesta XIII. This is in spite of the fact that his attendance at Carifesta XI in Suriname in 2013 did not bring him much financial gain. This, he explained, was due to the fact that the initial plan to have the event at a central location did not materialise.
“It was nice, but it was not at the central point that we had expected. They had it in different

Norman Vieira [L] and Marvin Phillips are craftsmen who hope to have their work showcased too.

regions and so I didn’t get what I expected,” said Van Rossum of his earnings. Van Rossum did not participate in Carifesta XII in Haiti in 2015, but he insisted that his expectation for this year will not be daunted.
Also slated to be part of the Guyanese Barbados delegation is 68-year-old Norman Vieira. According to Vieira, he has been engaged in leather sculpture for over 50 years. And he revealed yesterday that he can create just about any object including flowers, fish or even birds.
“I have been doing this for a long time and so it is natural for me to create any form,” he shared. He too is anxious to be a part of the arts festival, which he believes will help to give his work meaningful attention and boost sales too. Vieira, like Van Rossum, is a common feature along the avenue since they ply their craft trade there on a daily basis.
Sixty-two year-old Marvin Phillips has also been similarly engaged for some 30 years and he, like the other two craftsmen mentioned, is anxious to have his work exposed at the upcoming art festival in Barbados too. According to Phillips, although he will not be able to grace the event in person, he hopes his name will be recognised for the wooden sculptures he intends to have showcased.

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