A different side to Carifesta on display in arts symposium
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| Published on Saturday, August 30, 2008 |
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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): Carifesta X hosted by Guyana has afforded an opportunity for the visualization of many cultures and art forms. However, Carifesta X took on a whole new meaning when a symposium named “Walk with Me, Talk with Me: Journeys of the Caribbean Imagination” was hosted which allowed persons to walk with major artists across the landscapes of their art and careers as artists.
This symposium, which was hosted by Dr. Vibert Cambridge, an artist himself, permitted the artists to highlight the challenges they face as practitioners of their particular art forms, their vision as artists, and other matters related to their situation as creators within the particular reality that is called “the Caribbean”.
Rubadiri Victor, an internationally renowned artist from the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago took the audience through three generations, namely the Golden Age, the Independent Generation and Generation Lion.
He pointed out that governments of the day should invest more into culture as well as the arts since it would decrease the event of criminality in society today. What was clear from his presentation was that playwrights, actors/actresses and artistes have had a significant impact on his homeland.
The Guyana International Conference Centre was then taken on an iconic journey by Alwin Bully, Director of Culture in Dominica, who is well known for a Jamaican play which focuses on the influences and prejudices of Rastafarianism in the Caribbean. He also mentioned the impact of UNESCO which has helped to fund cultural requests.
Henry Muttoo, nephew of the well known Muttoo brothers of Guyana who were responsible for making calypso into its up-tempo dance music, exemplified how the Cayman Islands has dealt with its cultural phenomenon. He especially spoke of the independence of the arts, separate and apart from the political scene. He however, noted that it was inevitable that the government of the day would partake.
Austin Clarke, a book writer, notably of the “Pigtails and Breadfruit” fame, then led the attentive audience through a journey of himself and how he dealt with the death of his father then his mother. In so doing, he was able to highlight the social ills that he faced but has made him more appreciative of the world at large.
The final presentation was from Earl Loveface, a renowned Trinidadian writer, who emphasized the fact that most of the Caribbean is an extended family and people of the region are trying to imitate the same people who have antagonized them in the past.
This symposium, like all the other Carifesta X activities, has provided a forum for an interchanging and intermingling of the different thoughts and ideas of the Caribbean people. The journey through Carifesta X is not yet over and what a journey through the Caribbean imagination it has been! | | | | Reads : 38 |
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