At last night’s closing ceremony for CARIFESTA X, Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo noted “the necessity of placing [cultural] development high on the agenda of nation-building.”
Indeed, that is nothing new. It has been said before. No doubt it will be said many times after. But how to turn rhetoric into reality? To take the talk we have been talking and walk the walk. That is the challenge that faces the region – its leaders, its people, all of us – after the last ten days.
Guyana’s hosting of CARIFESTA X was yet another opportunity for meaningful introspection: to look into the mirror which the artist holds up to society and to see just exactly who we are. The reflection that has emerged is despairing to say the least, though not yet entirely hopeless.
What has become clear is that there are two immediate imperatives: The preservation of the past, and the nurturing of the future, both essential to the development and maintenance of a cultural infrastructure.
In the first instance, the need is most obvious; what with the continuing disappearance of many of our traditional forms, in particular folk traditions like the masquerade, which don’t seem to attract much attention outside of the carnivals and festivals that increasingly feature as part of the eager tourist packages. Walcott was right: development is a kind of prostitution. There has also been the passing of some of our most talented writers, artists, and musicians, many of them long forgotten before their expiration. That some of these fading arts and artists have endured for as long as they have is testimony to the work of dedicated people across the region, many of whom will never get the credit that they truly deserve. There can be no doubt that we have been struggling too long and too hard to define ourselves to simply cast aside our beginnings.
At the same time, there is much to be hopeful about, especially in the realm of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and more recently film, which has been emerging as an exciting new medium for new voices. The challenge here, however, is one of cultivating a real appreciation for our talent, a difficult task against the tide of cultural imperialism that is seemingly crushing down upon us. It might seem insurmountable, but we must persevere.
What is uncertain is the role CARIFESTA will play in the creation of this cultural infrastructure. Once again there have been calls for a re-examination of its relevance and usefulness to the arts. There is continuing opposition to such event driven approach to the arts, and leaning towards the creation of something less ephemeral and more permanent. Whither CARIFESTA? Time will tell.
For now, what is certain is that past must only be the prologue…
