Friday’s launch of the Guyana Artistic Music Awards saw a less than desirable turnout, prompting an age-old discussion among the attendees about the importance of supporting local talent.
Birchmore Simon, founder of the Guyana Music Network, applauded members of the Guyanese Canadian Artistic Inc, on their work to honour local artistes and show appreciation for those who have influenced the local music industry. However, he also expressed his disappointment at the sparse turnout the launch received, triggering discussion among the group about the need for Guyanese to support their own as easily as they rush to support the work of those in the foreign community.
Singer Major Joe B commented that the issue was nothing new and in fact it was a problem he has observed since his early days of performing. “I come to a realization that in Guyana, this thing about supporting Guyanese artistes, it come from way back… Because since I know meself performing at the National Park, every performance that they had, they had to include a Jamaican artiste—they had to have a foreign artiste. So this thing is something that has been growing with the Guyanese people, this foreign-oriented meditation,” he said.
Simon said that the need for support in order to foster growth in the industry is a conversation that needs be started at every turn in order for changes to be made, stating that Guyanese have a “chronic illness for not supporting our own.
“My only disappointment is that traditionally Guyanese show a lack of support for things that can elevate them to a higher level… We always expect somebody else to come and do it for us but when we make the effort as Guyanese we do not support it—this place should have been full.”
He continued, “It is important that we should identify where we are failing and make efforts to correct it. And the more we speak about it, the more I think people will realise that we are not doing ourselves any good by taking a back seat to every effort. They think, ‘I will wait and see.’ What are you waiting for?”
Although the launch could have seen a much better turnout, event coordinator Sherlock Shepherd stated that the support and enthusiasm shown by artistes and producers in anticipation of the event has been outstanding.
This will be the second hosting of the awards in Guyana, Shepherd said, and this time around, his group has garnered the support of the government. This endorsement he said, has made artistes, producers and sponsors alike a lot more interested in the endeavour. It is the hope that the general public too will be moved to show their support.
This May, Guyanese music artistes from across the diaspora will have their work celebrated as part of Guyana’s Golden Jubilee in a two-day festival, which opens with a music fest on April 30, at the Guyana National Stadium. This fest is expected to showcase performances from 50 Guyanese artistes from across the Caribbean, Canada, the USA and Europe in a wide selection of genres, all representative of Guyana’s cultural mix.
The following day, May 1, the highly anticipated Artistic Music Awards, a red carpet affair, will be held at the National Cultural Centre.
The awards, will feature categories for artistes, producers and disc jockeys and will be open to all eligible in those categories. It was stated that awards will also be presented to media houses (print and television) doing the most work to promote Guyanese artistes.
Persons are required to apply on the event’s website by March 31, in order to be eligible for nomination.
More information on the Guyana International Music Awards is available on the website guyanamusicawards.com.
