Being Guyanese 
Being Guyanese they judge me on the colour of my skin,
For who’s to say, they might have liked me if I were paler, you know – with just a little less melanin.
But then again, thinking back to Guyana’s rich history, even if I were paler, they would still look down,
And frown?
After all status is just everything…
Being Guyanese they judge me based on the texture of my hair,
When it’s knotty, they say I’m Rasta,
When it’s straight, they say I’m coolie, chinee even,
When it’s curly, they say I’m black, no dougla, no potugee.
This segregation of
Our nation,
Our people,
Our culture,
All because of hair?
Being Guyanese they judge me based on my speech,
If I stammer once, just once,
Then that’s not the eloquence they seek,
I can’t help it if Creole is what I reek.
Being Guyanese they judge me based on my supernatural beliefs,
But how sure are they that a fireball didn’t visit them in the dark of the night yesterday?
Being Guyanese they judge me on the size of my extended family,
On the fact that just like that – I’ve got uncles and aunties, even distant cousins talking to me!
But the judgement’s even worse if I live with someone knowing my family won’t agree.
Being Guyanese they judge me even on the food I eat,
Apparently having everything mixed up isn’t their pot of cook up,
But mixing it up is what we Guyanese do!
It’s engrained in our every nerve and sinew.
Being Guyanese they judge me on my behaviour – no, my attitude – No! My entire demeanour!
You see they can’t take my Guyanese nature.
Being Guyanese they judge me and I honestly don’t care,
Because even back then on the plantations,
Life just wasn’t fair.
Hannah Singh
(Diploma in Creative Writing, NSTAD, 2019)
Last week we traced the advancement of training in creative writing in Guyana from the social gatherings of readings and private discussions in British Guiana, through attempts at formal training in public workshops and classes after independence, until the full formal programme and historic certification at the Institute of Creative Arts (ICA) that exists at the present time.
The ICA, founded in 2014, offers now established training in five disciplines at its four schools: the National School of Dance (training and certification in dance), the E R Burrowes School of Art (fine arts), the National School of Music (music), and the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama (drama, and creative writing since 2016/2017). The matter of formal training and certification became topical because of the Sixth Convocation of the ICA which graduated 63 fledgling artists in the five disciplines last week.
How does training in the other disciplines compare with what we saw developing in creative writing? The histories, though equally interesting, have been vastly different, particularly when we investigate the disciplines of dance and fine arts. Unlike drama (6 years) and creative writing (3), these programmes have been going on for more than 40 years, and even between dance and art, there are other significant differences.
Although the School of Dance (1974) is the oldest of the formal institutions, fine arts was the first of the disciplines to offer a finite, named certified qualification – the Burrowes School of Art Diploma (started 1975). The dance school began offering classes, and there were various grades and levels – one could start as a Beginner, then move to Intermediate and graduate as Advanced, but for all those years, despite the several highly trained, finished graduates, there was no certification, except the Dance Teachers’ Certificate, offered occasionally since the 1970s, until it ceased. Dance only adopted the ICA Diploma and Certificate in the last 5 years.
Training in art started in colonial times in British Guiana in an ironic post-colonial setting. This was quite unlike what was happening in dance, theatre, and classical music, which were very much colonial middle class. In British Guiana, cultural development was taking place along strong ethnic lines. There was always the governing European influence, but cultural clubs and movements developed among the East Indians following the impetus from the writings and activities of Joseph Ruhomon in particular. A number of social and cultural clubs were there after the 1920s, leading up to the best known of them – the British Guiana Dramatic Society.
Similarly, African cultural consciousness developed with notable leadership from Norman E Cameron. There were cultural clubs and movements, including the political, which came to include a branch of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association, and a visit from Garvey himself. There was a local branch of the League of Coloured Peoples led by Dr Claude Denbow. Against that background, the Working People’s Art Class developed. This was a most influential institution with the distinguished E R Burrowes as a leading tutor. Other famous Guyanese artists emerged as students including Philip Moore and Stanley Greaves.
The next important developments were driven by the History and Arts Council, which became the Department of Culture, and by Guyana’s independence. Other influences would have been the great Caribbean meetings held in Georgetown in 1966 and 1970 which led to Carifesta in 1972. There was a Director of Art, Denis Williams, who founded the Burrowes School of Art in 1975 to offer fully official national art training and a Diploma in Art.
One of the first graduates from that inaugural programme happens to be the current Administrator of the School of Art today, Ivor Thom, sculptor and creator of the 1923 Monument, in Guyanese public art. Several of Guyana’s best and most important artists graduated from that school over the decades.
This long existence of a national art school and formal certified training would certainly be largely responsible for the significant strides in Guyanese art. The programmes of the school now offer a range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, leatherwork, jewelry and graphics.
Of course, Greaves, as the first lecturer in art at the University of Guyana, was Coordinator of the Division of Creative Arts at Turkeyen and introduced the first fine arts studies there. UG offered a Minor in Art for several years, until the degree BA in Art was developed by Prof Doris Rogers. So that, today, training to the degree level exists in Guyana at the university.
Significant to note, of all the five disciplines mentioned here, the fine arts is the only one with training up to the bachelor’s degree. That might not be surprising, given that the first fully certified qualification in the arts was offered in art.
And yet, the ICA’s vision includes moving all the disciplines forward. There are similar plans to continue that at the University of Guyana.
