Dear Editor,
Ruel Johnson’s letter to me, of June,6 (D-Day) brought home to me the reality of Carifesta Xll, since I had concluded the discourse on Paloma, realising that truth and reason would not prevail in that arena. My focus lay in his legitimate argument about the transparency of secret committees dictating cultural participation in Carifesta. I proceeded to investigate and called some cultural professionals, who I assumed should have been invited, as these committees most likely were left-overs from the Frank Anthony era, to which neither myself nor Ruel should expect to be called. But none of those to whom I spoke, and who are of the contemporary school were in the know or had been engaged; this included Paloma Mohamed and some talented younger folk in the visual arts, film-making, drama, and local literature.
The current post-elections administration is new, and should recognise that much of the recent past is retrogressive. Culture is not about the familiarities of social gatherings. Nor does cultural development have room for dabbling, postulating, or protecting some income-earning turf, which has been the theme for the past ten years. I’m positive these particular (to quote Ruel) gatekeepers are intact, and are ready to slither into the present and infect the future. The current Minister of Education is a participant in the Arts, and knows what I’m saying is true. He needs to address the Arts community publicly and introduce the secret committee to us; let us judge their credentials, as I’m hearing some names that are baffling with the logic as to why they’re there escaping me. I do look forward to a public invitation.
On Sunday June 7, Stabroek News carried an ad inviting Arts practitioners to come and uplift forms if they’re interested in participating in Carifesta Xll. This is ridiculous. Who came up with that idea? It’s infra dig for any artist to now compete − and why compete? This is essentially the problem, and not an ordinary problem, that the Department of Culture cannot extract from the best of Visual Arts competitions and exhibitions, top dramatic plays, best publications, fabric productions and photographic prints over the past five years, and engage artists if no such records exist to find out what’s in studios; these might just need a nudge to complete to make Guyana shine. Ads like that are done for in-house competitions, not for an ambassadorial Expo like Carifesta. It’s time! Begin the process of transparency for progress.
Yours faithfully,
Barrington Braithwaite
