Fashion, film, dance and body art are some of the Guyanese expressions that will be presented to the rest of the Caribbean at Carifesta XII in Haiti later this month.
In addition, the Department of Culture in the Ministry of Education revealed yesterday that 27 pieces of art, including paintings, sculptures and drawings, selected for the festival are available for viewing at Castellani House until Monday, when they will be packed away for transportation to Haiti.
At a press briefing held in the conference room of the Department on Main Street, Minister within the Ministry of Education with responsibilities of Culture, Youth and Sport Nicolette Henry noted that Guyana has participated in all of the Carifesta events that have been held since the festival of arts was first hosted here in 1972. “…And we have been one of the front runners in participating in all the disciplines and we will continue to do this as far as possible at Carifesta XII,” she added.
The Guyana contingent heading to Haiti is 80 strong and its members have been preparing vigorously to display Guyana’s rich culture through performing arts under the locally coined theme ‘Rights and Rhythms of Guyana’, with the main focus being that of Guyanese folklore, legends and myths. A sneak preview of what will be presented in Haiti will be exhibited on August 16th at the Theatre Guild from 8PM, free of cost.
Dr. Sita Shah Roath explained that as part of the production, the delegation will host a ‘Guyana Night’ at the Grand Market.
Former Miss India Guyana Roshini Boodhoo, who is one of the choreographers and costume designers for the contingent, described the dances as “a 60 minutes synopsis of skillful uses of colours, lights, costumes, backdrops and choreography” to display Guyana.
She stated that unlike previous years where the Carifesta Committee had handpicked dancers, auditions were held to open the process to more talented Guyanese. “We decided for dance, that our theme would be “legends and rhythms of Guyana, a colourful dance scheme exploring Guyana’s rich cultural heritage,” she added.
As part of the literary arts discipline, Guyana will exhibit such classics as works of Walter Rodney and modern Guyanese literature featuring Guyana Prize winners and shortlisted books. It was stated that the University of Guyana Library has been working extensively on this.
As regards fashion, some of the designers whose pieces were selected include Randy Madray, Keisha Edwards, Patricia Coates, Mwanza Glenn, Andrea Braithwaithe and Carol Fraser.
Bravo Arts, a first-timer at Carifesta, will portray the body as a canvas along with face painting and theatrical make-up.
Films that Guyana has produced over the years will also be on show.
Workshops for the use of straw, as well as presentations focusing on the state of indigenous peoples and a way forward will also form part of what Guyana will offer.
Committee member Al Creighton explained that apart from events mentioned, the team will endeavour to be a part of symposiums. “What Guyana is taking is not only about rhythm and dance, we have an intellectual component going to Carifesta. We will be discussing quite a number of things that will foreseeably down the road help us in cultural development in our society,” Creighton explained.
He said symposiums are an important part of Carifesta as some of the “very important issues that govern Guyana and some of the regions are going to be examined and analyzed and presented.”
Adding that the delegation is prepared to present discussions on other issues including the development of Indian dance, theatre and drama, as well as writing in Guyana and the Caribbean at large, he explained that these areas have been under-researched in the region.
The price tag for Guyana’s attendance was pegged at some $65 million, a cost to be borne solely by the Government of Guyana. Minister Henry said, “Culture is said to be the oil that keeps a society running. It is very important that we understand the role of culture in the development of society. Think about that aspect as you think about cost mentioned.”
The allocated budget is said to encompass accommodation, transportation, food, materials used for costumes among other things for the entire delegation during their stay in Haiti.
However, local musician Francis Michael Bailey opined that the allocation was not nearly enough to cover the expenses. In a Facebook post, he stated that Carifesta was seeking to exploit the talent of local artistes. “…Considering the budget that got approved, the size of the total contingent should be way smaller than 80 persons,” he stated.
He added that apart from the validation and experience there is not really any other benefit from being a part of the Guyanese delegation.
Henry, responding, said, “It’s not always about what you can get, but rather what you can give. We can only give what we can afford, but believe that our budget is adequate. We have to work along the lines of what our budget permits.”
Carifesta XII will be held under the theme ‘Our Roots, Our Culture, Our Common Future’ from August 21st to August 31st.
