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Consultant: Budget should push arts, culture | The Trinidad Guardian
Consultant: Budget should push arts, culture
From Trinidad Guardian 
Wed Aug 25 2010
Media, cultural and literary consultant Dr Kris Rampersad believes this year's budget should contain the necessary provisions to push T&T's arts and cultural sector from one of dependency to self-sustainability. She said if that was not done T&T would be missing a crucial opportunity to diversify its economy. In a press statement yesterday, Rampersad pointed out that arts and culture were a billion-dollar industry in other countries.
She added: "It is the kind of returns from museums, from performances abroad, from sales and downloads of a range of cultural products in a world hungry for new entertainment on the one hand..."On the other (hand), from fulfilling the cravings from new reflections of self and identity that our multi-culturalism can provide." She added that arts and culture have the potential to help people and communities to have sustainable livelihoods. She noted, however, that the structures, systems and investments necessary which would help T&T to take advantage of that was "sorely lacking."
She said the potential of art and culture was not only found in T&T's music, song, dance, drama or literature but also in outside-the-box industries of fashion and cuisine. "We are sitting down on a multi-million dollar revenue earner in literary tourism, but there are as yet no real facilities by which we can capture this international interest," Dr Rampersad noted. She said it was Government's duty to create an environment that would enable and facilitate that.
She said it was also Government's duty to promote public and private sector partnerships within individuals and groups in the sector, as well as international agencies and to ensure that no one group or groups of organisations had the monopoly and access to these facilities. Dr Rampersad added: "The 2010-2011 budget should present clear measures to provide effective tax and other incentives to the creative sector for the development of talents, products and communities, along with a short, medium and long-term vision that gives culture its rightful place at the centre of national development, not just piecemeal and tokenism."
For more visit www.krisrampersad.com
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Budgets crucial to diversify economy through arts and culture
Trinidad and Tobago would be missing a crucial opportunity for diversifying the national economy if Government’s 2010-2011 Budget does not contain the necessary provisions to propel the arts and cultural sector from dependency to self-sustainability.
Arts and culture is a billion dollar industry elsewhere. It is the kind of returns from museums, from performances abroad, from sales and downloads of a range of cultural products in a world hungry for new entertainment on the one hand; and on the other, from fulfilling the cravings for new reflections of self and identity that our multiculturalism can provide. It has the potential to help individuals and communities to sustainable livelihoods. However, the structures and systems and investments necessary that can help us take advantage of this are sorely lacking.
The potential is not only our music, song, dance, drama, literature but outside-the-box industries of fashion and cuisine. We are sitting on a multi-million dollar revenue earner in literary tourism, but there are as yet no real facilities by which we can capture this international interest. Digitisation of access to these is also crucial. It is the duty of Government to create the environment to enabling and facilitate this; to promote public-private sector partnerships with individuals and groups in the sector, and to ensure that no one group or groups of organisations have the monopoly of access to these facilities.
At a time when the world is rapidly moving towards forms of energy other than petroleum, it is ridiculous to consider further incentives and tax reductions to the oil sector, when efforts should be concentrated at making that sector compensate for the imbalances it has created, and developing those sectors that have longer-term and more sustainable potential, particularly those related to the arts and culture sector. Europe and North America are trying to ‘buy up’ as much world cultures as possible, we seem all-too-willing to sellout our cultural assets and not even to the highest bidder– just look at the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and CARIFORUM.
The 2010-11 Budget should present clear measures to provide effective tax and other incentives to the creative sector for the development of talents, products, communities along with a short, medium and long term vision that gives culture its rightful place at the centre of national development, not just piecemeal and tokenism. That would also include revising the mainstream (preschool/primary to tertiary level) education curriculum, teacher training, and education materials to reflect and enhance appreciation for local arts and multiculturalism, along with intelligently utilising the new arts megastructures to effectively cultivate and provide opportunities for creative enterprise and activities easily accessible to the masses. With this should come review of all ‘national’ competitions to lift the standards and quality of products being awarded by state and private sector funds, while helping to facilitate development of audiences, readers and participants. Where is our National Arts Council that is equipped and resourced to pull together and make holistic and effective the work of the National Carnival Commission, National Archives, National Trust, National Libraries and Museums for instance?
The spin offs are not only tangible economic benefits, but other social spinoffs – reduced crime, poverty, stress on social services and the intangibles of civic ownership, and national pride.
Arts and culture is a billion dollar industry elsewhere. It is the kind of returns from museums, from performances abroad, from sales and downloads of a range of cultural products in a world hungry for new entertainment on the one hand; and on the other, from fulfilling the cravings for new reflections of self and identity that our multiculturalism can provide. It has the potential to help individuals and communities to sustainable livelihoods. However, the structures and systems and investments necessary that can help us take advantage of this are sorely lacking.
The potential is not only our music, song, dance, drama, literature but outside-the-box industries of fashion and cuisine. We are sitting on a multi-million dollar revenue earner in literary tourism, but there are as yet no real facilities by which we can capture this international interest. Digitisation of access to these is also crucial. It is the duty of Government to create the environment to enabling and facilitate this; to promote public-private sector partnerships with individuals and groups in the sector, and to ensure that no one group or groups of organisations have the monopoly of access to these facilities.
At a time when the world is rapidly moving towards forms of energy other than petroleum, it is ridiculous to consider further incentives and tax reductions to the oil sector, when efforts should be concentrated at making that sector compensate for the imbalances it has created, and developing those sectors that have longer-term and more sustainable potential, particularly those related to the arts and culture sector. Europe and North America are trying to ‘buy up’ as much world cultures as possible, we seem all-too-willing to sellout our cultural assets and not even to the highest bidder– just look at the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and CARIFORUM.
The 2010-11 Budget should present clear measures to provide effective tax and other incentives to the creative sector for the development of talents, products, communities along with a short, medium and long term vision that gives culture its rightful place at the centre of national development, not just piecemeal and tokenism. That would also include revising the mainstream (preschool/primary to tertiary level) education curriculum, teacher training, and education materials to reflect and enhance appreciation for local arts and multiculturalism, along with intelligently utilising the new arts megastructures to effectively cultivate and provide opportunities for creative enterprise and activities easily accessible to the masses. With this should come review of all ‘national’ competitions to lift the standards and quality of products being awarded by state and private sector funds, while helping to facilitate development of audiences, readers and participants. Where is our National Arts Council that is equipped and resourced to pull together and make holistic and effective the work of the National Carnival Commission, National Archives, National Trust, National Libraries and Museums for instance?
The spin offs are not only tangible economic benefits, but other social spinoffs – reduced crime, poverty, stress on social services and the intangibles of civic ownership, and national pride.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
http://www.indocaribbeanworld.com/archives/july2/mainews2.html
http://www.indocaribbeanworld.com/archives/july2/mainews2.html
Headlines Continued
Headlines Issue Released July 2 2003
Headlines Continued
Author Kris Rampersad speaks out
There are enough writers too, more of them erupting into voice year after year, and a nascent publishing industry in the Caribbean moving into its own in spite of direct competition from American TV, videos, the internet and other high tech threats to literacy.
The rosiness of my immediate response to all this is tempered somewhat by the fact that "bookishness" is largely a middle-class phenomenon and that many many Caribbean folk, especially the youth (who are our future practitioners and artists) were not present in large numbers, save for those who were brought in by the schools.
A number of writers live and work in this city - in fact Toronto has been described as the city with the largest concentration of Caribbean writers globally. But the bounty of their presence is not really evident in the life of the Caribbean community except on rare occasions such as that of Book fair week. A pity.
I say "week" because the build up to the Book fair as well as the aftermath increased the overall intensity of the cultural assertion that was taking place. On Thursday, June 26, the Ontario Steelpan Association (OSA) honoured one of the foremost innovators of the Steelpan, Dr. Ellie Mannette, at a function at the Scarborough Civic Centre. And on June 27, at the Monarch Park Collegiate, Ellie Mannette was also featured at a concert including such accomplished steelpan artists as Mark Mosca and Talib Reid-Robinson.This event also showcased rising stars such as Aaron Seunarine and Gareth Burgess, and performances by the Bruce Skerritt Trio, building to a climactic finish by the youth of the Afropan Steel Orchestra.
On Sunday June 22 at the Grand Baccus Banquet Hall in Scarborough, nationals of Trinidad and Tobago gathered to welcome to Toronto their new high commissioner in Ottawa, Mr. Arnold Piggott. Mr. Piggott spoke of the continued economic progress of T&T and its goal of reaching developed country status by the year 2020. He exclaimed too at the capacity crowd that had gathered, their accomplishments, their energy and their "rainbow" appearance.
Other Caribbean territories (14 altogether) also staged their own country events in the lead up to the festival and afterwards. Informal gatherings of writers with friends and family, dinners, ordinary liming, media talks and author interviews added to the buzz. One such interview was done by this writer with Kris Rampersad, whose recent work, Finding a Place: IndoTrinidadian Literature, was launched at a reception at the T&T consulate on June 17. Kris’s introduction states that this work "is about the growth and development of literature and a literary consciousness among Indo Trinidadians between 1850 and 1950, and more significantly, how they came to English and what they brought to it over the 100-year period."
Here are some excerpts from this interview:
Ramabai Espinet: What prompted you to write this book?.
Kris Rampersad: Well, there is much in the book that’s descriptive because the material was disappearing, so I thought that I needed to record what existed.
RE: How will this material be made accessible? Are you thinking of a reader, something like From Trinidad, maybe?
KR: I’ve thought of that. I’m hoping that someone will come up with the funding or the resources to reproduce the magazines and the journals that form the raw material of the book because most of what we have in the Archives are the only copies that exist and they’re in pretty bad stages of disrepair. In fact, some of them can’t even be touched.
RE: What is the real value of this work to you?
KR: It is a very valuable social record. One of the reasons why people have been so receptive to it - not just people interested in literature - is that the raw material is so rich in terms of anthropology, sociology and social and political development. It maps a process in the society that people are unaware of. Much research has been done of the 50s but this crop of journals that I’ve unearthed fills a kind of black hole. There has been a general impression that Indians were not writing at all until probably the 1940s. Also, one of the gaps in the socio-political history is the belief that in all that’s been happening in the development of Trinidad and Tobago, Indians weren’t participating. But what these records show is that they were very, very active and that there was so much collaboration among the groups that somehow the social analysis was ignored. Maybe this was not done deliberately, because they probably weren’t aware that the material existed, but I think it can present us with a more holistic view of the society.
RE: What do you think of V.S. Naipaul’s work?
KR: I think his work is brilliant but its impact probably suffers because of his personality...I don’t think anyone can question what he has achieved. I do think that the role of his father in his work has been largely underplayed.
RE: I agree with that. But what about Letters from Father to Son? Surely the publication of that book paid homage to Seepersad’s role in his writing?
KR: Yes, it paid homage but I wonder what is lost in the editing.
RE: You think it’s too sanitized?
KR: Yes...there is evidence of a wish-fulfillment on the part of his father but the rest is pretty tame.
RE: What about your personal view of Naipaul?
KR: Well, I don’t know him personally but I think that artists ought to be allowed their little eccentricities because I believe that it’s out of that they create - it’s an essential part of the whole creative process. But in a place like Trinidad, with all of the divisions, it’s easy to focus on the negatives instead of the positives.
RE: The disdain for Naipaul is enormous.
KR: I think it’s partly because there has been little understanding of the situations from which he writes...I take real issue with what the film of The Mystic Masseur has done to the book...the character’s evolution from Ganesh Ramsumair into G. Ramsay Muir is watered down...they try to make him into some kind of national hero.
RE: Instead of a mock national hero?
KR: Yes. Because it’s what Naipaul was suggesting - that all these people we create as national heroes are really mock heroes. There is a difference between who the artist is, what he’s trying to do, and what people are seeing of him.
Finding a Place is available at "A Different Booklist" (416) 538-0889.
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Headlines Issue Released July 2 2003
The memorable week that was
Caribbean literary artists take Toronto by storm
By Ramabai Espinet
Toronto — The past week in this Canadian city has been a charged and memorable one for Caribbean people. No matter how settled we seem to be here, the presence of our Caribbean selves within our Can-adian selves always provides an im-mense comfort.
 And that comfort has been present in extravagant quantities in the last little while, unusual in these pre-Caribana days when all the excitement is held at bay in anticipation of the midsummer festivities during the August long weekend. | ||
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Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Commonwealth praise for book on Kamla's speeches
Commonwealth praise for book on Kamla's speeches
- Published on Jun 6, 2010, 12:01 am AST
- Updated on Jan 28, 2011, 4:07 am AST
A valuable addition to research on gender and women in politics in the Commonwealth. That's how Dr Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation described the new book by Dr Kris Rampersad, Through The Political Glass Ceiling —the Race to Prime Ministership by Trinidad & Tobago's first female, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Selected Speeches. 
Speaking at the Commonwealth launch of the book at the Partners' Forum of the Ninth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting (9WAMM) in Barbados on Friday, Dr Collins noted the need for research and documentation identified by various speakers and workshops of the meeting. He stated that the book, and the project for promoting social research and publishing which it Reviews Through the Politicla Glass Ceiling
He also pointed out that it is not common for a chair of the Commonwealth to change mid-term as happened in this case with the change of Government in Trinidad and Tobago which makes Mrs. Persad-Bissessar, the first female Caribbean chair-in-office of the Commonwealth. The launch was attended by representatives from across the Commonwealth. A copy of Through the Political Glass Ceiling was presented to Chairperson of the Foundation, Simone de Comarmond who endorsed Dr Collins appreciation of the book's as a needed documentation on gender development.
The launch was in keeping with the Forum's theme, Gender Issues in the Economic Crisis Recovery and Beyond: Women as Agents of Transformation. All proceeds of the launch go towards supporting Caribbean research and publishing. Compiled, with introduction, contexts and analyses by Dr Kris Rampersad, the book features selected speeches of Mrs. Persad-Bissessar against the backdrop of the roles of gender and geo-politics among other factors in the contest for leadership between Mrs Persad-Bissessar and the country's longest standing political entity, the People's National Movement.
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