Culture has become a vehicle for economic diversification but several members of the cultural fraternity says T&T is disillusioned by politics and the economics of black gold. In an interview with Sunday Guardian, Prof Dr Brinsley Samaroo of the University of the West Indies said T&T placed all emphasis on the energy industries and barely focused on culture. "Our Caribbean neighbours developed their tourism capital through culture, so we know there is considerable potential in terms of culture to diversify our economy. We should focus on cultural activities that can be exploited throughout the year and not just during Carnival. "There is a lot that we can do in terms of rights based industries, such that is similar to Japan. They have patented the steel pan and attracted persons to Japan year round. Trinidad is way behind in terms of employing these technologies which is why the appropriate ministry needs to be more aggressive in promoting our culture," Samaroo said.
Supporting Samaroo's sentiments is chutney singer Adesh Samaroo, who said: "Culture is positive for the economy. Our music is accepted worldwide, but only for Carnival. I can't speak for any other time during the year where money is made from our culture." Samaroo's concern is the cry of so many artistes whose music is only given airplay around the Carnival season. According to the artistes, there seems to be a very low level of acceptance for local music which allows them to focus their energies only within T&T
'More corporate investment needed'
Also commenting on the issue was local music producer Alvin Daniell who said local artistes need to see the world as their stage. He argued that part of the problem is that artistes have to finance their own recordings. "Producers no longer produce for the artistes and there is little corporate input, so approximately five per cent of musicians will get exposure. This limits the artistes so they do not see the world as their stage," said Daniell. He believes more corporate investment will serve well to enhance the level of the artistes and the value of their work.
Developing the arts as a business
Lobbyists of the rights based industry are calling for greater business exploitation opportunities for artists' work to be more widely available. The world has reached a place where accessing these products should be as easy as downloading said Allison Demas, chief executive officer of Media InSite Ltd. This is particularly essential, since tangible culture is a growing contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The arts contributed 2.9 per cent of the GDP of T&T and accounted for 4.4 per cent of all jobs in 2011, according to Demas. She called for increased activism in channelling the creativity of T&T, while still protecting the legal rights of artists. She called for a balance to be struck between art and business.
Clarke: Define culture before we sell it
Sunday Guardian visited art master Leroy Clarke who painted a more realistic image of T&T culture against the canvas of economic exploitation. Clarke suggested marketing culture as a business commodity would encompass more planning. "We talk about culture as an end product rather than nurturing the process that would bring us to the desired end," said Clarke. He said we do not know what we were referring to when we talk about culture. At best, we would say Carnival. "But culture is so wide, deep and complex that we need to understand what we are talking about," he noted. "We have a scant view of our culture. Our view about our own culture is not mature enough. Carnival is a mere aspect of the cultural expression. There is fine arts, graphic arts, performance arts, and a whole range of tangible expressions of culture.
With a sigh of discontent, Clarke passionately expressed: "It's almost like we blame culture by wanting to appear as if we genuinely want to do something for culture, and all attempts are almost always political. The attitude towards art is one of disrespect and total indignation. People want you to give away your work for free because they are unaware of all that goes into the creative process. Here, artists are not recognised as professionals. We have not arrived at a philosophy that engages culture and art in a positive way and this is the root of our problem. "My position is this, I cannot feel the prospects of exploiting T&T culture, when we have not ramified the spectrum of ideas and significance of the cultural aspects to be packaged." The consensus among artists and entertainers is that the rights based industry in Trinidad has a long way to go in order to reap the full economic benefits, and that culture needs to be given a definition within the context of a business investment.
