Today’s column ought to have been about the regional symposium on ‘Violence as a Public Health Issue – The Crime Challenge’ which ended yesterday.
But because of my early
deadline for submission of this, bungled arrangements for meaningful media
coverage, and the absence of essential background reading, I have chosen to resume
a discussion on converting our cultural assets into both wealth and social
wellness.
However, before I leave
the symposium alone (though I found the leaders’ roundtable … instructive), I
just want to make it clear I agree that criminal violence provides an
established path to public health crises. There is sufficient literature on
this to at least agree with the main principles.
The political
commentary on this particular point has, however, been so underdeveloped and near
irrelevant that it is advisable to pay attention almost solely to what real
experts say on the subject, based on a level of empiricism and scrupulous
study. This cannot be left to amateurs, whatever their own political, professional
or social status.
Calls for more guns,
application of emergency powers, hanging people, increasing penalties, eliminating
rights, blaming the media, and de facto vigilante civilian policing almost
routinely emerge as predictable creed in an environment in which wholesome
understanding of cause and effect is ignored or absent.
Now, therefore, for
something about which I know a little, and which is not entirely unrelated to
the above. Last weekend began for me on Saturday morning at Arnim’s Art
Galleria in Port of Spain with a viewing of ‘Memoirs: A Sonnylal Rambissoon
Retrospective Pt. 2’.
This is an exceedingly
valuable exhibition for anyone with an interest in a wide variety of artistic
media. Now, my saying so does not under any circumstance make me any kind of
expert connoisseur or reviewer. I am suggesting this as someone who has re-entered
the world of visual art following a decades-long hiatus.
The exhibition ends on
Friday but there is an upcoming lino block engraving workshop on the 29th
at the same venue which references Rambissoon’s woodcut prints.
After leaving Arnim’s
on Saturday, it was off to the Fine Art Market at Anchorage in Chaguaramas for
observance of World Art Day.
Let me tell you: some
of the best people in the world are artists. There I was with my phone scrolled
to my Instagram account and some of my own modest work. Former journalist,
Halcian Pierre, currently described as a “neo pop” artist was present with kind
feedback, along with almost everyone else I spoke with.
On location as well was
retired master broadcaster/communication professional, Percy Parker-Williams,
with his vast collection of new artistic work.
There was also
impressive young artist, Vanessa George, who claimed that a tabanca had driven
her to some fantastic work. There was a fabric designer, together with
sculptors, and work in oil, acrylic, watercolour, pens, wood, steel, concrete.
Having spent too much
time there, I had to rush back to UWI for yet another Department of Creative
and Festival Arts (DCFA) student music recital. Scores of young musicians,
beautiful music, an audience spread out on “the greens” at the Creative Arts
Centre in St Augustine.
All of this meant that
I could not make it to Naparima Bowl where a Jazz Festival had begun with names
like the phenomenal LeAndra accompanied by the National Steel Symphony
Orchestra, Chantal Esdelle and Moyenne, Solman, and Rellon Brown and Dominant
Seventh Jazz Band did their thing.
Anybody notice yet
where I am going with this? My longtime colleague and friend, Peter Ray Blood,
can rattle off perhaps another dozen events over the weekend that proved that many
people are choosing not to stay locked away and unexposed to the explosion of
creative power currently being unleashed nationally.
David Rudder and
Comrade BC Pires were all week hawking Gary Hector’s ‘Naked’ production. I
heard things went well. And, yes, there was more. Ask Peter. And there was also
the launch of Desperadoes’ new panyard.
Then, yesterday, even
as Caribbean politicians and experts dissected rampant criminal violence
throughout the region, I was at Nalis in Port of Spain helping cultural
anthropologist, dance master, and writer, Sat Balkaransingh launch a new
collection of poems.
I thought about all the
people in our small space who are missing out on much of this through both justifiable
and manipulated fear. But my mind has also been on all the others who have
chosen hope through the opportunity to witness creation rather than yielding to
the spectre of destruction.
In this small place,
people and things are both broken and made.
