HISTORY
The Caribbean Festival of Creative Arts (CARIFESTA)
was conceived out of an appeal from a regional gathering of artists who
were at the time participating in a Writers and Artists Convention in
Georgetown, Guyana in 1966 and 1970 and recommended to the then Prime
Minister of Guyana, L.F.S. Burnham that they would welcome the
invitation to an annual Festival of the Arts.
The Prime Minister had related his vision of a
cultural mecca for the Region's people. It was a vision of the peoples
with roots deep in Asia, Europe and Africa, coming together to perform
their art forms and embracing literature inspired by the Caribbean̢۪s
own peculiar temperamenment; paintings drawn from the awe inspiring
tropical ecology; and the visionary inheritance of our forefathers
The regional creative festival was first held
in Georgetown, Guyana in 1972, attracting creative artistes from over 30
Caribbean and Latin American countries and was a celebration of the
ethnic and racial diversity which separately and collectively created
cultural expressions wonderfully unique to the Caribbean.
The symbol of the first CARIFESTA in Guyana was
a dark hand rising grasping the sun, depicting the skills and
aspirations of the tropical man with talent untold.
The key objectives of CARIFESTA 72 were:
- To maximize people participation in the
arts
- the Festival should be inspirational and
should provide artists with the opportunity to discuss among
themselves techniques and motivations
- it should be educational in that the
people of the Caribbean would be exposed to the values emerging from
the various art forms
- and it should relate to people and be
entertaining on a scale and in a fashion that would commend itself
to the Caribbean people
CARIFESTA 72 aimed to:
- To establish and celebrate the arts
- To maximize people participation in the
arts
- To positively advance our culture at home,
throughout the diaspora and the world.
- Depict the life of the people of the
Region, their heroes, morale, myth, traditions, beliefs,
creativeness, and ways of expression
- To foster a vision of Caribbean unity,
show the similarities and differences of the people of the Caribbean
generally
- To promote the development of cultural
industries and merchandising
- Create a climate in which art can flourish
so that artists would be encouraged to return to their homeland
- To encourage excellence
- To expose children and Caribbean youth to
the arts.
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CARIFESTA X
August 22 – 31,
2008
Guyana, South America
One Caribbean, One
Purpose, Our Culture, Our Life
... Join us at Carifesta 2008 in Guyana
CARIFESTA, the premier cultural festival of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), will be held in Guyana from August 22
to 31, 2008, under the theme “One Caribbean, One Purpose,
Our Culture, Our Life.”
Over the
ten-day period, 100 events will be presented. These events
will feature all aspects of Caribbean creative
expression—the culinary arts, fashion, the literary arts,
the performing arts, and the visual arts. In addition,
there will be programs featuring the indigenous peoples of
the Caribbean, symposia focusing on the future of Caribbean
culture and cultural industries, super concerts, as well as
calypso, chutney, reggae, soca, and steel band festivals,
and special events for Caribbean youth.
The
first CARIFESTA, CARIFESTA 72, was held in Guyana in 1972
and brought together writers, artists, musicians, dancers,
poets, and other creative people from more than 30 Caribbean
and Latin American countries. The audiences were not only
Guyanese but included visitors from other Caribbean
countries, the United States, Europe, and other parts of the
world. CARIFESTA 72 was a celebration and a showcase of the
ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity that is the hallmark
of the Caribbean. It was inspirational and left a legacy of
education and community development. This orientation and
spirit have marked the nine CARIFESTAs that have followed
since 1972—Jamaica (1976), Cuba (1979), Barbados (1981),
Trinidad and Tobago (1992), Trinidad and Tobago (1995), St.
Kitts and Nevis (2000), Suriname (2003, and Trinidad and
Tobago (2006),
One
innovation in CARIFESTA X is a systematic effort to
encourage the participation of the Caribbean Diaspora. To
do this, a number of CARIFESTA Chapters are being
established across the Caribbean Diaspora.
While
declaring open the Family Fun Day of the Guyana Folk
Festival on Sunday, September 1, 2007, His Excellency
Bharrat Jagdeo, President of the Republic of Guyana, invited
the organizers, the Guyana Cultural Association of New York,
Inc., to become engaged in CARIFESTA X. Since then, the
association has worked closely with Guyana’s Ministry of
Culture, Youth and Sports and with members of the wider
Caribbean community in New York and in other parts of the
United States to develop a mechanism to support the
participation of the Caribbean Diaspora in the United States
in CARIFESTA X.
On
December 7, 2007, the Guyana Cultural Association of New
York, Inc., was designated the New York CARIFESTA 2008
Chapter by Guyana’s Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
The core tasks of the New York CARIFESTA 2008 Chapter will
be to:
-
Promote CARIFESTA X among the Caribbean Diaspora in the
United States of America, particularly in the New York
area.
-
Mobilize volunteers to provide technical assistance in
areas such as live sound, lighting, and related areas,
through the means of pre-CARIFESTA X workshops.
-
Organize cultural performances, displays/exhibitions,
etc., to showcase the cultural expressions of the
Caribbean Diaspora in the United States of America.
The
Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports expressed confidence
that the association “would also play a leading role in
mobilizing support from other parts of the United States.”
The New
York CARIFESTA 2008 Chapter has established a number of
interdisciplinary task groups. These task groups are
chaired by a number of experienced Caribbean professionals
and cultural activists from the following organizations:
The Blue Pan Project, Brooklyn Caribbean Youth Festival,
Caribbean Cultural Theatre, Caribbean Literacy and Culture
Center of the Brooklyn Public Library, Caribbean Media
Enterprises, Caribbean Society for the Visual Arts, eCaroh
Caribbean Emporium, Guyana Cultural Association of New York,
Inc., Guyana Day Committee, Guyana Tri-State Alliance,
Impressions Dance Company, Meyer Levin High School for the
Performing Arts, Nritya Kala Kendra International Academy
for Indian Dance Art and Culture, and the Rajkumari Cultural
Center.
Other
cultural organizations in the United States that are
interested in contributing to CARIFESTA X are encouraged to
make contact with the New York CARIFESTA 2008 Chapter.
Contact information is provided below.
The Task
Groups will ensure that the Caribbean Diaspora will be able
to participate in the following aspects of CARIFESTA X:
-
Information, Communication, and Marketing (Co-chairs:
Dr. Vibert Cambridge, Claire Goring, Roy Singh, Claire
Patterson-Monah, and Donna Flemming)
-
Visual Arts (Co-chairs: Jerry Barry and Ivor Thom)
-
Youth Program (Co-chairs: Maxine
Alexander, Rudy
Daley, and Ron Lammy)
-
Skills Transfers: (Co-chairs: Maurice Braithwaite and
Malcolm Hall)
-
Film Festival: (Co-chairs: Shirvington Hannays and
Claire Goring)
-
Performances (Co-chairs: Malcolm Hall, E. Wayne
McDonald, and Pritha Singh)
-
Symposia (Co-chairs: Dr. Aubrey Bonnett, Dr. Vibert
Cambridge, Dr. Juliet Emanuel, and Dr. Prem Misir)
All
Caribbean persons, persons of Caribbean ancestry, and
friends of the Caribbean in the United States are encouraged
to participate in CARIFESTA X. Attractive travel packages
are being developed. Visitors to CARIFESTA X will be able
to enjoy a number of world class super concerts, art
exhibitions, book exhibitions, and theatrical performances.
Participants from the Caribbean Diaspora in the United
States of America can make positive contributions to the
conversations that will take place during CARIFESTA X on the
state of Caribbean culture and developing a road map for the
future.
The
members of the New York CARIFESTA 2008 Chapter are aware of
the significant amount of work that still has to be done and
look forward to your advice, guidance, and support.
For
further information on CARIFESTA X, please contact the
Secretariat of the Guyana Folk Festival, 1368 E. 89th
Street, Suite #2, Brooklyn, NY 11236. Telephone:
718-209-5207 or e-mail Malcolm Hall, President, Guyana
Cultural Association (Guyfolkpresident@aol.com); Claire Goring, Cultural Director, Guyana
Cultural Association (
The
Guyana Cultural Association of New York, Inc., the
organizers of the Guyana Folk Festival has launched a web
site for Carifesta 2008. Please visit it at:
http://www.guyfolkfest.org/carifestax2008.htm
Malcolm
Hall, President
Guyana
Cultural Association of New York, Inc.,
December
15, 2007 |
