Pam Burnside makes presentation at Caribbean arts festival

The Nassau Guardian

Pam Burnside, owner of Doongalik Studios Art Gallery, was recently invited to make a presentation on the growth of Bahamian visual arts at the Creatives of the Caribbean Arts Festival, on the topic ‘Fostering economic and commercial viability of the Caribbean creative economy’.

The festival was a collaboration of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Smithsonian Institution and the Caribbean In-Transit arts journal, and it was comprised of an art exhibition from June 6 to August 29; a concert on June 19 headlined by recording artist Alison Hinds and featuring performances by the Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra, and a panel seminar entitled “Voices of Caribbean creatives” to draw attention to the economic impact of the creative industries in the Caribbean and to promote the comprehensive development of this sector.

The panel, which Burnside participated in consisted of Marielle Barrow, editor-in-chief of “Caribbean in-Transit”; Ewan Simpson, musical arranger and intellectual property lawyer, and Dr. Yanique Hume, program coordinator and lecturer in cultural studies at the University of the West Indies. It was moderated by Ignacio De Leon, IDB private sector development lead specialist. There was also a presentation from Dr. Keith Nurse on the creative economy and entrepreneurship in the Caribbean, followed by another panel discussion with Dr. Diana Baird N’Diaye, cultural heritage specialist at the Smithsonian Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage; Felipe Buitrago, author of the IDB book “The Orange Economy”; Richard Campbell, chief of culture and tourism at the Organization of American States (OAS) and Mario Umama, integration and trade lead specialist at the IDB. The panel explored the topic “Measuring, preserving and growing the creative and cultural sector” from a development institutional standpoint. The seminar concluded with a key presentation by Dr. Vanus James, of the University of Technology, Trinidad and Tobago on ‘Measuring the economic impact of the cultural industries’ with recommendations on how the development stakeholders could support this process.

In order to share the information revealed during the festival with the Bahamian community, and as a part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, The Central Bank of The Bahamas, an institution that can be regarded as one of the foremost incubators of much of the nation’s visual arts development and progress, invites the public to attend Burnside’s presentation in the foyer of the bank’s gallery on Wednesday, July 23 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

The evening promises to be an educational and entertaining one as Burnside, who is also a founding member of the Transforming Spaces annual art tour as well as the newly-formed Creative Nassau organization, will examine the important role creativity can play in the Bahamian context and how it should be seriously embraced in its broader sense, not only as an economic engine that can provide necessary employment opportunities for Bahamians, but also as a vehicle that can positively affect the social fiber of the country. Burnside, an outspoken cultural advocate like her late husband, Jackson Burnside III, will also talk about the necessary shift needed to redefine the country’s outdated tourism model of sun, sand and sea into one that focuses on Bahamian art, culture and heritage from the inside out.

The evening will also include input from the IDB on its recent publication “The Orange Economy” that was prepared by Felipe Buitrago Restrepo and Iván Duque Márquez. It is a totally innovative text that discusses the importance of the creative industries with particular emphasis on the Caribbean. “The Orange Economy” can be downloaded at no cost.

more info...