More Culture Wars in the Bahamas

by Larry Smith

"Bahamian nationalism is a nebulous thing, difficult to describe...Trying to get a handle on what is Bahamian is like trying to catch a fish with one's bare hands." - Nicolette Bethel

Last week's article on Bahamian identity and cultural activity generated some comment from the cognoscenti.

Two inter-connected points emerged from that discussion. There certainly are institutions, laws and resources to support and protect Bahamian heritage, but our cultural industries are nonetheless in a perilous state of decline.

Any attempt to analyse why this is so must look at where we've come from. As College of the Bahamas lecturer Ian Strachan put it, slavery convinced black Bahamians of their inferiority while colonialism robbed all Bahamians of their confidence.

The result is rootlessness and indifference, more pronounced among blacks than whites. Add to this the pervasive influence of American culture, the impact of foreign tourists, and the miniscule size and capacity of our creative community, and we can begin to see why cultural activists are moaning.

Here we are more than 30 years after independence, they say, still dreaming and arguing about things that should have been in place long ago. We are still trying to save what remains of our tattered cultural heritage, and still hoping for the economic freedom to practise our craft.

By most accounts, until the 1960s Bahamians had no national consciousness. But the massive expansion of education after the Progressive Liberal Party's 1967 victory led to a new focus on culture - favouring activities that had previously been either discounted or willfully ignored. It was all part of the 'quiet revolution' that led inexorably from majority rule to nationhood.

In 1972, when the nationalist fires were at their peak, the eminent composer and musician Clement Bethel (best known for his dissertation on Junkanoo and the folk opera Sammy Swain) was picked to head the government's new cultural division.

Bethel's untimely death in 1987 coincided with a UNESCO report by a Canadian university professor that urged the government to set priorities and write legislation to protect Bahamian heritage, provide training for artists, and develop a range of cultural facilities.

Calling for more arts funding, the report said: "the lot of the average Bahamian artist is not a happy one. Income from art is modest or non-existent; employment is scarce and irregular; sales are infrequent; and training is demanding and costly."

Nevertheless, cultural activities were seen as our most promising and productive economic resources, and the report called for a system of matching public and private sector grants to support creative individuals and groups. These recommendations were largely ignored at the time, but some proposals - such as a national art gallery and heritage legislation - have been realised over the years.

Clement Bethel's death left a void that was not filled until Cleophas Adderley's appointment as director of culture in 1996. Bethel's daughter, Nicolette, became director in 2003 but resigned last year in the face of what she regards as congenital disinterest in the arts on the part of politicians.

As an example, she cites the fact that for years the cultural division has been shunted from Education to Youth, to the Office of the Prime Minister, and back to Education. It is now part of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture again, with a small staff of 28.

They look after a number of activities, including the National Arts Festival, Junkanoo, the National Dance School, the National Poetry Competition, Theatre in the Park, and a range of other national and international events.

But the bulk of the division's $2 million annual budget goes to Junkanoo for bleacher rentals, seed and prize money throughout the Bahamas, as well as administrative subsidies for the Junkanoo Committee, and other parade expenses.

Sixteen years ago the Senate held a series of hearings on cultural development led by then Independent senator Fred Mitchell. These sessions resulted in a draft law that sought to create a national arts council. But that exercise went nowhere.

In 2002, the Christie administration appointed a National Commission on Cultural Development, whose 60 members met regularly for several years under the leadership of Charles Carter and the late Winston Saunders. This body revised the earlier Bill and submitted it to Cabinet in 2004, where it promptly died.

That version called for a semi-independent arts council to promote cultural activities generally. It would do this through a sweeping mandate to raise funds, operate creative facilities and training schools, give grants, produce shows and fund research.

Since 2004, this Bill has been circulating among members of the cultural community, and may have informed the contents of the Entertainment and Culture Encouragement Bill, which is currently being lobbied by people like Fred Munnings.

The Cultural Commission also came up with a policy document that was unveiled at a National Cultural Conclave in 2006 and posted online for comment. It builds on a draft written in 1995 by Cleophas Adderley and the late Kayla Lockhart Edwards, and aims to give "a coherent strategic national context for planning and decision-making about culture."

One of the challenges for any young nation, this document says, "is the balance between sovereignty and national identity, and the influence of a pervasive global culture that is increasingly homogenous and American in flavour."

More significantly, the draft policy calls for an urgent "redirection of resources and funds to the development and promotion of the Bahamian cultural sector", which it describes as "one of the least developed" in the hemisphere.

This brings us to the question of exactly what resources are currently available. Although an overarching national policy and a national arts council have never been achieved, there have been some significant advances since the UNESCO report was written.

The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation was created by Parliament in 1998. It is responsible for archaeological research and heritage conservation, and currently operates five public facilities on New Providence - Forts Fincastle, Montagu and Charlotte, Balcony House and the Pompey Museum

It also administers the Long Island Museum at Buckley's and the South Eleuthera Mission at Rock Sound, and is developing a museum in the old jail house on San Salvador. The AMMC shares responsibility for the Clifton Heritage Park with an independent authority that was created in 2004.

The government is now in the process of strengthening the Corporation's enabling act, and a decision will be made soon on whether the former Collins mansion will become a national museum or library. The National Art Gallery has been established since 2003 in a restored 19th century mansion on West Street.

A national endowment for the arts was set up by the government in the 1990s, but seems to have become dormant, with no line item in the budget. A private Endowment for the Performing Arts, organised by Winston Saunders and Sir Orville Turnquest in 1996, disburses about $60,000 a year in grants and tuition subsidies to Bahamian artists.

A Historic Bahamas Foundation was established last year to raise funds and accept donations on behalf of the Antiquties Corporation. And both the Lyford Cay and Cable Bahamas Cares Foundations provide regular funding for the arts.

There are other public and private subsidies to the creative community, but activists insist there should be a single national policy and overarching legislation that makes sense out of all of these overlapping initiatives, as well as a coordinating authority if the state is to maintain these investments and subsidies.

More importantly, there needs to be an appreciation of the economic value of cultural activities. A few years ago, CARICOM produced a document on the region's creative industries. It said activities like music, performing and visual arts, broadcasting and publishing can not only create new jobs but can provide avenues to engage young people in productive pursuits.

Just one example will make the point. Jose Antonio Abreu, an economist and musician in Venezuela, founded a programme to help impoverished Venezuelan kids take part in classical music. After 30 years (and 10 political administrations), it has evolved into a network of 102 youth orchestras, 55 children's orchestras, and 270 music centres -- embracing almost 250,000 young musicians.

Their instruments and training have been fully funded by a succession of Venezuelan governments, and the programme has become an international model that is seen as an alternative to drugs and crime as well as a source of national pride.

According to the CARICOM report, "There is an urgent need to put in place the appropriate regulatory and policy measures to develop the enabling environment for creative industries in this region to realize their full growth potential as viable businesses."

But since commercial banks do not value intellectual capital and are reluctant to finance creative industries, activists argue that government must provide seed money or loan guarantees. According to a draft policy on grants produced a few years ago, "Culture, like tourism, requires investment in order to bring about financial returns. Part of that investment must be in the support of private artistic and cultural projects through an enlightened grants policy."

Of course, the danger is that we open ourselves up to yet another massive public sector gravy train. So perhaps the real question is whether we are on the right track with our existing spending. For example, to my knowledge, no-one has offered a detailed cost-benefit analysis for investing up to $100 million to dredge the harbour so that bigger cruise ships can call.

And no-one has justified to the Bahamian people recently the expenditure of tens of millions on overseas advertising and pr to generate tourists, when we all agree that the visitor experience on the ground is generally  dreadful and growing worse.

Studies confirm that cultural heritage travellers stay longer and spend more money than other kinds of tourists. So would we be able to generate more revenue by investing more in cultural activities and product development? We attempted to raise this point with Tourism Director-General Vernice Walkine, but she did not return phone calls.

In the meantime there are genuine fears among the creative community that without coordinated protections and incentives, our cultural resources could disappear almost entirely - a predicament illustrated by this passage from a 1929 account by Amelia Defries. She described a magnificent bedstead carved by one Josiah Anthem of Eight Mile Rock:

"Not eberybody can paint or carve same as my fader," the daughter murmered. Then the old man brought out the chief labour of his hands piece by piece. "It will last for 30 years...But how can I sell it when nobody nebber comes to see?"

That certainly was a problem...If he put the carved bedstead upon a sponging vessel and sent it to Nassau in the fashionable season, he might sell it, and even get an order for another.

Anthem in his isolation was like a rent and tattered sail after a storm—a remnant or survival of a finer past...yet if there was a revival of cratsmanship on these islands much good (moral and commercial) might result.

Comments

[Rick]

Excellent Larry.
Perfect point about the cost benefit analysis for the port. Government gets away with far too much with things like that.
Should the desires of other special interest groups like culture for example be subject to the same thing though?
Rick

[larry smith]

I think a cost-benefit analysis would come probably down in favour of more investment and incentives for the cultural sector. And yes, such an analysis should be required for any major initiatives.

[Rick]

If there is a predisposition to one interest group, why not a predisposition to the port?

[larry smith]

There already is a predisposition to the port (the money has been allocated) that has not been adequately documented in my view.

[Rick]

Touche :0)
The point is there should not be a predisposition to any thing.
Also, why bother if it's a foregone conclusion.
Just hand it out to all and sundry and bankrupt the country.

[larry smith]

I do not take the view that ALL spending is necessarily bad.

[Rick]

Neither do I.

[Carol Misiewicz]

I read and appreciated greatly your comments and observations about the cultural industry in the Bahamas. Well said!

My father, Mr. Harold Munnings Sr., was deputy chairman of a committee established to look into National Honours for the Bahamas. The late Winston Saunders was chairman. It too met with a lack of interest from successive cabinets, and the several proposals submitted have languished without response.

His, and the other committee members and contributors efforts so far appear to have all been in vain. Folders of papers, drawings, minutes, sample medals and ribbons and the like, are now boxed in his office collecting dust.

The short-sightedness of politicians (as the ones who control the purse strings) is doing a disservice to the growth of Bahamian nationhood.

As a final comment, I vote for the old Collins mansion to be converted into a library.

[Nicolette]

Carol, as far as I know, the mansion is on the way to becoming the National Museum of The Bahamas.

Library -- still to be addressed.

[larry smith]

The COB has a massive library project underway, virtual and bricks, heavily funded by Lycay and others.

A national museum is a priority, if only so that we have someplace to properly curate all the artifacts that have been collected over the years.

[Erasmus Folly]

My vote is for a museum there. It is a great location and the Tribune, being across the street, can write regular articles promoting it in its arts and entertainment section. We could also HOST exhibits one day. Come to the Bahamas... and...

see the visitng Picasso exhibit from New York. Etc, etc.

People pay a lot for stuff like that, especially Europeans, who we can't attract because they don't like all things American, like us.

[Andrew Curry]

Great article Larry. This all boils down to getting involved. In Hope Town we have a very involved sailing program for the kids . As they get older they learn to sail the native sloops , the Abaco Rage and Lonesome Dove . These boats take a lot of TLC but it is a special privilege to sail on these boats. It is so what being a Bahamian is all about. During the Abaco regatta the native sloops are the highlight of the race . Tourist beg to sail on one of these boats , yet most Bahamians have no interest .
As far a Government goes , we always get the government we deserve . Every body wants but know one wants to get involved .

[Sean Rolle]

It's sad that culture is still in such an underdeveloped state. It goes to show just how educationally unbalanced our political leaders are.

Just like social skills I think cultural awareness must start in the home and hopefully in the future, we will have a larger pressure group to agitate for more cultural development and funding.

The folks we call political leaders can't see beyond their bank accounts especially when compared to national development. And, sadly, large numbers of voters are the only thing they recognize.

[C.Lowe]

Hi all, I feel special being in the company of four of my schoolmates on this blog!!
Andrew, we also have a sailing program in Freeport privately going for 3 years what the government has been funding others to do for 10 without result.
Nontheless, Our kids have also sailed the traditional Bahamian boats and loved it.
The other comment is this:
Our successive governments not only ignore any initiatives from citizens in ALL spheres of endevour, they actively thwart same, because about the only thing we kept of the colonial master, is the control mentality.
Is it any wonder we lose the best to the rest of the world?
Is it any wonder we see decay and dispair all around?
The dissent of today would have been unimaginable 20-30 years ago, this two is part of national growth.
Keep thinking, and acting.
I'll be in GTC andrew 1-3rd, weather permitting. Perhaps see you there.
Chris

[C.Lowe]

Sorry, 3 classmates, four total, still can't count!!
Nico, ignore the "two" instead of TOO!