Think tank for arts development |02 August 2014

Is it a good idea to have artists drive all the way to and from the Alamanda Hilton Resort and Spa at Anse Forbans on a hot Wednesday afternoon and spend more than one hour on the road?

The National Arts Council (Nac) staff defended the idea by saying that they had wanted to meet the artists in a cozy and calm atmosphere.

So was it then, a think tank of nine established visual artists, among them six professionals, gathered around Nac chief executive Jimmy Savy in a tea party ambiance, inspired by the white coloured waves which carried by the breeze of the south east monsoon, crashed melodically on the reef. The aim: Finding ways and means of better managing the arts and their development in Seychelles.

Maybe also a good way of initiating arts training as the artists pointed out an immediate need for training in arts management.

They also feel that the arts are not given their real place in the school’s curriculum where too much emphasis is put on other academic subjects, sometimes making of us an uncultured people needing more arts intelligence.  

If training is offered at post secondary level through the School of Visual Arts, few graduates become real artists.
 
The artists went further to expose that artistic talent alone is not enough for them to succeed as this has to be mixed with entrepreneurship skills.
 
On this note, they were happy to learn that an entrepreneurship programme has recently been introduced at the School of Visual Arts. They however feel that there should be more and further training in other fields such as curatorship and arts critic.

They are also of the view that while success stories should be exposed to younger artists, there should be more space and visibility for arts and artists in the media.
 
On this point they qualified ‘Tremolo’, the current SBC TV art programme as a catastrophe!

As change must also come from the top, it was agreed that the right formulae and recipe for success is: Political commitment plus motivation plus education plus marketing. The ultimate result will be art in general and the visual side of it in particular as “a million dollar industry”. This will put an end to mere survival and struggle to make ends meet as artists become more commercial.

“If tourism is our first economic activity, arts and craft should be the second,” the artists said.

However, they regretted that they are still divided and tend to fight against each other. For example, some artists lend their paintings to hotels instead of selling them, rendering sale impossible for others. Another indication of division is that all artists’ associations created so far have not worked. The solution they say is to replace those associations with an Art Federation.

Other demands from artists during Wednesday’s meeting included a biennale for 2016, the restoration of the national art collection, more participation in national events and that in case of designing of future national monuments, a competition is organised.

They also lobbied for the future reopening of the National Arts Gallery, which they feel should not be used for other purposes such as the venue for registering political candidates and announcing election results.

To put order in the house, or should we say in the studio, the artists agreed that the Nac should go back to the drawing board and elaborate a road map for the future and a calendar of activities for at least the next three years.

Before leaving, the artists questioned the current role of the Nac. A pertinent question as the organisation prepares to be dissolved and leaves place for Cinea (Creative Industry and National Events Agency). The answer was that the Nac will remain the body governing arts development in Seychelles until the creation of its successor. On this note, it was felt that the Nac should also make itself more visible and should communicate more with its protégés.

The meeting with the visual artists was only the first in a series of consultations with Seychellois artists. The next, which will be for those involved in drama, will be held on Wednesday next week at 2pm at the Alamanda Hotel.

The question now remains if the artists will be listened to. As one has put it “numerous such meetings have been held before with no concrete results. It is as if we are going around in a circle. Let us just hope that this time we will move ahead and the think tank will help bring a real positive difference for Seychelles’ arts and artists”.

The artists who took part in Wednesday’s working session are Christine Chetty, Egbert Marday, Leon Radegonde, Peter Pierre-Louis, Nigel Henri, Danny Sopha, George Camille, Michel Denousse and Emmanuel d’Offay.