Second Seychelles Arts Awards |14 November 2019
The finalists in a family photograph (Photo: Louis Toussaint)
Finalists announced
The finalists for the second Seychelles Arts Awards, to be held on November 23, 2019, were yesterday announced in a brief ceremony at Maison Esplanade, in the presence of principal secretary for the department of culture Cecile Kalebi, dignitaries, artists and the selecting committee.
This year’s awards features 11 categories as well as seven categories of juries awards, in celebration of all art forms, whether visual, audio or in other formats produced by local artists and artistic groups.
The finalists and nominees were announced by the chairperson of the selecting committee John Etienne who outlined the qualifying criteria noting that finalists were selected based on merit, academics and purpose in the pieces of art submitted.
The finalists in the 11 categories are as follows:
- Visual Arts: George Camille, Nigel Henri and Daniel Dodin
2. Dance: Virna Fanny, Ruth Barbe and Leko Group
3. Music Production: Patel Esparon, Stephen Eliza and Patrick Victor
4. Photography: Richard Ally, Johnny Volcère and Michel Desnousse
5. Film/Audio-visual: Rupert Dogley, Trevor Bristol and Johnny Volcère
6. Literature: Tony Joubert, Maggie Faure Vidot and Loura Barra
7. Artisanal: Mickey Arnephy, Florent Servina and Donatien Freminot
8. Fashion: Terry Carolla, Darren Esther and Johanna Didon
9. Artistic Director: Raymond Clarisse, Virna Fanny and Ruth Barbe
- Theatre: Angelin Marie and Loura Barra
11. Music: Sandra Esparon, Patrick Victor and Stephen Eliza
It is important to note that artworks selected for these categories must have been produced over the last two years, between 2017 and 2019.
Speaking of the quality of the artworks submitted, chairperson Etienne noted the importance of hard work to produce powerful art asserting the presence and influence of art in numerous aspects on daily life such as architecture among others.
“All the works need to have a purpose. We need to differentiate between powerful art and mass culture. We need to understand works of quality and mediocrity,” Mr Etienne asserted, noting that the committee expects works of a higher standard in future from some categories.
Asides from the 11 categories, this year’s edition features seven categories of jury awards, notably, Male Life Achievement, Female Life Achievement, Tradition, Young Aspiring Artist, Honorary International Artist as well as Honorary Local Artist and Traditional Music.
These categories of awards consider works produced by the artist throughout their respective careers and comprise six finalists in each respective category. The previous awards ceremony featured only five categories of jury awards.
1. Male Life Achievement: Patrick Victor, Egbert Marday, Leon Radegonde, David Philoe, Peter Pierre-Louis and Acelbert Libanotis
- Female Life Achievement: Fernande Ladouce, Antoinette Savy, Marie Madeleine Matombe, Eudoxie Labiche, Marie-Cecile Medor and Colette Gilliot
- Tradition: Andreix Rosalie, Fernande Ladouce, Donatien Freminot, Keven Valentin, Hansley Constance and Marie Madeleine Matombe
- Young Aspiring Artist: Aaron Jean, Emilie Esparon, Kelly Mathiot, Jade du Preez, Amy Chang Pen Tive and Vanessa Songoire
5. Traditional Music: John Vital, Leve Tradisyon, Marcel Crea, Keven Valentin, Eddie Crea and Channel Kilindo
6. Honorary Local: Marcel Rosalie, Patrick Pillay, Sylvette Pool, Joe Samy, Andreix Rosalie and Hansley Constance
7. Honorary International: Alexandra Azaïs, Daniel Delore, George Michel and Anagrette Bollet
Mr Etienne further noted that there will be no award for graphics this year on account that the submitted works were not up to par with the standards expected by the selecting committee.
National Arts Council (Nac) chief executive Jimmy Savy also addressed all present, emphasising the need to valorise and push local artists forward towards growing our priceless cultural assets that are essential to our identity.
“The Arts awards existed for a while, but for our team, this is the second award to be held consistently. This year we have expanded it, with an emphasis on quality of work and recognising artists that have played a pivotal role in promoting the culture and valorising local arts. We feel that the time has come for us to continue to promote and push our artists,” said Mr Savy.
“Two years ago, we started the ‘New frontier’ movement along with chairman of the committee John Etienne and now Ambassador for Culture Patrick Victor in recognition of our artists as individuals and creatives that can make a difference, who are intelligent and who can bring about change in our society,” Mr Savy noted.
Both proceeded to thank all partners and sponsors of the Awards including Absa (Barclays Bank Seychelles), the main sponsor of the event. Other partners include the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Creative Industry and National Events Agency (Cinea) and Levasseur Rum among others.
Mr Savy and Mr Etienne also thanked all artists for their contributions and hard work towards local arts.
By Laura Pillay
