Census to better professionalise the art industry in Seychelles |24 May 2023
Mr D’Offay flanked by Ms Letourdie (left) and Ms Labrosse during the press conference (Photo: Louis Toussaint)
The Creative Seychelles Agency (CSA) will launch a census next week in order to better professionalise the art industry in Seychelles.
The announcement was made during a press conference at the International Conference Centren yesterday morning by CSA’s executive director, Emmanuel D'Offay, who explained that the agency saw it necessary for the first time in history, to launch a national census, for one year, to check the state of artists in Seychelles.
This will include all forms of arts, ranging from drama performers, singers and artists who paint.
“Never in history has something like this, on the level that the National Bureau of Statistics would usually do, ever been done,” he stated.
The main objectives of the census are to better organise the types of arts and create a database for not only CSA but for the general public to be able to track down the artists. It will also allow detailed classification to take place and create a comprehensive documentation of all the artists.
“This is a precious document that should have been done a long time ago,” said Mr D’Offay.
The census will be categorised by CSA to find out things like who the jazz singers are and who are professionals and who are up and comers.
Mr D’Offay explained this will make it easier for when there are international call-ups as the international parties are very specific about what they are looking for.
In addition, instead of calling upon the same singer, other artists who specialise in the same field will be able to get the chance for the call-up and take it to the next level.
“This is a moment for all the artists to feel that it is their job to participate in the census,” Mr D’Offay stated.
Furthermore, the census will be extremely detailed where each artist will have to state what sort of art they do and what their baggage is.
Mr D’Offay expressed that there may be some disorder or some misunderstanding due to the fact that everyone in Seychelles can become an artist.
“Everyone who has a creative side can become an artist but not everyone can be put side by side and on the same level.”
With the information gathered, CSA can proceed to work with certain artists such as debutants and tackle some other matters when it comes to the professionals who have already established themselves in the country.
Mr D’Offay said that certain shows such as Chart Attack does not do artists any favours.
“An artist puts themselves on another level because they came first in a chart and wants to do a show in Mauritius. Are they going to sing the same song for one hour?” he queried.
Although he said he did not blame the artists, but rather the superficial charts which creates a situation where artists state that they do not know who is in charge of the culture department or that the department is not helping them.
“We want to help you and when we finish with the census we can address the different groups and prepare them and make them understand that if you want to do a show internationally, you need to have a dolce press and baggage that you go with.”
The census will also bring into the light the importance of a manager for any artists, whether it be music or painting. Mr D’Offay said this was not yet common in Seychelles.
“You do not see an artist in Mauritius selling their own CDs in the street. That is the manager’s job to market you and to take care of things like that,” he said.
He cited the International Arts Fair as an example whereby artists from Seychelles are selling their art pieces internationally in Dubai and the same can be done for musicians and the fashion industry through the census.
The census will also help tell the difference between a fashion designer and a seamstress or the difference between art that can be sold internationally and art that is done for tourists visiting Seychelles.
The census will be done by Jany Letourdie, a singer herself, who will gather all the information and do all the terrain work and amass all the data to be able to then hand it over to Sybil Labrosse who will compile it and insert it into the system. Each artist will be placed under their specific category. The database will then be accessible online.
The form for the census will be available online at the National Arts Council website and the Department of Culture website. The census will be a “one-stop shop” to click and have information on the various artists. The form will have eight pages. It will also be given to various associations. In addition, Ms Letourdie explained that there might be announcements made whereby certain districts will be targeted for the census. Pamphlets and posters will also be shown around town.
Ms Labrosse explained that the database of the census will be set up in an Excel programme to begin with and each category will be classified by its discipline. Furthermore, there will be a directory for the state of art in Seychelles completed with all the information.
Sunny Esparon