Artists meet ahead of OAS culture confab

Close to 100 artists met today for a series of panel discussions ahead of a ministerial meeting on arts and culture from the 34 nations of the Organisation of American States (OAS) which begins Thursday.

The discussions were to gain the input of the creatives to ensure that their views are reflected during the two-day Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities Conference.

In a speech at the opening of the preparatory event at the Hilton hotel, Minister of the Creative Economy and Culture John King urged creatives to find ways to work together and support each other.

Declaring himself “not a politician who happens to be an artist, but rather an artist who happens to be a politician”, he appealed to the artists gathered to “look in the mirror and ask what have we done to further our own cause”.

King stressed that he would like to see a shift in the way that local artists interacted with each other. “Barbadian artists need to come together as a community and lend support to each other,” he said.

The Minister urged them to stop arguing among themselves, as it did nothing to solve the problems they faced and could, in fact, create a negative impression of artists in general.

“We must begin to shape the narrative and think outside the box.  Give value to what we do and support each other in tangible ways,” he advised.

King also urged those in attendance to speak freely, but “at the end of it all ask yourselves, what I can add to improve the circumstance of artists”.