Cultural figures imagine post-COVID-19 world

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced cultural practitioners in the Caribbean to re-evaluate how entertainment and sporting events, particularly the region’s carnivals, will be organised in future.

The topic was discussed in the latest of a series of webinars staged by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Chairman of Jamaica’s Sports and Entertainment Network Kamal Bankey whose organisation recently presented a report to the Jamaican Government on sports and entertainment post-COVID-19, noted: “Jamaica, and the Caribbean in general, are places where socialising is second nature, so we first looked at how many events we have per year. We estimated we hold about 20,000 events per year from small round robins with less than 500 people, then events featuring 500 to 5,000 people, then big festivals and sporting events.

“One of the most important things to understand is that bigger festivals tend to comprise audiences that are half locals and half visitors, so half the people won’t be able to make it.

“We may have to do 20 events for 500 people in phase one to make the same revenue, so I feel you will see more small events popping up on the micro-level, and people will be much nimbler in how they produce these things with a lot of the frills and the niceties stripped down because we just want to get back out there and hang out with each other.”

Chief Executive Officer of the National Cultural Foundation Carol Roberts-Reifer spelt out the aims of Barbados’ national training programme which it has instituted following the cancellation of the 2020 Crop Over Festival and the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA).

She said: “I like to see opportunities in every challenge. This pandemic is a chance for us to take a step back and look at the festival and the sector and look for meaningful ways to support participants, identify gaps that are prevalent and fill them.

“Now you have the time carefully craft training and financial support so that if this happens again, participants in the sector will have alternative ways to earn a living.

“Our national training over the long, medium and short term will allow us to shore up the skills of the practitioners in our sectors and get them ready for markets all over the world.”

Valmati Maharaj, the owner of the Tribe group of Carnival bands in Trinidad and Tobago, said: “We need to find ways to analyse and break down our product and experience to a granular level and analyse how this can be adapted to a new normal.

“We have been working to define ways to see how we can take the Caribbean to the rest of the world and inspire people if our borders remain closed longer.

“The way we create an experience will be based on who the customer is, so if the borders remain closed we will have full local participation, so how do we change communication from inviting people to the country to promoting patriotism and getting more locals to come out?”

All the participants agreed that digital platforms would enable the festivals to reach audiences all over the world, but also noted that the actual on-the-ground experience is what people really valued more.

Roberts-Reifer said: “There are aspects of our festivals that can be monetised and put on a digital platform, such as costume making, cooking, the visual arts and crafts component, and the market for art, craft and home decor items can be leveraged on digital platforms and digital marketplaces.”

From Jamaica, Bankey said: “Live streaming can be an add on to the experience, as a percentage of the population cannot or will not come, this may satisfy 10-20 per cent of what you had before. This will bridge the gap in the short term, and in medium-term it is an add-on value exposing the product to people who might not have looked at it before.

“The way the internet is now, you can send the live stream over to South Africa or Europe, and people may look at it in those countries and when they are ready, they might decide to come over and participate in it.”