The cultural division pledges to continue playing its role in promoting Dominica’s Art until it receives “the respect and recognition that it deserves.”
Speaking at the first ever Dominica Music Awards over the weekend, Acting Chief Cultural Officer of the Division of Culture, Earlson Matthew, said every citizen has to contribute in making this dream a reality.
“The cultural division will continue to play its role as it relates to seeing the arts get the respect and recognition that it deserves. And while the cultural division is a good starting point, we cannot do it alone. We all have cultural responsibilities beyond the work of the division,” Matthew stated.
He commended Creole Heartbeat on a job well done by putting together the first ever Dominica Music Awards stating that while some may argue that the National Cultural Council hosts the highest cultural awards by way of the Golden Drums, people must acknowledge that a gap was identified and duly filled.
“Rewards are the best incentive and source of positive reinforcement and you have given musicians more goals to aspire to: accolades for their respective portfolios and personal milestones by which they can gauge their development,” he remarked.
The Acting Chief Cultural Officer said it was also reassuring to see the involvement of Dominica’s most prominent music association as well as all jurisdictional collections rights organizations among many others, who pledged their support to this initiative.
“The cultural division’s rule is to oversee the promotion preservation and development of traditional and cultural expressions. To achieve this, we must invest in human resource importantly from the formative stages but also to further develop what already exists,” he stated.
Matthew noted that while persons may not see a “pretty bottom line” with the instant tangible profits yielded by the other sectors, their work empowers practitioners to do so for themselves as well as instill certain morals, ethics and values that no amount of profit can surpass.
“It pleases me to state that the Dominican Music Awards is one such venture that is in line with our mandates. While it may be easy to openly express dissatisfaction in the nominees and to highlight the names that could have been deserving, I am reminded that the nomination process so transparent, as well as the integration of the general public,” He stated. “I urge those who feel slighted to keep working, not for the executive of the Dominica Music Awards, not for Creole Heartbeat, but for continuity in what you love, and of course your survival, and if your intellectual property is what your families are dependent on, then that as well.”
Meantime, Matthew broached the topic of Carnival which has been at the fore in recent times and while the Cultural Division does not play a leading role in the organization of the festival, he officially informed the public of the ‘Old Mass 2022’ offering.
He said this will come in the form of a film production similar to ‘Christmas Culture’ as they highlight various aspects of traditional Carnival culture.
He also said that by now, everyone is aware of the negative impacts of Covid-19 and urged citizens to pay attention to the positive lessons brought forth by this pandemic such as the importance of diversification of revenue streams, the need for combining all those skills out of warcraft with the knowledge of the business and administrative areas of our beloved sector, the therapeutic nature of what we do as well as to use the down time that we have as an opportunity to regroup, analyze world trends, discover new markets or just to stop and have a look at things from another perspective.
In closing, Matthew thanked creole heartbeat for their unwavering support during his tenure thus far, and pledged to continually support them in future events.
” There’s a lot more work to be done. Thank you everyone,”
Skerrit is the “chief” and Mathew is acting out what the chief/captain says. Don’t ever forget; this Teef said, “I RUN TINGS.” So there is only one “RUNNER” on the fields of Dominica. Soon the Honorable “arthritis” will put a halt to all these RUNNINGS. How longgggggggggggg? Not Long.
I’m not saying this young man is not qualified for the job .but whenever people think of Dominica and culture Raymond’s Lawrence comes to mind..
It is sad when you think about Dominica and culture Raymond Lawrence come to your mind. Thats a failure in my mind. The culture of a country cannot and should never be about an individual. He certainly played a significant role in preserving but the institution is bigger than any one man woman or child so when they dead and gone it does not die with them. We have to get out of that habit of making institutions about individuals
I know, even if they ask you back people have to know it’s ok to move on and leave opportunities for the younger ones.
You will be ok padna, as long as they don’t put back the former cultral minister from south in charge of you and culture, unless they want to kill it.
I wish Mr. Matthew well in his endevours but hope that he will give equal attention to all aspects of the arts.
In particular, the visual arts deserve greater recognition. This facet of the arts is not limited to painting and sculpture, but includes all that is visual, for example: architecture, fashion, interior design, ceramics, etc.
However, unless the Ministry of Education gives the creative arts the attention they deserve we will waste the potential of our youth. At least 40% of pupils are creatively, rather than academically inclined.
Furthermore, in Dominica we unfortunately confuse culture with art. Culture is something we all feel comfortable with, whereas art – be it literature, music, sculpture or painting – is something different to what has gone before. As such, art can be controversial, but therein lies its value.