For the artistic and culturally inclined in Antigua, there has often been the cry that the arts are being left to languish in the country’s development.

In acknowledgement of Black History Month, Best of Books on Friars Hill Road hosted a lecture entitled “The Impact of Art on Identity”. The panellists were musician and manager of El A Kru, Rohan Hector, and cultural activist Vance “Bandele” Joseph.

In speaking to popular art and cultural identity, Hector is of the opinion that the arts bring a well needed balance to youth. He referred to the importance of performing arts being taught in schools to encourage exposure and artistic expression.  The point was raised that many of the island’s youth tend to gravitate toward foreign cultures and the need for this issue to be addressed. Hector attributes that tendency as well as a general lack of appreciation/recognition for the importance of the arts, to a lack of “cultural confidence”.  Bandele, on the other hand sees the lack of a cultural confidence as a result of a fragmented identity. An identity he defined as being comprised of name, spirit and language.
The presenters and audience members together identified areas in which cultural identity needed definition, recognition and promotion.

Suggestions were made by the panelists to strengthen and promote Antiguan cultural identity, which includes: the need for local media, notably broadcast media to dedicate a minimum of 50% of local content daily, national festivals being encouraged and promoted, as well the need for a connection to ancestral legacy and the need for it to be recognised and strengthened.

Among his recommendations, Hector is passionate about the need to develop a confidence in who we are (as a people) and how to present ourselves.  He made references to people he knew with artistic qualities and aspirations that are now faced with “crushed dreams and tortured souls” as they find themselves in a reality they can’t do anything about. It is his opinion that artistes should be given the opportunity to see their work beyond Antigua. As far as Hector is concerned, “we are missing the ball with how we present ourselves culturally…thirty years behind.”

Meanwhile, Bandele encourages that we should not “hold back our expressions of art and culture which scream with the voices of our ancestors”…and thus our identity. He believes that “identity impacts art and art immortalises ancestry.”
With many accepting the view that culture is defined through a people’s music, art and literature, the lecture and subsequent interaction with audience members was lively and thought-provoking. If the discussion held after this lecture is any indication, much more dialogue needs to happen and with those in the position who can make change not only an idea but a reality.

The debate about art impacting culture and cultural identity is a valid one and in a time when Antigua like many other countries, is coming to grips with its multicultural society…perhaps it’s one which could provide insight as well as solutions to the issue of preserving an indigenous Antiguan cultural identity.