We Know Carnival supposed to be a Bacchanal - BUT this is Ridiculous! There wll be an Artist/Carnival Savannah Protest
Posted 01-30-07

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Date: Friday 2nd February 2007
Place: The Tracks, east of the Grand Stand, Queens Park Savannah
Time: 9am- 12pm
Action: A People's Forum entitled "The Savannah, the Carnival and the future of the Arts of Trinidad and Tobago."
Host: FITUN (The Federation of Independent Trade Unions) and ACTT! (The Artist Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago)

Government's refusal to use the Savannah stage and re-build the North Stand for $1.1 Million will cost T&T citizens over $50 Million!!!

Carnival 2007 will go down in history as the most inept and mis-managed Carnival in history!!! This despite the fact that we spent over $50 Million in World Cup Germany to bring people to the country- and this is our first big show! The Ministry of Culture continues to have no clue as to how to plan Carnival despite us doing it for more than 160 years!!!

The unpublicized reason for the whole Ministerial bungling of Carnival 2007 is the Honourable Minister of Culture's refusal to hold a stakeholder forum to consult on the government's infrastructural plans for the Arts. The refusal means the Ministry continues to lock itself out of any genius in the planning of the Arts in the country. The Ministry continues to run the Arts by vaps and without a real understanding of the big or small picture. This refusal to consult stakeholders on their very own future has resulted in projects being halted due to stakeholder activism. We are again calling on the government to consult with stakeholders on these mammoth projects.

THE VERY FUTURE OF THE ARTS- TRADITIONS WE HOLD DEAR- AND THE VERY LIFESBLOOD OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO IS AT STAKE!

THE GOVERNMENTS PLANS:
Government plans to build $5 Billion worth of Cultural institutions that artists have lobbied for 45 years. Architectural plans and contractors have been approved, treaties with foreign governments signed & construction is ready to begin. The major problem is that all this has happened behind closed doors and without any meaningful stakeholder consultation. Despite widespread dissatisfaction and many communiqués the Ministry has ignored all calls for forums of consultation.

The government plans to build:

• A $700 (now $450M) Million Carnival Centre in the Savannah
• 2 National Performing Arts Centres
• 3 Arts Academies
• 90 Community Centres
• A National Archives Building

ARTISTS HAVE NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS. Namely:

• There are no plans for the Administration, Sustainability, and Maintenance of these facilities.
• There is no parallel investment in 'human beings' alongside this $5 B investment in concrete. This despite a catalogue of outstanding artist demands.
• There yet is no National Cultural Policy document forthcoming from the Ministry- despite this massive institutional spend. So what is the vision that will inform these institutions?
• The present design/conception of most of these buildings is fatally flawed and will result in buildings irrelevant and inappropriate to the needs of the population. Institutions that should transform individuals, communities and the industry into major money earners, satisfied well-resourced creators and major global players will instead be wastes of space.
• By the time these facilities are finished in 3-4 years time the Golden Age Generation would have passed away en masse. Despite numerous demands government has not supported any programmes to document and consecrate the Legacy of this crucial generation.
• The Legacy of the Golden Age should be enshrined in the architectural DNA and vision of these institutions. A simultaneous programme of documentation, apprenticeship, honouring and dissemination should be running alongside the construction of these buildings.

AS ARTISTS WE HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING IN PRIVATE ABOUT THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS FOR TOO LONG.

COME OUT AND LET YOUR PRESENCE BE FELT AND YOUR VOICES BE HEARD!!!

JOIN SOME OF OUR GREATEST ARTISTS IN A DISCOURSE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR SECTOR.

THE FUTURE OF THE ARTS IS TIED TO THE VERY FUTURE OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ITSELF!!!

DO NOT BE BOUGHT. THE FUTURE CANNOT BE RANSOMED FOR A HANDFUL OF GOLD COINS.

THE CULTURAL INDUSTRY CAN SAVE THIS COUNTRY. THESE INSTITUTIONS CAN SAVE THIS COUNTRY!

WE SHOULD BE A LIGHT OF THE WORLD- INSTEAD WE ARE BEING OVERWHELMED BY ITS DARKNESS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT BEING LED BY OUR GENIUS!

COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT. ARTISTS MUST BE CONSULTED ON OUR HOMES.

WE MUST BE TREATED WITH RESPECT.

WE MUST BE TREATED SERIOUSLY AS CITIZENS, BUSINESS PEOPLE AND CONTRIBUTORS AND LEADERS IN THE SOCIETY.

NO CONSTRUCTION WITHOUT CONSULTATION!!!

For further information call:
Steve Cupid (FITUN) 487-9777
Rubadiri Victor (ACTT!) 797-0949

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