(That was the question at the heart of the debate between St. Lucian Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott and Guyana’s Head of State, President Bharrat Jagdeo during the opening CARIFESTA X symposium on Sunday. Walcott asked regional governments to do more for the arts, blaming them for keeping artists in a state of deprivation. President Jagdeo emphasised his government’s commitment to the arts, though at the same time he explained that in the context of development, meeting the immediate needs of the people in terms of social and infrastructure development takes priority. In reference to Walcott’s point of view, he said perhaps artists could meet with governments to re-educate them, while also helping them to find the money to inject into the arts. “It all boils down to money,” Jagdeo said. Walcott responded by telling him his line of thinking seemed to come straight out of the Communist Manifesto. “If you ask the man in the street who is more important… he will say [the artist],” he said. Here is an edited sample of the comments entered on this news item on the Stabroek News website at stabroeknews )
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 15:13:44 +0000
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