BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DIRECTOR OF CULTURE Troy ‘Biff’ Mills said there is need for a broader and better understanding of what culture is, and informed that the office which he heads, the Department of Culture, would likely lead the charge to educate and re-educate the public.
Mills made this declaration to SKNVibes during the Department’s 2015 National Arts Festival Cultural Day, which was held at Independence Square last Friday (Sept. 25).
Themed ‘Pot-pourri’, the event highlighted the four elements of culture: Literary Arts, Visual Arts, Culinary Arts and Performing Arts.
Giving concise history of the event, Mills informed that it began in 1964 by His Excellency C. A. Paul Southwell, who was a lover of drama and deemed it necessary to promote that form of art and culture along with other aspects of it.
Last showcased in 2013, the event was meant to be held once every two years and, according to the Cultural Director, the Department is hoping to have it hosted every even year since Carifesta is being hosted on the odd years.
Because there is consideration given to having it in 2016, Mills said this year’s event was somewhat “scaled down” but still carried substantial significance having been held in Southwell’s honour.
It is against the backdrop of possibly hosting the event in 2016 that Mills told SKNVibes that the education and re-education of the populace on the true meaning of culture is likely to be the main area of focus, “cultural renaissance” if you will.
He said some people believe that the cultural heritage of the island manifests only in our folklore. And because of that misconception there is a lack of appreciation for the other aspects of our culture, the embodiment of which tells the story of who we are.
“I think we take them for granted, these artistes and artisans, and we’ve come to believe that culture is merely, wholly, solely about the Performing Arts, Christmas, Carnival and Folklore; but culture in essence is everything about us. And we want to embark upon a programme to educate the general public about what culture is, how it affects them, how they fit into the culture, how culture is a part of them. And there are those persons who may not have the correct idea of what I mentioned before is.
“So we also have to embark on a re-education programme. So next year we will be looking at culture from an education and re-education point of view and we are toying with the idea of calling 2016 ‘The Year of Cultural Renaissance’…which will encompass the education and re-education of the general public.”
