Undoubtedly, the importance of the Arts to any nation cannot be over emphasised because it is the epitome of man’s imagination and creativity which are essential for cultural and social development. And very importantly, it provides the avenue for spiritual development. In fact, the state of the arts in any society is a fairly accurate way to gauge and measure the level of its civilisation, as well as cultural and moral development.

And of course it is an excellent tool in the educational and learning process.
“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.” (James Allen)

According to UNESCO, current educational experiences highlighting the importance of ‘arts education’ have been advocated around the world.  

Programmes focusing on creativity-building education have attracted a great deal of attention.  

The movement encouraging arts activities within schools has attempted, not only to promote the implementation of arts education in formal and non-formal settings, but also to improve the quality of education, appreciating the role of arts and creativity in the school environment as a tool for promoting ethical values.

Our country has had a rich history in nearly all the fields of the arts, particularly during the period of the 1950s to the 1970s.

During this period many internationally acclaimed writers, musicians, actors and painters emerged. Some of the names that easily spring to mind include Ted Braithwaithe, Wilson Harris, Jan Carew, Norman Beaton, Ramjohn Holder, Habeeb Khan, Philip Moore, Dave Martins, Eddie Grant, Ray Luck, Marc Matthews, A.J. Seymour, Martin Carter, etc.

Unfortunately, because of our country’s history with migration, these brilliant minds in the field of arts were never able to collectively unleash their talents on the cultural landscape, thereby enhancing its development.
And then we suffered a lull between the 1970s and 1990s because of many factors such as increased migration and deteriorated political and economic conditions.

It was during this period also that one of our foundations of drama, the Theatre Guild, went into decline and dormancy. But it is great to see that it has been restored to its former glory.

Against this backdrop of a revival of the arts in this country, it was most heartening to see that the film making project fructified and, in this regard, President Bharrat Jagdeo came in for high praise.

According to United States-based film-making trainer, Brian Zahm, MFA of Ohio University, while artistic budgetary funding in the U.S. is being slashed, it is beautiful that in Guyana the reverse is happening.

And this was reiterated by President Jagdeo during his address last Thursday evening at the premiere of the initial productions of eight short films made possible through the President’s Film Endowment Project 2011.

The President stressed that, as a result of years of prudent fiscal management that entailed great sacrifices, counter-cyclical to that trend, the existential bread-and-butter issues are now being economically manageable, which has created room for investments in the arts and culture.

He made reference to the investment being made by Government in the area of literature, in particular the publishing of an initial 25 out-of-print publications spanning about 300 years, which have been dubbed the “Guyana Classics.” 

This is one of government’s initiatives to revive Guyana’s deep literary traditions, said the President, which he asserted affords him a deep sense of satisfaction.

He alluded to Guyana’s colonial past, when arts and culture were pursued in context of what pleased the ruling class, with merely a few exceptions to the general practice.
However, while the will was there in the post-colonial era, the opportunities were limited because of a lack of funding, declared the President, who noted that the Private Sector had endured its own traumas and had paid scant heed to fostering the arts. 
He contended that awareness in the consciousness of entrepreneurs on the need to support these initiatives should be developed through orientation and education.
He drew attention to the government-funded learning channel, which was also made possible because of the government’s prudent fiscal management.
This channel is accessible to every community in Guyana, according to President Jagdeo, who stressed that programming would not only focus on the traditional educational pathways, but would open up and expand avenues for pursuit of new frontiers of education and information-dissemination. 
Elucidating on the new and expanded platforms and opportunities expanded bandwith presents, the President said that content production is vital, and that soon in Guyana movies could be viewed on handsets as speeds develop.
According to him, this film-making initiative is “living university” in this knowledge-driven, information-overladen world, and he made reference to the expansion of the University of Guyana into bio-diversity research.
As monies become available as a result of Guyana’s success in “climbing out of the deep hole into which we have dug ourselves”, new investments are being made in the areas of sports, the arts and culture, reiterated the President, who said that Guyana has “new frontiers to storm” and reminded the audience that prior to present times, sporting facilities were only available to exclusive club members. 
Today, the recreational facilities are on par with international standards.
President Jagdeo expressed hope that Guyana’s films would also reach world-class standards.  To achieve this, the President pledged an additional $30 million to the original grant, which had also been augmented by $10 million from the Ministry of Culture’s arts fund, as well as additional outlays when those funds ran out. 
The President has given a clear signal that the government is deeply committed to the arts and even though his term in office is winding down it is unlikely that his successor would change course because the earlier PPP governments always placed emphasis on the arts.

The establishment of the History and Arts Council is a typical example which bears testimony to this commitment.