YOUNG people whose work were selected to be published in the 2019 edition of the Guyana Annual Magazine believe that such initiative should be enhanced as it will enable continuous development of the creative sector.

The artwork of Kasy Sookram, a young artist from Berbice, appeared on the cover of the magazine this year. Her piece was a tribute to the late writer and poet, Miss Sheila King.

Kasy’s piece is a portrait of the Guyanese woman surrounded by phrases taken from the published works of King. Another layer of this piece was that King’s portrait was complimented by a rainbow aura, which attributed to King’s “colourful mind” which brought her prize-winning children’s stories to life.

The young girl’s creation is plastered on every copy of this year’s edition of the magazine, which has been around for more than 100 years. In fact, she was “astonished” when she found out that the magazine has been around for so long, and that her work has now become etched in a prestigious publication.

“I think that they [the Editorial Board of the magazine] are doing an exceptional job at trying to keep art alive,” Kasy said, adding: “What they’re doing is what Guyanese people need; especially local artists and hopefully next year it can be even bigger.”

The young artist said the interactions she had with the magazine’s editor, Danielle Swain, encouraged her to continue contributing to the magazine for many years to come.

Siddharth Ramessar, 11, attracted much attention at the launch of the magazine, on Saturday, as he stepped up to receive his prize. The young boy was awarded for a cartoon he drew, which was premised on the topical ‘no-confidence motion’.

“At first, I wasn’t really sure what it (the no-confidence motion) was about but everybody was talking about it and it was on the news and in the newspapers,” he said, adding: “So I decided to do my little research on that and then I decided it would be a good opportunity for me to depict it in a literal sense.”

ELATED

The young boy, like Kasy, expressed his elation that something that he created was published in a magazine for all to see. More than that, his piece in this year’s magazine serves as a reminder of Guyana’s more contemporary history.

While the Guyana annual has survived for more than a century, only last year was the competition aspect of the magazine was reintroduced. With this, Guyanese would submit their art and literary works to be judged and published in the magazine. It is the aim of the magazine to be an avenue where authentic Guyanese works would be kept alive.

A poem written by 16-year-old Brianna Gopie was chosen as the best piece in the Junior Poetry category. The young girl highlighted that she wanted to depict Guyana as a great land of six people and she wanted others to see Guyana the way she sees Guyana.

For her, the arts are important because they provide an opportunity to celebrate culture, and as such, should be supported.

“I feel like the arts are an important part of our culture and all our youths should do what we can to keep this culture alive whether it be poetry, story writing or visual arts,” Gopie said.

Similarly, in the George Simon Prize for Junior Visual Arts, both the winners: Dhaniram Beepat and Ameena Mohamed sought to illustrate their love for Guyana and its beauty, albeit in their own ways. They too were appreciative of having a platform to showcase their work.

Editor of the Guyana Annual Magazine, Danielle Swain, noted that the editorial board is seeking to do even more when it comes to ‘pushing’ these local creatives. In future, it will host workshops to help all participants develop their creative abilities; host a radio programme, which will be made into an audiobook; and eventually, collaborate with the creative enterprises in Guyana to host a ‘Guyana Literature and Art Festival’. These plans are largely dependent upon sponsorship.