By Marissa Victoria Foster

“Balancing The Bars” is ready to set the bar and open Guyana up to a different type of audio expression—podcasting.

Birthed through the creative interests of Jamicia McCalman, the concept was to get locals in the ‘know’. The television producer and founder of the “Heart to Art” foundation has always been a trendsetter and had aimed to create her own YouTube channel with the intention of spreading positivity while keeping her content fresh and local, but she could not pass on a challenge.

Podcasting has grown expeditiously in the developing world and its projections are staggering.  By 2026, it is estimated to be a $41 billion industry.

Jamicia reached out to her good friends: Arian Richmond, who currently holds the title of being Miss Emerald Guyana and the owner of Dahlia L’Arista as well as, Abeena Gomes, the founder of the “Shine your light” initiative and the owner of ASG solutions—both of whom shares similar interests with McCalman.

Together, they hold a passion for the arts, but they also have a love for advocacy. They wanted to use their creative mindsets and experiences to raise awareness and form meaningful conversations on topical issues.

Jamicia said that the trio: “wanted to do something that reaches everyone”. She said that the target audience was not specific, since they had a wealth of knowledge to share.  “…We did some brainstorming and we figured out that we’re all invested in business, advocacy, arts, relationships and social issues. We combined those things and our voices have “bars”. Hence, the name of the programme “Balancing the Bars”.

Moving forward, the creative team is determined to package their experiences and perspectives to their audience, with the hope of inspiring and motivating them regardless of their age, race and gender.

They also plan on featuring special guests on the programme, in the hope of getting a cross-section of stories and perspectives.

The creative females noted that one of their biggest challenges to date has been to find persons willing to commit to the project.

Videographers, photographers and all other creative persons are invited on the journey.

The first episode was “The ugly truth of entrepreneurship, #TheStruggle”.

Their new episode is titled: “Know your relationships; friend, foe or acquaintance”. Moving forward, the trio also have a collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection for the International Day of the Girl.

Among the other topics to be discussed include: the Black Lives Matter movement, advocacy, relationships and art. “The main goal is to continue learning and growing. We are looking for new ways to create innovative content. One of the purpose is to engage our fellow Guyanese as well as, learn from their experiences. The project will definitely make a great impact in Guyana and the reviews thus far have been very good from our audience”, Abeena said.

Each member of the team has a unique set of skills and passion, for Arian it is her great love for children, nature and art. She believes that art truly enables us to heal and she wants to see that happen for youngsters in Guyana.

“I’m looking for constructive criticism and feedback from people. I feel like my core beliefs really adds to the mix of this show. You can probably die and no one will notice you when you are gone because you didn’t leave an impact on anyone. I just want to help others”.

“Balancing the Bars” is one of Guyana’s first podcast series and the team behind it encourages everyone to tune in and be a part of this enlightenment.

The first episode is available on Apple Podcast and Anchor FM or can be viewed via YouTube.

For further info, follow the trio via social media @balancingthebars.