A FRIEND not so long ago said to me in a philosophical moment that God has given Guyana tremendous creative talents, but how it is wasted and that one day he will stop. I paused, empowering his prophetic, cryptic pronouncement for a moment. I replied that the talents have got to pursue their liberation, by some means, even against overwhelming odds. That’s why perhaps God placed them in a low aesthetic human sphere to conduct through their works a civilizing course of evolution.

Less than a month from that conversation, a peculiar challenge came to me. I received a phone call from a major household electronic distributor enquiring if I needed a loan. Of course, I did. So I visited the store and was told to bring this and that to verify that I was gainfully employed, can show that I earn and have such a capacity to repay. One question that came up a couple of times was: “When last did you do a hire purchase with us? Last year you made purchases, but they were cash purchases. The last time you had a hire-purchase was years ago?” We looked at each other, the answer is obvious. I buy hire purchase, I pay more, I buy cash, I pay less.

Then came the important query, “What kind of business are you in though?” I replied, “The arts” “Oh, can you give me a list of who you supply to monthly?” they asked. “It doesn’t work that way,“ I said. “ Hhhmm! Where do you buy your supplies? How much did you spend for the last six months?” “It’s bought overseas, most of it, when capable, it’s best to make bulk purchases, most of the stuff needed, don’t sell here. ” “Why?” they asked. “Because what we do, with the arts and other creative folk is diverse, and there’s only one artist, I’m aware of on Water and Holmes street that stacked pro-Arts stuff, as against school art class stuff.” ”Ohh? I don’t know how I can fit you in for this loan.

The supervisor wants you to have it, so do I, but, what we have to work with, on the paper work has nothing about what you’re talking about.” And so the conversation was concluded in a cordial way. I didn’t get the loan. In the file I took to her, quite aware that its value would be of no significance, were two copyright certificates. I had to explain what they were and that their value superseded the loan amount, to which no writer/Illustrator would allow to be lost on a small loan, that would serve an immediate, necessary purpose.

Nothing about the outcome of the experience surprised me. The arts as an industry has been active in the pre-colonial world as appendages to religious beliefs through guilds where talents were developed and perfected to meet the need. Frescoes were developed at some stage to hype the potency of leaders. The first wall paintings were in Khemet first, then Greece. All others are dated as later: but the arts were not open as decorations in homes, it seemed designs were allowed as in South and West African houses carried outer wall designs, but in Asia, temples benefitted from that.

With Guyana in the late modern era, the 1900s onward, local paintings were about, until recently, the proliferation of prints revolved around religious iconography, Euro-defined Jesus paintings etc. Today, the Arts are in a grey area. The knowledge and needs required seem to require more than the ordinarily aware person, and more of a common knowledge, even though we ‘Arts-Creative community’ are still struggling with livelihoods towards laws to protect our incomes. I have taken small loans from the bank in the past, and from one to the other of the loan staff, it’s like encountering personalities from different dimensions.

Some years ago, I had borrowed a loan to buy a 8.5×11 scanner that fulfilled an immediate use, but was limited to what was required. After paying off the first loan, I applied for a second loan, again to buy another scanner, this time an 11×17 scanner. The loan clerk asked why I needed two scanners, indicating what do artists want with scanners. Anyway, she was almost hostile. I reminded her that I had paid off all the loans that I had taken before, I had my suspicions and went to a senior loan clerk who processed the loan, which I paid off.

The fact is with a Copyright Certificate, pledging a volume of work that is valued in content alone would merit the level of loans most artists are interested in. As a member of the Small Business Bureau, I’m aware and participated with both Gillian Griffith Edwards and Dr Lowell Porter with interesting approaches to categorizing and building capacity with small businesses. Whether companies or sole traders had begun, I’m unsure whether it’s continued.