THE Arts in every major civilisation have played their part, whether through the portrayal of gods, kings, queens, demons or great events, even of the propaganda of leaders recording fictitious victories. The Arts have contributed to frescoes, sacred and secular drama have been crafted in tattoos and on the natural walls of caves and the giant columns of temples.

As humans, and especially artists, we share this awareness inheritance, even if we find ourselves entrapped in the upside-down world where the artless are presiding over the interests of the artistic. This, however, would not be the first time in our long history.

Two days ago, I visited Castellani House to view ‘Musings, Guyanese Folklore, & Figures of the Ramlila’. The diversity of technique and expression was assuring. I’m not making a comparison of this should-be-seen collection with other exhibitions, because I’ve missed many. A senior artist that I must have a conversation with on some ideas he would have answers or perspectives on, as the subject of interest leaned more on his area of the discipline, was tour-guiding a youthful audience at the moment. I greeted the brother; we had our must-have conversation on the health of the local Arts, but I shelved the intended conversation, and I also forgot to ask Winslow for his phone number. This exhibition carried its weight of justification. The ideal secret element that rests with the precious preserving ingredient of creativity; that of the independent thinker, is evident.

However, it would be unfair and naïve not to include that the Arts have also found themselves useful as instruments of tyranny, propaganda and dangerous fiction. With the advent of movies, supported by illustrated storytelling, the friendly heroes of good against bad developed in the early ages of ‘The folk heroes’ were taken beyond the initial concepts to represent the Demi-Gods of colonisation. A classic example was ‘Tarzan’ and ‘The Phantom, the Ghost who Walks’. Such texts were needed to impose into the imagination of colonised African and African descendants in the Americas and other colonised peoples who innocently enjoyed these areas of illustrated literature that they, the friendly colonisers, were needed to instruct the colonised in every area of ‘our’ elementary existence. Coupled with this were the religious ‘Artworks’ that occupied yearly calendars, statues and art prints in religious houses. People even prayed to these well-executed art works. Outside of and beyond colonisation, we humans have always expressed areas of our belief systems through sculpture and illustrations.

The presence of the ‘Business of the Arts’ is not evident in the collective ‘local art world’ because the Arts are not managed by its practitioners. Those of us who have registered businesses with the development of our practising fields in mind have learned the hard way that we speak a different language. Rarely do we engage an authority that is mature in the field enough to understand what we’re talking about and thus willing to read a prospectus honouring its privacy. I’ve so far encountered two such persons. Such persons need to be convinced that the foundation of numerous trillion-dollar businesses is rooted and depends on the Global Art worlds for substance.

The thought of money usually excites them; however, building the landscape takes them away from the simple typical and seems to intimidate them. It is the only area that has not scheduled a period for serious development outside of ‘pot boilers’ towards solid content that can compete in the developed markets because such an exploration will require creative input with legal protection.

Most of the talented themselves are accustomed to meagre handouts for their trade, especially the now-comes in the music/entertainment arts. They just want to be liked, which comes from years of exploitation from promoters and the like. The dramatic arts have not expanded to exploit their potential because, like the published arts, which this writer is rooted in, they cannot expand without adequate funds.

The question is: with whom will the conversation begin? The consoling factor is that what can be done here has to be done, but for engagements beyond Guyana, the business of the Arts must be understood. The reality is that there will be visitors to this country who are aware. Thus it is necessary to explore international laws so one may have some awareness of self-value to survive.
Recently, I spoke with Morag Williams and her husband on a short visit here. We broached a lot of ideas and explored the reality of those ideas, possibly if, in real terms, any of those projections can simply materialise on equal balance, then a way forward could light a path.