WHEN the Government of Guyana came to office in 2020, it embarked upon a programme of economic and social reform and development with a pauseless energy, which astonished many. Soon, it was realised that the government did not have to spend time planning, as they were acting on their electoral Manifesto’s programmes, where planning had already been done. The electoral agendas of all political parties tend to be heavily economic and social, and the government’s programmes reflect this pattern. Though there was a Ministry of Culture, its programmes and activities were not as vibrant and as wide as those tasked with economic and social activity.
Economic and social developmental activities are widely reported daily, but cultural activity seems largely confined to sport. The country’s road system is being revolutionised. Old roads are being broadened and connected to other roads, and new roads connecting the hinterland with the coast are being built. The connectivity of the country allows for the easier movement of people and goods. The ferry boats have been improved and increased in number. Hydropower and solar power schemes are being built mostly in the interior regions, thereby enhancing the quality of life by providing electricity and equipment such as computers and televisions, which depend on electrical supply, and several homes were lit by fairy lights at Christmas for the first time.
The Gas-to-Shore project is steadily progressing, bringing consumers cheaper electricity, and stimulating industrial development. Mining industries, particularly gold and diamonds and stone and sand quarrying, have progressed exponentially. Agricultural development, led by Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, is going through a veritable revolution. Traditional industries such as sugar, rice and coconuts have been increasing production, and new industries such as corn and soya have begun production. And experimental crops such as tropical wheat and millet have been successfully grown. Sheep and cattle breeds have been improved, with the importation of the best foreign breeds. Fish farms and deep- sea fishing have been progressing apace, and exports of agricultural production are growing. In education, new schools are being built in remote parts of the country. Various grants are being made to schoolchildren, and schools are being equipped with modern equipment. In health, new state-of-the-art hospitals are being built in various regions of the country, and training programmes to upgrade medical skills are ongoing. Now that economic and social development has entered a self-sustaining phase, President Ali has announced that his government will embark upon a programme of cultural development and advancement.
VALUE CREATION OF CULTURE AND ART
Recently, President Dr. Irfaan Ali, in speaking of this area of governance, remarked: “When we understand the value creation of culture and art, it becomes a more potent tool in advancing society and investing in it. Culture and art are important parts of our society. For instance, we cannot operate a tourism sector without culture and art; we cannot build the history of our country and tell its story and bring our people together without culture and art.”
In beginning to materialise this vision, in 2023, the National Assembly approved an allocation of some $ 4.3 billion to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
In sports, the facilities all over the country are being upgraded, and several coaches have been engaged, and this has resulted in Guyanese contestants winning medals, as in the recent Pan American Games. Guyana was well-known in the Caribbean as producing boxers who successfully competed in world matches. Of recent years, boxing fell into quiescence; now, this sport is being resuscitated. In non-athletic sports such as badminton and chess, Guyanese contestants have been doing well.
The President recently spoke of his government’s plan to allocate funds to create a museum and an art gallery. He was likely thinking along the lines of the famous museums and art galleries in the world, such as the British Museum and the Louvre or Tate galleries. Since most Guyanese who have capabilities in these fields now live abroad, intensive training in these areas will have to be embarked upon. Other areas of cultural development include writing and literature archives, the performing arts, filmmaking, music and dance. In the recent past, there were strong nuclei of all these cultural activities awaiting growth and development, but for one reason or another, they have been weakened or have become extinguished. We will briefly examine three of these: Music, dance and the theatre.
VIBRANT MUSIC AND THEATRE SCENE
In the past, Guyana had a vibrant musical culture. There were many music teachers, and several schools did the Royal College of Music examinations. Similarly, when the Indian Cultural Centre was established some decades ago, sizable numbers of students enrolled in music and dance classes. Musical instruments such as violins and guitars were on sale in the shops, and there were a number of skilled repairers and piano tuners. Public concerts were frequent, and for instance, every Sunday, there were Classical Concerts at the Town Hall, and Georgetown was often in the itinerary of world-famous artistes visiting South American countries. The Loncke family had even founded a Philharmonic orchestra. The same trends occurred in dance, and a School of Dance was even founded under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture. The students and graduates of this school successfully performed at public functions, both at home and abroad.
The theatre also flourished in the 19th and 20th Centuries. In the villages, performances of the Ramayana in costume were usual at the various Hindu festivals. The middle and upper classes used the Assembly Rooms to perform mostly plays by famous British playwrights. From the 1920s to the end of the 1950s, ordinary folk became enthusiastically involved in the theatre. The vaudeville shows were a combination of singing, dancing, humour and a storyline of interesting current events. The scripts and actors came from areas such as Albouystown and some of the villages. Performances were given at the second-tier cinemas such as the Olympic on Lombard Street, and the Capitol, later renamed “Star” in LaPenitence Street in Albouystown. These shows were advertised in the newspapers. With the revolution in secondary education, which occurred from the 1940s for the next two decades, large numbers of children had to study English Literature, and school performances of the plays studied became a norm. These performances were well attended by parents and friends.
This vibrant cultural milieu passed away when the country became enveloped in deeply divisive politics from the beginning of the 1960s. In rebuilding the cultural life of the country, both government and the population have to be involved, and this will include the schools and Educational System, resuscitating cultural institutions, tapping talent in the diaspora, recruitment of foreign expertise, and the construction of adequate buildings for national archives, art gallery, concert hall and so on.
