MoBay’s mayor calls for support for the arts

WESTERN BUREAU:

Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon is calling on Jamaicans to support the country’s arts culture, which he says is both crucial to Jamaica’s tourism and entertainment sectors and for the uplifting of societal structure.

Vernon made the appeal on Monday during his keynote address at a handover ceremony where $350,000 was presented to the First Dance Studio at the ATL Plaza in Bogue, Montego Bay, St James. The donation consists of $250,000 from the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run Foundation and $100,000 from the office of the mayor.

“When you look at the structure of society and where the arts are positioned, it tells you that the concept of the arts is important to the identity of the society. Therefore, a society that loses the arts quickly loses its identity, and that is why we cannot allow Montego Bay to lose its identity, and we cannot allow Jamaica to lose its identity,” said Vernon.

“We must save the arts by ensuring that the persons who are vested in it and are putting out the effort for it, who understand and are able to translate the arts into a mode that persons can learn, replicate and use, that they are properly supported,” continued Vernon. “The arts culture is more than just expression; it has been monetised so much so that it has saved careers and lives, and it is an important part of Jamaica’s economy, not just in the entertainment sector, but in the tourism sector.”

Jamaica’s creative sector, which includes artists, musicians, and athletes, generated some $2.2 billion in revenue in 2022, accounting for 5.2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product [GDP].

According to a 2022 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] document on reshaping policies for creativity, the cultural and creative sectors account for 3.1 per cent of global GDP and 6.2 per cent of all employment.

Vernon told the function that the primary pillars of society, to include the family, the media, the church, and schools, have used the arts in carrying out their respective objectives.

“The media, which is responsible for information, must communicate factual and justifiable information, but the media also uses the arts, which was a tool of communication coming down from the inscriptions left in caves. The family uses the arts as a form of cultural retention, because families within a particular space create a community that establishes itself through an identity redefined by the arts,” he explained.

“The school is responsible for formal education, which is where we now end up monetising and refining the arts. The church has used the arts for many years through its teachings, its dance rituals, and through other rituals,” he added.

Meanwhile, First Dance Studio’s co-founder Sheri-Lee Smith said that individuals and institutions that specialise in artistic expression are now fighting to stay relevant.

“Here in Jamaica, a nation renowned for creativity, the arts struggle for survival. Our people are brimming with talent, but institutions that nurture and sustain this talent are left to fight for survival,” said Smith. “The arts are not a privilege; they are a necessity.”