Artist Nicholas Ward standing next to his winning piece ‘Bajan Coconuts’.
A new programme has appeared on the calendar of events of the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA), and that is an Evening of the Arts: Visual Arts Photography Exhibit & Literary Gala.
Speaking at the inaugural event that was held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre Thursday night, Senator Harcourt Husbands, acting Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, explained that the activity was designed to celebrate the accomplishments of the artists participating in the 2017 NIFCA Visual Arts and Photography Exhibitions and those authors in the Goddard’s Enterprises 2017 NIFCA Literary Competition.
“I’m assured that it is an evening you will not easily forget as you enjoy the wealth of creativity expressed along the walls and words of spoken and performances in this space,” he said. “Many opportunities are created when we have diverse arts coming together in one space. Not only are these the benefits of cross fertilisation of ideas and practices but we, the audience, benefit from witnessing the act of creation of new and unique exciting opportunities not often afforded to the general public.”
Husbands proudly boasted of how NIFCA had grown to become a large showcase of our community’s expression of ideas and commentary on matters of national importance. He explained that normally, the exhibition offered exposure to our visual artists, photographers and those who engage in literary arts.
“However, in the setting this evening, a fusion of interests is being facilitated, as you will be allowed to move seamlessly through the visual arts and photography exhibitions and the presentations offered through the literary gala without moving outside the space,” he said.
“This creative collaboration of the arts reminds us of why NIFCA was created in the first place, it was to celebrate ourselves as people and our identity as a nation using the arts as a platform for our cultural expression. It is an annual exercise looked forward to by many.”
The senator added that Thursday night was special because of the momentum created around areas of arts in NIFCA, which would not have received “the kind of hype normally reserved for performing arts”. He noted that he was glad to announce that, given the response to the visual arts exhibition during the just concluded CARIFESTA , this was changing.