The Tribune

By Pamela Burnside

(Delivered at Bahamas Business Outlook, January 13, 2014)

Creative Nassau was formed in 2008 by my late husband Jackson Burnside III after we attended a UNESCO Creative Cities Conference on Creative Tourism in Santa Fe which resonated so clearly with our Doongalik Studios’ vision statement that by the year 2020 more persons will travel to The Bahamas because of its art, culture and heritage rather than merely for its sun, sand, and sea.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is structured around the seven specific fields of Literature, Cinema, Music, Design, Crafts and Folk Art, Media Arts and Gastronomy.

The Creative Cities Network seeks to develop international cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable development, in the frame work of partnerships including the public and private sectors, professional organisations, communities, civil society, and cultural institutions. The Network facilitates the sharing of experiences, knowledge and resources among the member cities as a means to promote the development of local creative industries and to foster worldwide cooperation for sustainable urban development.

The Creative Cities Network aims to: Strengthen the creation, production, distribution and enjoyment of cultural goods and services at the local level; Promote creativity and creative expressions especially among vulnerable groups, including women and youth; Enhance access to and participation in cultural life as well as enjoyment of cultural goods; and Integrate cultural and creative industries into local development plans.

Recognising the benefits of becoming a part of this Network, on our return from Santa Fe we invited a group of committed Bahamians to join us in working towards applying for membership as a Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art. We are the first small island state to do so and are presently in the process of preparing the application for submission focusing on the two unique Bahamian elements of our straw culture and our junkanoo tradition.

How many persons in this room are directly involved, or have a close relative or friend who is directly involved either with straw craft or junkanoo? Your show of hands demonstrates why these two elements are such important community builders. It is important also to mention the fact that several generations of professionals obtained their education due to the revenue raised from the straw industry.

Creative Nassau is convinced that “Creative Tourism” is the way forward.

Creative Nassau believes that everything we need is right here in our hands, staring us in the face, if we can only truly ‘see what we lookin’ at’.

We need to concentrate on promoting and building this country and its people from the inside out by showcasing our rich arts and cultural heritage. We just need to be ourselves (be who you is and not who you ain’t, cos if you ain’t who you is, you is who you ain’t); all those better parts of us - yes, they are still here and the spotlight needs to shine on them once again (instead of giving prime news coverage to the criminals)

Creative Nassau is based on three platforms of community which we have lost (stick o’ fire analogy), education (which we are losing big time) an celebration. We believe that we should focus on building our people first by encouraging an awareness and appreciation for who we are as a people because cultural self identity builds pride, self esteem and self worth, which leads to stronger social cohesion and economic empowerment. We are The Bahamas.

For too long we have taken our creative expressions for granted, ignored their importance and their value, and relied on an ‘outside in’ concept to sustain our development, when we only need to drop our bucket where we stand (tell story), look inside for our own ‘true true’ resources - good old Bahamian art, culture and heritage.

Both our straw and junkanoo traditions have proven throughout the decades to be thriving and viable forms of expression (particularly in the case of junkanoo) and livelihood (in the case of the straw industry) amongst the widest percentage of the Bahamian population throughout our Family of Islands. Let us take a closer look at them to truly see their value.

We must embrace our tradition bearers and master craftsmen, give them the respect they deserve, and invite them into centres of learning in order to pass on these important elements of our heritage. By using what we have, to do what we do best, we can appreciate and enhance our quality of life whilst inviting our visitors to come and celebrate this authentic experience with us.

Creative Nassau plans to act as the umbrella organisation to promote creativity, make connections, form collaborations, develop design skills, encourage research and education, inspire excellence, and celebrate success.

Creative Nassau recognises the enormous possibilities inherent in the straw and junkanoo landscapes. For example:

The artistic potential of junkanoo has only been scratched on the surface having impacted visual arts, film, music, fashion and souvenirs to name a few. Junkanoo is a fine art and should be recognised and taught as such in our educational institutions.

A goat rearing industry with a burgeoning clientele can provide not only skins for the drums (which we understand cannot meet local demand and are presently being imported), but also goat meat and milk which can be extended into the food industry

Beverly Taylor of the world class Harl Taylor Bag has long recognised the importance of researching the sustainability of this important raw material for the straw industry. With the new Forestry Act in effect, hopefully acreage will be allocated to sustain straw palm and sisal production along with proper research on the life cycle of these plants

Straw plaiting classes should be offered in our schools. More research and development can be carried out into the amazing assortment of Bahamian plaits developed by local artisans and we congratulate Clare Sands of The Plait Lady for her ongoing efforts in this regard.

This forum is our first effort in 2014 to promote Creative Nassau and will be followed by an official launch of our website and other publicity events. We are developing plans to tell our story in ‘true true’ Bahamian style utilising creative educational programmes in order to develop greater public awareness of our art, culture and heritage throughout the archipelago.

We are actively forming collaborations with other organisations such as the Bahamas Virtual Platform (which you will be hearing more about in the immediate future) as well as working with those artisans in the straw and junkanoo communities to promote the sale of their products online in the global arena.

This must be a collaborative effort. We look forward to support and partnerships with the government, public, and private sectors as well as international entities to make Creative Nassau a success. Obtaining membership in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network will afford The Bahamas enormous opportunities in this regard.

Do we have the will to return to being hard working, top quality, creative, independent artisans? Creative Nassau believes we can and the time is now. We invite you to join us in catching the Creative Nassau ‘stick o’ fire’ and passing it on – in so doing we can make a major positive impact in the social, physical and economic landscapes of our country. It is not rocket science – it is good ol’ common sense.

In the words of my husband “ We loooove The Bahamas!”