The Tribune

AS we celebrate half a century of independence, why are we still so egregiously behind in sustaining and expanding certain institutions which safeguard Bahamian heritage, while also creating additional opportunities for creative expression?

Moreover, what can we do to fill the gaping lacuna in our artistic cum cultural landscape and ecology?

Cultural institutions and practices are essential in protecting and transmitting the heritage of a country, helping to preserve memory and culture in order to circulate this lifeblood for current and successive generations.

Though the PLP created important national institutions post-independence, it generally failed to do likewise when it came to national cultural institutions. It never developed a national art gallery or a centre for the performing arts, two vital cultural institutions.

During this period as Bahamians were forming a greater sense of national and cultural identity, important cultural institutions were absent.

Such centres of critical consciousness and cultural expression are necessary for nation-building. Their absence during that formative period helped to retard a certain national consciousness.

Edmund Moxey’s Jumbey Village and other community projects were part of his dream for the economic, social and cultural self-empowerment of Bahamians. Tragically, Jumbey Village was brutally destroyed out of political spite and retaliation – and indifference.

It was not until the FNM came to office that core institutions such as the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB), the Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation/National Museum, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts were launched.

There is much work to be done to advance the missions and the reach of these institutions. But they represent impressive strides after prior decades of inertia and neglect.

It took approximately a quarter century before an independent Bahamas created the NAGB. Since its creation the NAGB has done excellent work and has been a locus for artistic expression.

The National Centre for the Performing Arts continues to languish, a telltale sign of indifference on the part of many to the importance of such a centre. We have failed still to find the will and resources to open a national museum despite the best efforts of many, including the location of premises for the museum.

How might we continue to develop these and other cultural institutions? The Bahamas National Trust may offer something of a template.

According to its website, the landmark legislation establishing the Trust in 1958 created “the only known non-governmental organisation in the world to manage a country’s entire national park system”.

The BNT has produced an extraordinary legacy of environmental advocacy, education and conservation. It has also saved the public treasury tens of millions of dollars over the past half century. This year, the BNT turns 65, which coincides with our 50th year of national sovereignty.

Even as we celebrate an enviable record of protecting our natural heritage, including an impressive national park system, it is a fitting independence anniversary to decide how to better preserve more of our historical heritage.

The country’s 50th anniversary independence celebrations may be the occasion for other landmark legislation and decisions that will create a more sustainable system for conserving, managing and promoting Bahamian heritage.

“The Antiquities, Monuments and Museum Corporation (AMMC) is the national heritage conservation agency in The Bahamas...

“The vision of The National Museum of The Bahamas AMMC is to promote public stewardship and participation in the care and management of the national, historical and cultural resources for education and enjoyment of residents and visitors.”

Our rich built heritage includes the Pompey Museum, forts from Fincastle to Montagu, ruins from Clifton to Cat Island, historic sites from Long Island to Long Cay, a diversity of monuments, museums and antiquities, and underwater treasures, including wrecks.

We also have a vibrant quilt of heritage and public and private cultural institutions such as the NAGB, youth and children’s choirs, museums, centres for the performing arts, including the Dundas, festivals and more.

Further, since 1973 there has been an explosion of cultural expression in the arts, particularly the visual arts. From dance to the dramatic arts and from poetry to photography, the Bahamas is a cornucopia of talent.

Without the long-range vision and planning by the Trust, our environmental legacy would not be as rich. This includes its many well-run nature and educational centres.

What the BNT has done for our natural heritage, a Bahamas Heritage Endowment (BHE), in conjunction with the AMMC, may also do for our cultural heritage.

It may help to secure greater funding for our network of heritage sites, monuments, museums and antiquities, as well funding networks of artists, writers, artisans, entertainers, producers and directors.

A Bahamas Heritage Endowment could assist in the preservation of the Adderley ruins in Long Island and provide support to the upcoming Joseph Spence, Paul Meeres or Kayla Lockhart Edwards.

It may help produce a documentary on the history of the Straw Market in Nassau, assist in the creation of a book and companion disc on freed slave villages, or provide additional resources for oral history projects, including work being done at the University of the Bahamas.

Such investments are often seen as non-essential and at best tertiary concerns when it comes to the national budget. Moreover, an extraordinary amount of financial resources are required to develop and maintain museums and heritage sites, as well as foster artistic excellence.

If we do not want to end up with a string of perpetually struggling cultural white elephants, we have to be more imaginative in securing the resources to stabilize them so that they can become cultural icons.

We are fortunate that many of our cultural institutions and programmes are managed by individuals with special knowledge in the arts, heritage and Bahamian history, including treasures like Kim Outten Stubbs of AMMC.

But it may be naïve and presumptuous to insist that they also serve as fundraisers-in-chief. This could be the essential role of a Bahamas Heritage Endowment, which could incorporate the functions of similar funds.

While the Endowment may draw inspiration from the BNT, it would have a more singular and specialized mission.

To wit, the BHE would not manage any of our cultural institutions or replace the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation. Rather, it would have two quite specific functions.

Its primary mission would be to secure, manage, invest and distribute the financial resources needed to sustain a broad array of cultural and historical programmes.

The BHE could also assist in helping these programmes to incorporate other systems and procedures, including new technologies, needed for long-term sustainability.

It should operate as a quasi - or non-governmental organization with a governance structure which guarantees its independence and places a firewall between it and partisan politics.

Such an entity should be run by a blue ribbon board and management team with experience in fundraising and financial management.

The BHE could be capitalized with a dynamic funding mix of Bahamians at home and abroad, as well as international partners here and overseas, including funds negotiated in various heads of agreement with foreign investors.

The endowment would be a means for Bahamian corporate citizens and individuals looking for more effective ways to contribute to the preservation and advancement of our cultural heritage.

Many Bahamians abroad are desirous of giving back to the country. Ongoing initiatives can be launched to encourage individual Bahamians and various associations abroad to generously donate to the BHE.

The Bahamas is a first and second home to an extraordinary number of wealthy foreign captains of industry, celebrities and professionals who have a history of giving in their countries of origin.

The BNE could tap this vast and highly affluent donor base. The Endowment could also serve as conduit for grants from a variety of international philanthropic groups, countries and multilateral institutions such as UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Over time a Bahamas Heritage Endowment could raise and invest the many millions of dollars needed to better protect our built heritage, dynamize our cultural institutions and help support Bahamian creatives.

As the country celebrates its jubilee as a sovereign nation, we should find more mechanisms for sustaining and expanding our constellation of cultural institutions which are so vital for enhanced and more robust national development alongside the cultivation and preservation of our national stories and collective memories.

(Front Porch is now available in podcast on The Tribune website under the Editorial Section).