 |
| Langston Visits the National Museum and Arts Gallery 2012 |
The
important element in our discussions is about the people who are active as
artists, musicians, playwrights, writers, painters, sculpture makers, and the
traditional craftsmen. These people are the makers of the arts that depict or
represent their cultures. It is easy for people to speak about what to do to
develop the arts and culture, but it is difficult to live the life of an
artist, struggling to make ends meet to make a sensible living.
The
discussions in the national symposium on arts and culture in development focused
on the theme: Harnessing the arts for national development. It was held between
7th and 9th November, 2012. Three groups of participants were brought
together. The administrators, policy makers, and the practitioners and
academics formed the composition of their respective groups. For the
academicians the exercise is a necessary exercise to promote a certain kind of
understanding of the arts and frameworks of cultural development. For the
administrators and policy makers the symposium serves as an important process
for knowledge production that forms the basis of future decisions and actions
they take toward improving the national development of the arts and culture.
Practitioners
are not interested in talking too much. They want results from the
administrators and policy makers. The practitioners want to know if there are
government help that can help them to develop their arts and craft further.
Practitioners are the people who have no support of their own, but struggle
through life without any recognition. These are the people who live their lives
in a simple way without worrying about the politics of the way things are. They
just want to move on and use their arts to give pleasure, raise awareness, entertain,
and allow art to bridge the gap between peoples, generations, and places.
The
National Cultural Commission took the initiative to organize the symposium.
Support also came from the National Museum and Arts Gallery, where the
symposium took place. The Office of Tourism, Arts and Culture, UNESCO, Tourism
Promotion Authority, Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, Melanesian
Institute of Arts and Communication, and UPNG Open College also supported the
staging of the symposium.
Dr.
Jacob Simet, the Executive Director of the National Cultural Commission,
expressed his satisfaction with the success of the symposium. He acknowledged
that some of the issues were old concerns, which needed new treatment, and
others were new conversations that were discussed rather quickly, and still
others may need further discussions in the future. In his conclusion of the
symposium on the final day, Dr. Simet stressed that the National Cultural
Commission would like to make everyone happy, but this is not possible as a
result of the legislative limitations and the insufficient resources allocated
to it every year by the government.
In
many case the same story of poor government support and lack of funding
opportunities seem to prevent anyone moving forward in the arts. There are
other issues that are linked to various statutory acts and regulations. Some of
the acts need review or amendments to incorporate the changing social,
political, and economic environment to address the needs of arts and culture
sector in the country.
From
the sharper discussion of the arts and culture paper by Jackie Kauli we get a
sense of the more specific nuances of the culture and creative industries. And
the informative discussions of specific activities undertaken by the National
Cultural Commission: the canoe and yam festival in the Milne Bay Province, the
Mask and Tubuan festival in Rabaul, and the Mambu and Garamut Festival in the
East Sepik Province. These activities and other exhibitions have been the main
ones staged annually. Reports from the organizers of these festivals show the
successes and challenges of the host provinces.
The
biggest impediments that most artists and cultural specialist feel is that resources,
government support, and decentralization of roles and functions of the National
Cultural Commission. Each province must have its own cultural centers and
museums as a way forward. Existing provincial cultural centres and museums are
catered for under a different legislation and must be reviewed together with
the NCC legislation.
The
institutions and organizations responsible for the arts and culture must work
together. Differences among them only enlarge the gap that already exists,
making it difficult for them to respond to the artists and cultural specialists
and the needs of the grassroots. The
call for the each of the organizations and institutions to work together is
critical at this time and age. The main reason is that everyone must work together
to benefit from the mineral and resource boom by developing strategies and
long-term goals that link the arts and culture more clearly than it is now. Stated
another way, the question to answer is how can these institutions work together
to help make money for the common these artists, the grassroots, and majority
of Papua New Guineans still living and practicing their cultures in the rural
villages.
I
think the highlight for me was the last panel of writers, artists, filmmakers,
and textile designers. The panel was very inspiring and dynamic in that our
famous Russell Soaba, Martin Morurubuna, Nora Vagi Brash, and Albert Toro spoke as living legends without recognition. They acknowledged the pioneer
artists who paved the way, but who died without proper recognition. It was
suggested that the National Museum and Arts Gallery should inscribe on the
walls of the museum the names and biodata of all great PNG artists in the
country. The simple reason is that the artists as individuals or groups were ambassadors
who represented Papua New Guinea through their art, music, theatre, writings,
and films.
Comments
Post a Comment