AS CROP OVER climaxes, seasoned craftswoman Azizah Onifa is calling for greater incentives to be given to Barbadian artists to get them to take part in national festivals and events.
“I think that the Crop Over arts and craft show is declining,” she told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY in a recent interview.
“We have [a lot of] artists in Barbados. Where are they?
“I think that what turns them off too is because there are no prizes offered that [say] you could go and learn somewhere else and develop what you already know.”
She noted that in the past, those prizes were offered and spoke of an artist who travelled to Ghana to learn her craft, as well as used other opportunities to hone her skills.
“That’s the area we need to go in. We need to showcase our best on the island, because we have a lot of artists that are overlooked,” said Onifa, who makes jewellery, bags and leather sandals.
She likes the Crop Over Festival and gets more involved because “it’s mostly the show that brings all cultures of people to Barbados” and because she gets to meet people, and “people really get to see the arts”.
She added: “People really get to see what Bajans do. I think that arena really does spotlight the arts more so than any other art show to me. At BMEX, they’re hidden to me. I find that BMEX kinda dwindled and it concentrates on the bigger manufacturers.”
Onifa, who operates from Pelican Craft Village, recalled the response she received from attendance at a conference held at a hotel who showed she still had work to do.
“They were people from Samoa and I had to look it up . . . . These people were [buying] up my work.
“It gives you a sense of you’re here and you may not get this sort of response every day, but when you do you think my work ain’t reach nowhere yet. More needs to be done,” she said. (GBM)