Last year it was reported that Barbados was moving to open up a new economic sector – “a cultural industry that would take its place alongside tourism, financial services, manufacturing, agriculture and construction”.
In fact, according to then Minister of Culture and Community Development Steve Blackett, this cultural industry would be the “new frontier” for Barbados.
“We are going to provide opportunities for people who operate within the environment to practise their craft and hone their skills in an environment that’s supported by Government, and also with the enabling environment to give them the incentives to pursue their goals,” he said in the September 14, 2010 DAILY NATION.
In a presentation to the House of Assembly earlier that year on the Policy and Draft Legislation for Development of the Cultural Industries, Blackett declared that he was signalling the end to waiting and that “the year 2010 marks the transition from planning to implementation, the year for creation of the enabling environment essential for stimulation of cultural industries development in Barbados”.
Over the years, concerns have been expressed that not enough was being done to support the cultural and creative sector. With the Cultural Industries Development Bill still to be debated in Parliament, it is hoped that some strides can be made in this direction.
A 2006 study, The Cultural Industries In CARICOM: Trade And Development Challenges, defined the cultural or creative industries as “the economic activities of artists, arts enterprises and cultural entrepreneurs . . . in the production, distribution, and consumption of film, television, literature, music, theatre, dance, visual arts, masquerade, broadcasting, multimedia, animation, fashion and so on”.
The study prepared for the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery noted that there are several challenges which hinder the development of this sector, including weak management and inadequate information systems, shortage of skilled personnel, low levels of training, poor manufacturing and service facilities, and uncompetitive packaging and branding.
Also of concern were weak marketing and distribution channels, high levels of copyright infringement and piracy, and weak rights management and collection of royalties.
“There also tends to be an historical, institutional, and commercial bias against indigenous content in the home market that marginalizes and limits local entrepreneurship, investment, and market development,” the report stated.
It was also noted that Caribbean governments have been slow to dedicate resources to institutions and policies targeting creative industries, both at the regional and national level.
“There are limited incentive regimes for the creative industries and these are needed to mitigate the vulnerabilities of the sector and to encourage the investment required to maximize the potential socio-economic contribution to the Caribbean,” it suggested.
In the June 18, 2011 SUN ON SATURDAY businessman Tony Hoyos said Barbados’ cultural industry can bring in $1 billion a year but for it to do so, it would have to be properly organized and orchestrated.
He said the fact that Barbados produced $80 million a year in just six to eight weeks during the Crop Over Festival showed that if concrete action was taken to develop or nourish the cultural industries, the growth potential would be better by far.
“We have attempts at various learning institutions . . . but we do not have a comprehensive, dedicated, properly staffed school that will take all of the talent that there is in Barbados and develop it to world-class standards,” he said.
“It is unthinkable therefore that we can expect to develop the cultural industry to its fullest potential without a dedicated training institution . . . and we do not have one in Barbados,” he added.
Hoyos said that with an abundance of raw talent in every field, the next thing Government had to do was to give the private sector incentives.
He said Government needed to play a lesser role by providing the development funds and framework and allowing the private sector to take the risks.
Meanwhile, former chief executive officer of the National Cultural Foundation Antonio “Boo” Rudder noted that “the cultural?industries in Barbados are made up of talented and creative individuals who have been demonstrating that they possess the talent which can be harnessed and nurtured, through training, marketing and focused investment, into major foreign exchange earners for the Barbadian economy”.
In the January 31, 2011 BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY he said the disconnect between the visions expressed by practitioners and policymakers and the frustrations from underachievement can be attributed to a number of factors.
“The reality is that investment in the cultural industries has been poor and the absence of meaningful fiscal incentives have not encouraged entrepreneurs to treat to investment in the creative clusters of arts and culture with the same measure of intensity that has been applied to tourism or even manufacturing,” he said.
Noting that all recent Governments have expressed support for the notion of cultural industries, he said, “If we are serious about achieving stated objectives . . . there is a dire need for institutional strengthening in order to create an enabling environment for cultural workers and prospective investors.”
Rudder said fiscal incentives and supporting legislation were required to attract sustainable investment for product development, effective marketing and distribution to penetrate the markets we target.
Moreover, he said it was critical that cultural industries not be allowed to suffer from the chronic under-capitalization that plagues so many Barbadian business ventures.
“The relationship between the National Cultural Foundation, the Barbados Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Culture, the Barbados Industrial Development Corporation and Invest Barbados is not tangential but fundamental.
“Cross-sectoral collaboration will ensure that our cultural products benefit from the availability of the expertise that resides in these agencies, as well as stand a much better chance of gaining penetration where support staff is available to boost online marketing strategies,” he stated.
Rudder said the draft national policy for cultural industries embodied many ideas that were capable of transforming the approach to managing cultural assets.
“I am hopeful that the dream of generating sustainable income, including foreign exchange, which is shared by many cultural workers, will come to fruition,” he said.
