Regional
Headquarters, Jamaica. Monday, August 10, 2020—The
University of
the West Indies (The UWI) Cave
Hill Campus began a new chapter in its history on August 1 with the
launch of the Faculty of Culture, Creative and Performing Arts. The
launch coincided with Emancipation Day celebrations across the
region.

Addressing
the virtual event, Campus Principal at The UWI Cave Hill, Professor
the Most Honourable V. Eudine Barriteau, celebrated it as an
achievement for the region’s creative intellectual development.

“We
have to ensure that the interplay between understanding our cultural
identity and the unleashing of artistic creativity demarcates a new
economic subsector. We may call this the Orange Economy and promote
its relevance to expanding GDP, however we have to insist that the
men and women who continuously draw their livelihoods from generating
diverse cultural expressions receive the required legislative and
policy support from Caribbean states so that the Orange Economy does
not mirror the plantation economy.” Professor Barriteau added,
“Through uniting scholars, creative practitioners and policymakers,
the campus and the wider creative community, the University through
this Faculty, seeks to lead the way in generating new understandings
of ourselves, our creativity and the untapped wealth embedded in our
culture.”

Vice-Chancellor
of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles hailed the establishment of
the new Faculty stating, “Caribbean culture and civilisation, its
performance as an art, its public validation, has long desired within
The UWI, a Faculty of the performing arts. Yes, we have been engaged
in the intellectual discourse, we have been engaged in multiple
aspects of culture and arts. But we have fallen short in the area of
perfecting the performance by focusing specifically on the practical
aspects of performance. He further explained, “The sophistication
of that performance requires the intellectual engagement and the
bringing together of intellectual discourse and the performance
dimensions.” He commended “the entry of this new and
distinguished Faculty within the family of The UWI’s academic and
professional discourse.”

Vice-Chancellor
Beckles was also full of praise for Principal Barriteau, who oversaw
the establishment of the new Faculty.

Prime
Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Mottley lauded the “bold
move” taken by the campus, noting, “the time is right for us to
study who we are.”

“As
I’ve said over and over, our artists, our cultural practitioners,
they tell us what is possible. And from what is possible, we build as
those in government and those in the rest of society on what is
probable. But it is only when we are given the directions as to what
is possible through the cultural practitioners and the activists of
our region, that we begin to understand how we may better claim our
destiny but at the same time tell our story,” Prime Minister
Mottley said.

According
to her, the new Faculty will add significant value to the nation, and
also allow Barbadians to embrace the uncomfortable aspects of their
culture.

Dean
of the new Faculty, Professor David Akombo, believes the Faculty
presents an opportunity for Caribbean countries to develop the
region’s creative industry. “The Faculty of Culture, Creative and
Performing Arts was founded just for this purpose. Its role will be
to reinvigorate cultural studies, creative and performative
endeavours for future generations and also to spur growth of present
day professionals throughout the Caribbean region,” Professor
Akombo noted.

At
the undergraduate level, the Faculty offers a Bachelor of Fine
Arts in Creative Arts, a Bachelor of Arts in Caribbean Studies and
minors in Music and Cultural Studies.  Postgraduate programmes
are available in Creative Arts and Cultural Studies.  The first
cohort of students will commence studies at the start of the 2020/21
academic year.  For more information, visit
www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fccpa
or email
fccpa@cavehill.uwi.edu.