A
SECOND READING,
NEWSDAY
ARTICLE – DCFA: UWI’s engine room.21 July 2015
 |
| The Newsday article -Sunday19 July 2015, Picture is of the President of the Creative Arts Students Association (CASA), Robert Noel |
DESIGNING YOUR FUTURE..
In
the Sunday July 19, Newsday Section A, page 43, there was the article DFCA (I
think they meant DCFA): UWI’S engine room.
I
will pull out some extracts from the article –
“Gibbons, in his
article, he explained that “in 1998, after comprehensive consultation
with
all users, a plan was developed by faculty for what we has re-named the
Festival Centre for Creative Arts”. This plan informed the “first phase”
construction of the buildings on Gordon Street and Funds “leftover” from an
Inter – American Development Bank loan to UWI, (TT$3.8million) were used to
construct “a partial, if custom made facility”, opened in 2000 as Centre for
Creative and Festival Arts. This facility housed the Music and Visual Arts
Units, while Theatre, Dance, Carnival Studies and the Festival Library and
Documentation Centre remained at the Agostini Street centre until a future
“second phase” would see it move. This second phase never happened and the units
remained apart.”
For all late comers or alyuh culture people who sleeping under rock and ting, there will be a new building to be built up on Gordon Street, West of the present Visual Art and Music Unit, this facility will hold Theatre and Dance Unit.
“Phase
one of the project will see a the two storey building that will house:
a
70-seater lecture room; two smaller seminar rooms; two full size dance studios;
and office spaces. Murray said that everything now available at the Agostini
Street building, “plus a little extra” will be set up at Gordon Street. In
Phase two, construction will see a 200-seater theatre, library and technical
theatre space.
Murray
said the Gordon Street building will house classrooms, larger offices spaces
and dance studios that will be a major improvement over what currently obtain
at Agostini Street. The entire project is projected to cost $40 million”
Lots
of money, lots of development, needed and worthy. But while the Visual Art and
Music Units sit on lands that belong to Continuing Studies Unit, and I’m told
they really don’t want to depart with the Gordon Street Facility. This was what
I thought we would have seen, the Continuing Studies Building, on Gordon Street
would have become the Department of Creative and Festival Arts, you would have
expanded the facilities to comprehend the needs of the national community.
As
it is now there is a whole new building that is being proposed on a whole new site
excluding the Visual Arts, Graphic Design, Carnival Studies, Sculpture
facilities – Ceramics, Foundry, Mould Making, Music and Documentation. The
estimated $40million is being disposed on two units Dance and Theatre, at the
dispense of the majority of units.
I’m
thinking; here is an opportunity to build a visionary statement in art education,
a building that will illuminate the direction of art and design in the development
discourse of the national community and inclusion of all units, but what is
happening is an upgrade in two and the squatting of others, at $40million.
 |
| Here you get an idea of how you can take small spaces and make bigger statements. |
This
just didn’t happen, this was happening since 1998, which is 17 years Bro! 17
years to prepare for this moment of a one sided development. The question, what
it would have taken to raise the required amount of money which would have seen
a building belonging to the Department of Creative and Festival Art, inclusive
of all units. As a past student of Ontario College of Art and Design University,
OCADU, which was settled in the heart of Toronto City, first their building was
an amazing example of small space with big impact, holding almost all the
visual arts, design components, there was another building which contained the
film and animation; their expansion was done by an amazing design, which must
have taken serious planning design and implementation. I feel that this move
being done is just another spurt development project typical to Trinidad and
Tobago, and some time further down the line, DCFA management will be looking
for more money to deal with the other. I will feel much more comfortable if
there was a serious look at our community needs, a consultation, a plan, and a
trajectory towards those goals
 |
| The original OCADU, is at the bottom, it was four floors, in the basement, there was foundry, mould making, a presentation room, plastics, a spray room, woodwork, metal work and shop, first floor there was admin, second floor, design and other units, top floor visual arts and other units. But it is a fine example of expanding in small cramped spaces, |
·
Art – Painting studios,
gallery/reception area*, studio classes, foundry*, mould* rooms
·
Design – 3d development
studio*, computer rooms
·
Carnival Studies* – 3D
development Studio space, rooms
·
Library/Documentation – video, editing studio
·
Theatre – lighting, set
development, event management etc
·
Dance – choreography, physical,
etc
·
Sculpture*
*there
will be overlapping and synergy between
 |
| Another look at expansion and how you can. |
I
will quote Sunity Mharaj’s, article, 14 Sunday July 2015, STILL SEARCHING FOR
THE SECOND FORCE, if we consider that art and design being that second or third
force...
“With
independence, it fell to the PNM to master the institutional apparatus left
behind by the colonial power. Right from the beginning, however, it became
clear that this would not be enough for a people desperate for a nation of
their own. Independence has arrived with its own imperatives for dismantling
the colonial infrastructure and re-configuring the society on a new basis that
would give everyone a place in the sun. Reflecting this was the series of
challenges to the Williams administration – from workers, Black Power, Tobago
and Indo-Trinidad.”
thought the conversation would have been seriously considered, now! in the 21st century, here in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, for the first time in a long time there is a conversation of diversification, innovation and creative industry going on in the politics, and the politics of art and culture, $40million is a serious investment, to not consider overall inclusion of all units and their importance to the national and international discourse, with more and more Caribbean artists blowing up in galleries and intervening in the international art scene, it will be inevitable that we will have artists based here and operating on an international level one day. The economist are telling us it will not be getting easier, we’re spending more than innovating, The University is attempting to become more financially independent and in charge of raising their own funds. This will mean that the management of the DCFA, will have to also become more creative in their own fund raising; they can accomplish this by building synergy with partners here and internationally... Art is the second force. You have to be able to make a 5cent do 10cent work. Whatever is the politics playing in the department, they have missed an opportunity to be a light in art education institution in the Caribbean.....hffff $40million.....
Well
it seem that the dye has been cast and its happening, let’s see where this all
ends up.
