New NAC director reveals plans for arts
‘The National Arts Council’
(NAC) will have to be realistic
in doing what it can do to help
artists within the limits of
resources put at its disposal.’
That was how Mrs Jacqueline Moustache-Belle described the way she intends to tackle her functions as the new Director of the NAC. Mrs Moustache-Belle was speaking to the press this week about her plans for the future development of arts in the country.
In the past, there has been a tendency for the NAC to prepare a packed calendar of activities at the start of each year without knowing its budget, Mrs. Moustache- Belle said, only to discover later that the goals could not be met due to lack of funds. This, she believes, has frustrated artists and has been the basis of accusations leveled against the NAC. During her mandate as the head of the Council, she says, she hopes to correct the situation by first finalising her budget then deciding on what is attainable for artists in all fields.
During 2010, Mrs Moustache-Belle also plans to lay the foundations for three new concepts. The first will be aimed at promoting and developing arts for everyone in the community by encouraging established artists to work with them through workshops. The second will encourage artists to develop their skills into a business through which they can earn a living. The third will be to search for a mechanism to assess the value of money that arts contribute to the country’s economy. That, she explains, will provide a fair idea as to what the arts community can expect in return when funds are allocated to the sector in the national budget at the end of each year.
Besides these new initiatives, Mrs Moustache-Belle says that her plans are also to strengthen some of the strategies that were already in place before such as the promotion of arts at district and youth levels, providing training through the ‘artists in residence programme’and working in partnership with different arts associations.
As for major arts manifestations such as Festival Kreol, Seychelles Arts Festival and Seychelles Arts Awards, the new Director says that NAC usually only manages these events. However as her new team gets more acquainted with such activities, its members will be able to make more input at all levels. For the immediate future Mrs Moustache-Belle and her team will be meeting with different arts association in the weeks ahead.
Source: Regar 1-29-10