Published: March/April 2009
Theme: The Gone Fishin’ Issue
Cover: Word Power, Collage by Studio 102101 and ArtsEtc
Contributors: Aguinaldo Belgrave, Esther Jones, Gary Jerome Jones, Philip Nanton, Carol Pitt, DJ Simmons, Dick Stoute, Studio 102101 

BackPage Say #25

Onwards and up 

By Robert Edison Sandiford

Success in the arts, as in many other endeavours in life, is often equated with money: either how much you can make from your venture or how much you have made.  We—meaning artists and patrons alike—may be so stunned by those who reap fortunes from their talents and opportunities that we forget how much the pursuit of excellence, of meaningful enquiry, actually plays in the process.

This is not a plea for poverty, the starving artist, whose presumed purity has never impressed me personally or professionally.  My angle is perspective.  Like, say, Seinfeld and other celebrated shows that have the good sense to know when their number is up, we at ArtsEtc have had our run.  This is the last regular issue of the Premier Cultural Guide to Barbados. 

Were we as successful as Jerry and the gang?  If by that you mean can ArtsEtc’s editors now retire, comfortably or uncomfortably, no.  If you have another question in mind, about whether we have helped to democratize and, whenever possible, revolutionize our industry, we believe we have made a contribution.

I don’t want to make it sound as if ArtsEtc is closing its doors.  The new five-year plan is to strengthen our online presence with archival as well as fresh content; produce the occasional print special; expand AE Books’ range of anthologies; and continue to be art advocates.

So this isn’t the time for goodbyes (we’re not so easy to shake anyway), though we would like to thank every single contributor and sponsor of our first five years, most especially the National Art Gallery Committee.  ArtsEtc has evolved because of you.

We hope you will join us online at www.artsetcbarbados.com in building a new home.  In our time, from 2003 to the present, we’ve witnessed the growth of Poui, the literary journal of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill; the re-emergence of Bim, “Arts for the 21st Century”; and increasing interest in all Barbadian arts (and not just from those outside the region, even if, as a people, we still look for that foreign affirmation).

That’s the good news.  The Caribbean Review of Books in Trinidad, arguably the best publication covering the latest releases from our authors, is still scrambling for steady financial support, and recent reports in the local press make it clear Barbadians are still debating the preservation of a few remaining slave huts as part of the nation’s heritage.  True success may not be about money, but the bucks can help it along—not to mention popular interest.

My father used to casually observe the only thing constant is change.  Some fear it, others no less wild eyed embrace it.  I’m a fan of the calculated risk backed by mutual benefit.  It’s vital, through media of our own making, to take our words to the world, to let others know we have stories worth telling, on stage, in print and song.  ArtsEtc remains open to your thoughts, views and creative efforts.

It’s all—always—about taking how we experience this life as human beings to a higher and better level.  Linda and I will continue to look for you on the way up.

Robert Edison Sandiford is a founding editor of ArtsEtc.