Lewis to meet artists over Independence row

Tue, Jul 6th 2021, 05:04 PM

AFTER concerns were raised by several Bahamian performers about this year's Independence Day celebration, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Iram Lewis said he plans to meet with local artists to address their issues.

Mr Lewis spoke after a number of Bahamian performers wrote to the chairman of the Independence Secretariat, Mark Humes, voicing their concerns with this year’s celebration.
#The group is upset that event organisers allegedly left out a mixture of top local secular acts in favour of a more Christian theme, among other things.
#The artists noted while they support the overall theme, they also feel the event could be inclusive of secular artists as well.
#“As you are aware, due to the pandemic, this past year has been challenging for entertainers, and employment has dropped to an all time low,” the letter said. “We look forward to the festivals and the independence celebrations for regular employment and an opportunity for us to showcase our talent.
#“Hence, it has come as a surprise and extremely disconcerting to discover that this year’s celebration will not be using the top secular and gospel performers. Adding insult to injury, we are told that the songs being used are not locally written or produced material. Is this saying that our material is not good enough to celebrate our own independence?
#“While we support the idea in giving thanks to God for His blessings over the past year, we believe that this could have been accomplished with songs and performances by the top local gospel and secular artists in a very artistic fashion and to the satisfaction of the general Bahamian public,” the letter also stated.
#Yesterday, Mr Lewis told reporters he has been made aware of some of the artists’ concerns and plans to meet with the relevant parties to rectify the problems where possible.
#He told reporters yesterday: “I’ve seen the reports on social media and I’ve also gotten some calls so as an administration and as a government as we’ve been doing to ensure the welfare and the wellbeing of Bahamians are protected and whatever corrections needs to be had if any, we’ll seek to inquire and how we can ensure that those who feel that they have been disenfranchised will be embraced.

Mr Lewis spoke after a number of Bahamian performers wrote to the chairman of the Independence Secretariat, Mark Humes, voicing their concerns with this year’s celebration.

The group is upset that event organisers allegedly left out a mixture of top local secular acts in favour of a more Christian theme, among other things.

The artists noted while they support the overall theme, they also feel the event could be inclusive of secular artists as well.

“As you are aware, due to the pandemic, this past year has been challenging for entertainers, and employment has dropped to an all time low,” the letter said. “We look forward to the festivals and the independence celebrations for regular employment and an opportunity for us to showcase our talent.

“Hence, it has come as a surprise and extremely disconcerting to discover that this year’s celebration will not be using the top secular and gospel performers. Adding insult to injury, we are told that the songs being used are not locally written or produced material. Is this saying that our material is not good enough to celebrate our own independence?

“While we support the idea in giving thanks to God for His blessings over the past year, we believe that this could have been accomplished with songs and performances by the top local gospel and secular artists in a very artistic fashion and to the satisfaction of the general Bahamian public,” the letter also stated.

Yesterday, Mr Lewis told reporters he has been made aware of some of the artists’ concerns and plans to meet with the relevant parties to rectify the problems where possible.

He told reporters yesterday: “I’ve seen the reports on social media and I’ve also gotten some calls so as an administration and as a government as we’ve been doing to ensure the welfare and the wellbeing of Bahamians are protected and whatever corrections needs to be had if any, we’ll seek to inquire and how we can ensure that those who feel that they have been disenfranchised will be embraced.

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