At Insight, we’ve been thinking a lot about the need to invest in arts and creativity in Sierra Leone recently, especially because we’ve seen just how much it flourishes out of Sierra Leone.
We have so much talent and so much potential.
Maria Bradford
The extraordinary Maria Bradford and the Shwen Shewn brand is reimagining Sierra Leonean food for a wider audience.
Abu B Yillah
In London, Abu B. Yillah – film maker, poet and cultural creator, also designs for Nike.
Patrice Naimbana
Patrice Naimbana, is an award-winning actor and playwright. He founded Tribal Soul in 1991 as a means of making visible stories from African Diaspora experiences, in response to simplistic representations of Africans in the West.
SLACfest
The Young Sierra Leonean curates an exceptional list of creative talent, particularly through the annual SLACfest, to increase the visibility of Sierra Leone and Sierra Leoneans both at home and in the diaspora, and change our narrative through the arts.
Poda Poda
Platforms like Poda Poda recreate our stories and our experiences through literature.
The Barray
And The Barray’s regular art exhibitions demonstrate how much our fine art scene has to offer.
And yet, we still have not put the resources and energy behind this essential sector.
At Insight, we know that conversations are being had.
To help move the discussion along, we’ve come up with five reasons why we need to invest in culture, creativity and aesthetics in Sierra Leone.
Please add anymore you can think of.
Insight’s 5 Reasons for Investing in the Arts, Culture and Creativity
1. Developing our tourism industry, unless its sex or gambling tourism, requires that we offer tourists an experience that satisfies their senses and their curiosity (other than those related to sex and gambling).
2. History (or versions of it) is told through the arts – through pictures, stories, poems, song, sculpture, film and photography etc. Knowing our history would help us understand our society and how it came to be. To paraphrase, American poet, Robert Frost – “it is a way of remembering that which it would impoverish us to forget.”
3. The creative industries offer young people other paths to successful and meaningful lives and careers.
4. The creative economy has the potential to generate income and jobs while promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development.
5. Art is a way of understanding and expressing the world – it speaks to our senses, our intellect and allows us to explore our feelings, memories, imagination and physical senses. It can help us heal, give us time to grieve, make us laugh and love, create sense from the world around us, foster empathy and kindness.
If you have any doubt about the power of poetry, click on the link and read the work below.
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