 |
 |
 |
|
March 2011
|
Managing carnival
These skills are not only required for the carnival sector but are also necessary to support the Government’s stated position of growing the country’s creative sector to lessen our dependence on natural gas and oil. The Arts and Cultural Enterprise Management (ACEM) post-graduate programme was developed in 2003 specifically to address these diversification efforts. The programme, facilitated through the DCFA, was designed for practising and potential entrepreneurs, policy makers and artists to equip them with the skills to effectively operate in the creative economy. Since its inception, ACEM has trained persons from all over the Caribbean and has given them a basket of skills including cultural policy analysis and formulation, finance and business strategies for the arts, as well as marketing and promotion. This year, potential candidates will also benefit from two new courses including Creative Industries and Media, as well as Arts and Cultural Management and the Law. ACEM alumni work in business, government and NGO sectors throughout the Caribbean region and have reported a marked improvement in their performance as a result of the programme. 2010 graduate, Ms. Glenda Rose Layne, Coordinator of Culture, Division of Community Development and Culture, Tobago House of Assembly said that “Through the post graduate diploma in the Arts and Cultural Enterprise Management, I was able to approach the arts in a professional manner. It enhanced my ability to manage, set goals and to view the arts as a business”. ACEM is a year-long programme that is divided into four sessions that run from May of Year 1 to May of Year 2. Sessions one to three span from May to August of Year 1, while Session four follows with a nine-month period of independent study. The teaching methodology reflects the transdisciplinary nature of the programme and includes a mix of guest lectures from practitioners and field trips, along with a heavy emphasis on networking, which is expected to provide students with a realistic picture of the creative industries in the Caribbean. Persons interested in the ACEM programme should visit our website at http://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/dcfa/postgrad.asp or email Dr. Suzanne Burke at Suzanne.burke@sta.uwi.edu or Michelle Wellington at Michelle.wellington@sta.uwi.edu. |
Recent Carnival celebrations have highlighted the need for a more comprehensive system to manage the country’s premiere event. According to Dr. Suzanne Burke of the UWI Department of the Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA), “as the scale and intensity of the Carnival grows, the need for of a whole new range of skills including events management, artist management, marketing and promotion, business and financial planning and urban development will become even more critical”.