As part of its ongoing mission to promote and preserve Saint Lucia’s cultural heritage, the Cultural Development Foundation (CDF) has launched a series of community-driven initiatives leading up to this year’s Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival. Among the highlights is the announcement of folk culture pioneer Teresa Hall affectionately known as “Ma Hall” as this year’s Cultural Icon.
“She has been a pioneer when it comes to folk dance, folk culture, folk fashion,” said Ryan Germain, the CDF’s senior media and communications officer. “She also was one of the founders of Helen Folk Dancers in Saint Lucia.”
The recognition of Ma Hall is part of the CDF’s broader mandate to advocate for cultural awareness and education. “Every year, we identify someone to celebrate as a cultural icon,” Germain explained. “Last year was Noelen Xavier, visual artist. This year, we have selected Teresa Hall.”
To honour her contributions and to spread cultural awareness, the CDF’s Training, Development, and Promotion Unit has taken its educational outreach on the road. “We decided to go to all corporate entities, and of course, the schools next week, to showcase what we call our ‘educatainment,’ which is a mixture of education and entertainment in drama,” Germain said.
The initiative began with a visit to Republic Bank at William Peter Boulevard, which has come on board as a platinum sponsor for this year’s “Art in the City.” Germain praised the continued support, stating, “Republic Bank is always in support of the arts, and this year they came on board as a platinum sponsor… They see the need to invest in the arts in the community and also in culture.”
CDF’s ‘educatainment’ programme will soon extend to other key sponsors and locations. “We plan to go to other corporate entities such as the Laborie Credit Union, the government offices hopefully the Prime Minister’s Office and even Sandals and also LUCELC,” Germain said.
Next week, the focus shifts to schools. “We go to the primary and secondary schools located in the north and the south of the island to ensure that the students and the teachers get that one piece of educatainment that we are showing this week,” Germain said.
All of this leads into the Art in the City segment of the Jazz and Arts Festival, which runs May 1-11 and features five signature events.
They will start with the Cultural Icon Gala celebrating Teresa Hall on May 1 at the Pavilion on the Ramp, Life in Colour visual arts exhibition at La Place Carenage May 2-11, Voices of the Underground spoken word performances at the National Cultural Centre on May 5, Jazz and Arts on the Square at Derek Walcott Square May 7–9 and Ti Tak Sent Lisi a crafts and souvenir showcase on the Rodney Bay Strip May 8-9.
