There are several routes people seeking to earn a living solely from creative pursuits in Trinidad and Tobago can take.
Ultimately, unless the systems in place change, it may not be entirely possible to do so without working more than one job.
These were some of the conclusions reached during Making a Living as a Creative: a multi-disciplinary discussion, held on May 26 at the ARC (Alliance of Rural Communities) Co-Create Hub, St Vincent Street, Tunapuna.
The panel was facilitated by writer Lisa Allen-Agostini, and comprised filmmaker Rhonda Chan Soo, wire artist Walda George-Waithe, visual artist AJ Rogers, dancer and theatre practitioner elisha efua bartels, art-for-social-change advocate Kevon Foderingham, film lecturer Lynn Parks and artist Arnaldo James.
Allen-Agostini asked each panellist, what does earning a living mean to you as a creative, and what needs to change systemically so that you can?
She said she used to be a journalist, but left owing to the anxiety and stress of the job. She said she decided to live on her writing and creativity, which brings its own more manageable (for her) stresses.
[caption id="attachment_1087299" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Dancer and theatre practitioner elisha efua bartels says she knew as a young person she would be in the arts and would “scrunt.” - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]
“I can decide if I want to get up on the morning, and what I want to get up to work on, not, 'Oh no, it’s Monday, I have to get to work for my 9 am meeting.' Every day is an opportunity to work on new things, and I have the freedom to choose what to work on.”
She said she often barters services. While she takes paying clients, she said, the clients she likes to work for are the ones who can’t necessarily pay, like artists, environmentalists, creatives and people doing good work.
“What keeps me on my path is my faith in God. I’m here for a purpose, and part of that purpose is to make things out of nothing."
George-Waithe said while she had wanted to be an artist since she was young, life had not allowed her to. She had gone into business, and now that she was approaching retirement, she now had freedom to pursue what she loved.
“My preference is work in 3D, either thread or wire, and many times I've also worked with papier-mâché. Each piece created must generate conversation and evoke thought, as this is my way of communicating with society.
“My creative spirit has blossomed during the covid19 pandemic, with the completion of several pieces in a variety of materials, but particularly wire and crochet threads. I have now come happily home to my creative side, even reshaping my business to focus on my artistic and creative abilities.”
[caption id="attachment_1087298" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Panellist AJ Rogers, centre, says he is currently putting together what it meant to be a creative making a living. - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]
George-Waithe said she had had to make the choice to focus on making money when she was younger, and nothing seemed to have changed.
