Skill-building, entrepreneurship, and community building are key aspects in the development of visual artists and musicians, as well as other creatives. This was the message presented at the Creative SummiTT conference, chaired by renowned jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles, at the Little Carib Theatre and Folkhouse, Woodbrook, on Friday.
The panel consisted of steelpan scholar and UTT assistant professor Dr Mia Gormandy-Benjamin, Frost School of Music dean Shelton Berg, visual artist and Backyard Design Company owner Nicholas Huggins, and photographer, filmmaker, and historian Maria Nunes.
Gormandy-Benjamin said skill-building was a never-ending process, no matter how long people had been practising their craft.
“There are literally no shortcuts to getting better at what you do. I always used to wonder why I had to practise my scales when I just wanted to play, but the later parts of the process are built on that early foundation of practice. Creatives should say yes when presented with opportunities.”
Gormandy said creatives should be open-minded and humble, as people seen as easy to work with got more opportunities. She said it was okay to admit nobody knows everything. She said people should love what they do as it made it easier to overcome stumbling blocks.
Responding to a question from Nunes about the need for mentorship, Gormandy said mentorship was important.
“I had really good teachers who were willing to tell me what I could improve on, as well as when they couldn’t help me. Sometimes the student outgrows the teacher, and if the mentor is humble enough, they can pass the student to someone who can help their growth. Also, you don’t have to have only one mentor, especially if you have diverse interests.”
Berg said there were people who were immensely talented and others who practised their craft.
[caption id="attachment_1011124" align="alignnone" width="891"] Photographer/filmmaker Maria Nunes was one of the panelists at Creative SummiTT, The Little Carib Theatre and Folkhouse, Woodbrook on Friday. - ANGELO MARCELLE[/caption]
“People with immense talent don't like to practice because things come easy to them, but there are other things that don't come easy to them, and they sometimes fall to the wayside because they don't work on their Achilles heel. Other artists are a slow burn and work at their skill, and often overtake the people with talent.”
He said mentors should help each student develop their own uniqueness, which could be difficult.
Huggins said he encouraged the junior graphic designers in his business to develop the skill sets that go along with the industry. He said work ethic trumps talent.
Nunes said her mentorship came not only in person, but through studying the work of artists she admired.
“It doesn’t have to be something profound, for example photographer Abigail Hadeed taught me a naming system that has saved my life. I don’t study just photographers, but other artists, like in working with Etienne I’ve seen that he practises every day, whatever else is going on
