The Tribune

By IAN POITIER,

CAPAS Project Lead

For those thousands of Bahamians who’ve dreamt of a career on the stage or screen, the future’s just got a whole lot brighter.

With the recently-announced launch of ‘The Creative and Performing Arts School of The Bahamas’ – CAPAS - The Bahamas is on the threshold of ushering in a new era for the Creative Economy.

Opening this September 2025, this new, tertiary-level institution will offer full and part-time professional training to international industry standard.

Performing arts courses will include acting, singing and dancing, while the creative arts training will cover writing, directing, choreographing and producing.

The production arts cover all the areas needed to present work on the stage, screen and radio. These include hair and make-up, lights, camera, animation, sound, costume, location management, set-building etc.

While this initiative is being developed by the government of The Bahamas, it is anticipated that CAPAS will quickly grow into a standalone institution, offering world-class training which, within a few short years, will be recognised as the best in the region.

Investing in a new economic sector

The idea of the Creative Economy (or Orange Economy) is based on the principle that there is significant economic potential to be derived from the commercialisation of talent.

Countries that have invested significantly in their creative industries, are enjoying the benefits. In the UK, for example, a 2023 study indicates that UK theatre sector alone generates £2.39 billion in Gross Value Added. This sector supports nearly 205,000 workers and has a total turnover of £4.44 billion.

In 2019, Jamaica’s film, animation, and music industries constituted 6.2 percent of its GDP, just under $1 billion.

While we do not have the data available to make accurate projections, there is a strong sense that The Bahamas has barely begun to exploit our creative potential.

Take tourism for example.

While The Bahamas continues to experience significant growth in the numbers of people visiting, there is not the corresponding rise in the amount of revenue derived from them.

Analysis suggests that this is not an issue of under-pricing, but largely a problem of supply.

There simply aren’t enough opportunities for tourists to spend money. We lack places to go, things to see and do, and interesting stuff to buy.

The cultural and creative economy in general, and the performing arts in particular, have the potential to generate many more sources of revenue from the tourist economy.

We have so many advantages:

The world’s largest market on our doorstep;

The most successful tourism industry in the region;

Membership in a Commonwealth of 56 nations;

We have an opportunity to build a new creative industries economic sector, one that both celebrates our culture, and opens the door to new possibilities.

As is true of every significant economic sector, in order to succeed, investment is needed in infrastructure, education and international partnerships.

CAPAS is that investment.

More than money

Since Independence, the creative community has craved and begged for the opportunity to receive world-class training in the creative and performing arts, right here at home.

Some have been able to gain professional training abroad and enjoyed much success. But these opportunities have been available only to a few.

While significant support has been given to those in the ‘white-collar professions’ such as law, medicine, financial services etc, precious little has been given to those whose talent lie in the performing arts.

This is more than just the fulfilment of personal ambition.

It is also a projection of cultural confidence.

The data is overwhelmingly clear that arts education in general, and performing arts training in particular, support creativity, innovation, discipline and team-working across society as a whole.

Our Bahamian culture is built upon the many peoples who have settled here over the centuries which include the Arawaks, Spanish, Chinese, Greeks, British, Americans and, of course, the Africans.

Blessed with an abundance of talent, our culture is vibrant, rich and diverse.

While “Bahamian culture” may be hard to define, our Bahamian identity and the personality of the Bahamian people is distinctive and easily recognisable.

We need to tell our stories in ways that are supported by technical excellence.

And while we benefit from the many millions who visit us each year, there is even greater opportunity if we can show and tell our stories around the world.

Why now?

There are always good reasons not to invest in cultural development.

There always will be hungry children to be fed, patients who need complex care, homeless people, and unemployed people, all of whom rely on support from the public purse.

We also live in a time of great global challenge, where a Climate Emergency threatens to tip into a Climate Catastrophe, Hurricanes, Pandemics, Wars and now Trade Wars, seem to threaten everything.

I say that now, more than ever, CAPAS may not be urgent, but it is necessary.

In the face of adversity, it is in the creative industries in general, and the performing arts in particular, where we find moments of relief.

We can hold up a mirror and “laugh at we-selves” while simultaneously finding solutions, and imagining better futures.

We are not so very different from our earliest known ancestors, huddling in their caves, locked in a daily battle for survival.

They still made time to create paintings on their walls, to tell stories around the campfires, to sing and make music, and dance and make beautiful things.

These are the expressions of the soul, desperate to communicate, strengthening bonds through musical harmony, and giving meaning and understanding and joy.

This is who I am.

This is who we are.

These are the things that make us human.

These are the things that make life worth the living.

CAPAS will be an incubator for ideas, talent and skill.

CAPAS will help us fulfil our “pledge to excel”.

CAPAS will soon be here.