From a global perspective, creative industries have become a tool used by countries to enhance their competitiveness, productivity, employment and sustainable economic growth. These industries are also widely used as a stimulus for social integration and cultural promotion. Today, Creative Industries are considered to be an essential component for growing in a modern economy.
Yet, the Creative Industries remain under-exploited in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas’ curriculum has historically placed more of an emphasis on Professional Studies and the Sciences by marginalizing the Arts (visual art, music, dance, drama and media arts). This is a mistake. The Arts, and the entrepreneurship and innovation skills they embed, are critical for our future.
Creative industries can be defined as an economic activity involving the generation of creative intellectual property, this includes:
Music and Performing Arts
Film, Television and Radio
Advertising and Marketing
Software Development and Interactive Content
Writing, Publishing and Print Media
Architecture, Design and Visual Arts
Did you know that in Australia Creative Industries contribute more to the GDP than traditional industries? It is creating jobs at a faster pace than any other combination of industries in that country. Consider how beneficial Creative Industries could be to the Bahamas where unemployment is a major problem. It is time that we take practical steps to diversify the Bahamian economy.
We don’t even have to look far for instances where Creative Industries have already proven to be lucrative in the Bahamas. For example, through film tourism, popular movies such as Jaws and Why Did I Get Married Too were shot in The Bahamas. It’s not unrealistic to argue that with proper infrastructure and sizeable investments, in a few years Bahamians might be shooting their movies to be marketed to the world.
How do we encourage young Bahamians to explore Creative Industries?
The adage that “it starts at home” rings true here. When kids are growing up – for the most part, they are taught that the only way to be successful is to go to university and study to become a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant. So, when they decide to break this mould and study something other than business, medicine and law they are reluctant to return home because our country has made it seem as if their preferred degree was not important. As a result, many young Bahamians refuse to return home as they believe that if they want to succeed in life, they would have to look for opportunities outside of The Bahamas. No, this attitude that creative industries are not important has never been explicitly stated. However, implicitly - it is shown by the lack of investment and support being provided to these areas.
To see a shift in young Bahamians mindset we must first dismantle the narrative that traditional career paths are the only way to guarantee success. The truth is that you can fail at being a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant just as easily as you can succeed at being an artist, a director or a writer. The problem is that we see professional studies and the sciences as being low risk occupations. When in reality, risk is an essential component to success and everyday life. We have to make our children comfortable with risk and support them wholeheartedly when they decide to pursue less traditional career paths. But are we going to get rid of this narrative? Or better yet, do we want to get rid of it? Or are we are so far removed from aiding the development of our own country, that we do not even see this as an issue?
Many times, people will say that “the future belongs to young people with an education and an imagination to create”, therefore it’s time to put these words into action. It’s time to give young people the chance to prove themselves without driving this narrative that one career is more important than the other or forcing previous generations’ dispositions onto them. Creative Industries have been overlooked for far too long and it is time to embrace the change or be left behind. This is our future we are talking about here. Let’s make the right choice today.
Contributors: Desmonique Stubbs
Lemuel Johnson
Cazna Hinds
I believe in this article wholeheartedly. I guess what I'm missing from this us who is expected to bring about resolve? Who is expected to drive this field? Just like any other field, profession or business, the parties involved are the ones, in my humble experience, who have to make it work. Respect is demanded in any chosen field; respect is to be earned! Decide who and what matters most and go after them. Organize the field, brand it and market it. There are more than enough companies within this field to make this work. Worker together will go a long way. This article is healthy, structured and balanced because 3 contributors were assigned the task of seeing it become…