Jazz artiste, Rosemary Phillips, personifies qualities of excellence and professionalism and is a pioneer in her field.
Minister of Culture, Stephen Lashley, heaped these accolades on Ms. Phillips, as he addressed sponsors, family and friends at the launch of her music video Love is Like a Melody last Friday at The Crane Beach Hotel, St. Philip.
Mr. Lashley said that the launch of the music video represented the ???celebration of the finest quality of an artiste such as Rosemary???, who, he added represented a ???vision of where we want to go in Barbados as it relates to the transformation and the development of the cultural industries sector???.
He praised Ms. Phillips for going ???boldly where not many artistes have gone before???, onto the international stage, and commended her for building a base in her homeland and thus fostering the development of the Barbadian cultural industries.
???Certainly, within the Ministry of Culture and The National Cultural Foundation, we have been very quick to provide support to Rosemary, both monetary and by the means of advice and she has actually taken that advice and has taken her art form to the point where I believe she can now boast of having a product of international standard,??? he observed.
The Culture minister encouraged more local cultural practitioners to take their art form beyond the shores of Barbados to create foreign exchange and in turn diversify the economy. He said that more artistes in Barbados should emulate Ms. Phillips and needed ???to feel the pulse of what???s available on the international market???.
He added that the cultural industries sector was poised to be one of the key planks upon which Barbados??? future economic growth would depend. And, it was this sector, he contended, that would help this country to ???earn quite a bit of foreign exchange???.
???The purpose of growing the cultural industries in Barbados is not only about promoting music and video, but showcasing other areas of artistic endeavour in Barbados.
???I believe that Rosemary???s work is for the benefit of Barbados. I believe that what she does internationally creates inflows and has the potential of creating inflows of foreign exchange into Barbados and I, therefore, see her template as one of emulation by other artistes in Barbados and beyond.
???… We have many of our artistes that are poised and there are those who may not be on the international chart but are doing extremely well, who are working on behalf of Barbados, who are using their businesses, because while we are showering praise on Rosemary and celebrating her music video, we are in fact uplifting her business. Her presence on the international stage is not just her presence, but a business enterprise which we are very keen on building in Barbados,??? he said.
He continued: ???We want to build more Rosemary Phillips, we want to build more Rihannas, we want to build more Cover Drives, but it is very encouraging for me and why I would want … to congratulate The Crane [Beach Hotel] … is that for quite a while I???ve been talking about building some very critical synergies between the cultural sector and our commercial sector ??? And this is a good example of what
can be accomplished when we have the very critical meeting of the minds between a cultural professional or a cultural business person, or indeed a business person that may be either the owner of property, as we have here at The Crane, or those who may own other assets.???
The music video was done on location at the Crane Beach Hotel. It was directed and edited by Liesje Cole-Pragnell, with cinematography by Stuart Hall. Sponsors included The Crane Beach Hotel, Colombian Emeralds, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, The National Cultural Foundation and the Barbados Community Foundation. Ms. Phillips is based in France.
cathy.lashley@barbados.gov.bb