Black to Business
Summer 2009
21
Cultural Expressions 2009 Tourism and Heritage Symposium
T
he Black Business Initiative and the Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs partnered in organizing and hosting a spring tourism symposium entitled ‘Cultural Expressions 2009’.
The weekend event was held May 29 to May 31, 2009 at the Park Place Hotel and Conference Centre - Ramada Plaza, in Dartmouth, NS. It consisted of youth workshops and a roundtable discussion for select stakeholders. In 2008, the Black Business Initiative commissioned a study to assess the tourism potential and market readiness for Black cultural experiences in Nova Scotia. One of the report’s recommendations was to form a cultural tourism development working group to look at what is currently available, determine what is missing, and then devise a way to put together and market an African Nova Scotian tourism package. The goal of this symposium was to initiate this objective. African Nova Scotian stakeholders across the province whose organizations already had a strong tourism component were invited to participate in the roundtable. An official from the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage presented available programs and best practice examples to the group.
Angela Johnson / Evan Williams Photography: Paul Adams
ages of 13 and 17 to work with professional artists in the creation and interpretation of works celebrating their cultural heritage. There were four different cultural art streams: African Dance, Theatre/ Spoken Word, Visual Arts and Handcrafts (basket weaving). African dance was facilitated by instructor and performer Mufaro Chakabuda, Theatre/Spoken word was facilitated by Shauntay Grant, Visual Arts by Kim Cain and Handcrafts (basket weaving) was taught by Clara Gough. To be selected for the workshops the youth wrote essays on what cultural expression meant to them.
Chelsie Skeete weaves a basket
The weekend concluded with a very moving presentation of WE ARE HERE, a performance showcase, highlighting the disciplines explored, and the work created by the youth involved. This symposium is the first of hopefully many other similar cultural expressions events.
Shay Anderson prepares a poem
Roundtable with community groups
Mufaro Chakabuda instructs dance
Shauntay Grant, Coordinator
Kim Cain, instructor
While the roundtable was occurring, 22 African Nova Scotian youth from across the province participated in Cultural Expressions workshops, coordinated by writer, artist and Nova Scotia’s poet laureate, Shauntay Grant. The workshops were an opportunity for African Nova Scotian youth between the