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PHILIPSBURG--"Put politics aside" and get moving on the development and construction of a preforming arts centre for St. Maarten was the call from Democratic Party ((DP)) leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams to her fellow MPs on Monday morning.
The arts centre should be "put as a high priority" by government and the money needs to be found for the project, Wescot-Williams said in the notification section of the plenary session of Parliament dealing with the Integrity Chamber.
Her call stemmed from the packed arts and cultural schedule in the just concluded weekend. There were separate performances by the National Institute of Arts (NIA), INDISU Dance Theatre of St. Maarten and the Pan Fiesta 2015 by Dow Musical Foundation.
MP Tamara Leonard of the United People's (UP) party agreed that it was "time to put politics aside and take care of the arts." She supported Wescot-Williams' call to government to get moving on the project.
MP Silveria Jacobs (National Alliance) added her voice to the call for the performing arts centre "to be a priority for government." She also called on government to give an update on the execution of the motion passed by Parliament in January for the reallocation of funds in the Education Ministry to aid after-school activities, sports and culture.
Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, who is in the plenary session, told MPs about a month ago the Council of Ministers had discussed moving forward with such a centre. Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs has been urged to move ahead with preparations.
Gumbs said information is being gathered from the exploratory committee that was in place last year to MAP the way for the performing arts centre. He said the idea is for the Council of Ministers to create a formal committee for the project via a national decree.
Since November 2013, UP leader MP Theo Heyliger had called on then Minister of Culture Patricia Lourens and Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Maurice Lake to have a workgroup in place by November 20, to realize this project.
In a letter to Lourens, Heyliger said he would like to see action taken in "the coming weeks" to establish the St. Maarten Centre for the Arts Workgroup.
This workgroup, he said, should be comprised of persons of and in performing arts and organising performing arts events. He suggested Clara Reyes, Nicole de Weever, Lasana Sekou, Rodney Davis, Mike Granger, Okama Brook, Max Phelipa, Ruby Bute, Connis Vanterpool and Isidore "The Mighty Dow" York. This workgroup would be tasked with developing a paper regarding a Centre of the Arts.
Heyliger had called for VROMI to assist in planning, allocation of property, parking and the relevant personnel to design the art centre.
For financing such a project, Heyliger said it is his intention to propose legislation (Universal Service Fund) to help finance not only the construction of this facility, but also the ability to subsidize the organizations that will use it.
