The commercialization of indigenous Arts and Culture must be intended to benefit the indigenous people.
This concern was raised during the launch of the satellite venue for the 5th Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture in Wewak, East Sepik Province.
The people of East Sepik says, much of their carvings have been sold overseas without any direct monetary benefits to them. East Sepik Province is widely known for its intricate carvings.
Over the years, much of its ancient art work has been commercialized abroad, without any real monetary benefits to the people.
The provincial culture and tourism division has been working to grow the tourism sector, to engage locals in economic activities to benefit from their arts and culture.
Yesterday, the people enthusiastically marked the launch of the 5th Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture satellite venue. Wewak will be the satellite venue for the entire Momase region.
Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Boka Kondra, applauded the people of East Sepik for their preparedness to host the festival.
The festival will be an opportune time to showcase the diverse Melanesian cultures.
It will also allow participating countries to learn about other Melanesian cultures, and to find avenues to assist each other in promoting their arts and culture, within the region and abroad.
Mr. Kondra called for an attitude change, and for Papua New Guineans to embrace the festival with pride. The festival will be held from June to July, and will be decentralized to the respective satellite venues in each region, to encourage more participation.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4U49DWEHbCE%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26showinfo%3D0%26showsearch%3D0%26rel%3D0
previous post