“… probably the most reassuring thing about the best among [intuitive] artists is that [their art] is achieved with freedom from demagoguery and without the crassness of social realism. Yet they are no less ‘revolutionary’ for it. Rather, they are the embodiment of that creative tension between tradition and revolution, between an ancestral past and a groping but hopefully self-assured future. They are, as well, the embodiment of passion and contemplation of culture and instinct.”

Rex Nettleford, 1979

via The NGJ Pays Tribute to Rex Nettleford « National Gallery of Jamaica Blog.

Rex Nettleford 1933-2010

Jamaica lost one of its most revered cultural figures last night when Professor Rex Nettleford, vice-chancellor emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and founder of the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC), died, just hours before he would have celebrated his 77th birthday.

Nettleford passed away at George Washington Hospital in Washington, DC, one week after suffering a heart attack at a hotel in the United States capital.

via Jamaica Gleaner News – Icon lost – Golding, Simpson Miller mourn Nettleford – Lead Stories – Wednesday | February 3, 2010.

Rex Nettleford: artist, choreographer, academic, labour activist, dancer, author, perpetual student of Caribbean identity, strength and place. Jamaica’s icon; the Caribbean’s heart.

We will not be the same.

Walk good, Rex.

If it weren’t for CARIFESTA, we would have never met Henk, nor would we have been exposed to his passion and his eloquence on the subject of the role of the arts in Caribbean society.

Most of the reports are in Dutch, so it’s hard to get specific information on his passing. However, he suffered a stroke in a few years ago, and when I met him again in Guyana (I first met him in Trinidad in 2004) it was clear that he was not well.

Henk was one of the architects of the New CARIFESTA Festival model (a model our country seems determined to reject). He will be remembered for its success when at last it is tested for real. He died too soon; he was only 61.

Walk good, Henk.

For those of you who don’t know who Trevor Rhone is, or don’t know you know who he is: he co-wrote the 1970 Jamaican cult classic film The Harder They Come.

In the theatre world, though, he’s remembered both here in Nassau and in his native Jamaica as one of the region’s most prominent playwrights. Bahamian companies have produced at least three of his plays both here and in Grand Bahama over time — School’s Out, Smile Orange, and of course, Old Story Time, which premiered in Nassau at the Dundas with the following Bahama Drama Circle cast:  Winston Saunders, John Trainer, Pandora Gibson-Gomez, Calvin Cooper, Gwen Kelly, and Joan Vanderpool.  In the 1980s, too, the Dundas Repertory hosted another of Trevor’s plays, Two Can Play by a company out of Guyana.  We will miss him!

The Caribbean world has lost another great playwright. Walk good, Trevor. Walk good.

After a brief illness Dr. John Wavell Thompson has passed away. He will be missed especially for his humor and friendship.

More can be found on ...conch een ga no bone, the arts board, especially in the R.I.P. thread.

She had been suffering from complications following pneumonia for some time.

Walk good, P.G.  Walk good.

Below are links to the reports:

Trinidad Express

vital to T&T: Ian Ali

Hundreds of mourners gathered yesterday at the St Joseph Presbyterian Church to say a final farewell to TV host and artist Ian Ali, who was known as “Uncle Ian”.

…At the funeral, Ali’s daughter, Patti-Anne, remembered his personal side.

She reminisced about their living in the attic of a church in England during his studying years, and the scout songs that he would teach them on evenings.

“There was no money; there was boundless love,” she said.

She also spoke about her father’s contribution to his homeland:

“Ian Ali has been a vital part of the canvas of Trinidad and Tobago’s past culture,” she said of the man who’s artistic career spanned four decades.

“But more than that he was a great man, a beloved husband and father,” she continued.

Jo-Anne Ali-Nandalal, another of Ali’s daughters, gave a brief tribute in which she thanked her father for “giving (them) the ability to see the world for its possibilities”.

Tammy, Jo, Patti, Judy, Carolyn:  we were there, too, in spirit, in thought, in meditation.

VETERAN local television personality, artist and teacher Ian Ali has died. The 70-year-old Ali who was known to many people as “Uncle Ian” on the now defunct Rikki Tikki show which was aired locally during the 1980s, died of heart failure yesterday at Westshore Medical Centre in, Cocorite.

… In a statement yesterday, Ali’s family said, he had been “a vital part of the canvas of Trinidad and Tobago’s art and culture” for the last 40 years.

Ali was best known for his work on TTT’s Rikki Tikki show for his unique form of story-telling through sketches on large blackboards. Rikki Tikki was one of the very first local children’s televison shows.

…His disciplines included painting, sculpture, design, fabric work, jewelry, pottery, commercial art and illustrating. Ali lectured at the Government Training College for teachers, UWI summer schools and the Ministry of Culture. He was a teacher at the Point Fortin Secondary and St Augustine Senior Comprehensive School. Ali’s work was also evident in the development of Carnival designs over the years.

More here.

Trinidad Express article 

Ian Ali was the father of Tammy Ali-Burrows and father-in-law of our President, David Burrows. Members of Ringplay got the chance to meet him last fall at CARIFESTA IX, when he attended our production of You Can Lead a Horse to Water. Raw footage of an interview with him about the show remains in our files.

Tammy is currently in Trinidad and Tobago with her family.

Our condolences go out Tammy, David and Liam, and to all the Ali family in TT.

Most people who know Betty will know that her mother has been ailing for some time.  Mrs. Knowles died today at the hospital.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Betty, Bunny and Bertram Knowles at this time.