Stand-up comedy for Carnival

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Visual Arts Society is planning a programme of activities for Vincy Mas 2004 that will include stand-up comedy, poetry reading and art exhibitions.
According to Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the SVG Visual Arts Society Adrian “Tari” Codogan, the first exhibition will run from June 26 to July 2, on the ground floor of the Peace Memorial Hall. {{more}}The free exhibition will be the second one held this year and is expected to feature big names such as Dinks Johnson and Cecile Comblen among others.
The first exhibition ran from March 28 to April 2 and was part of the launching process of the SVG Visual Arts Society with over 25 artists participating.
“We did not have a lot of sales,” said Codogan, “but we did a lot for awareness”.
He revealed that on every Wednesday during Carnival, stand-up comedy, poetry reading and art exhibitions will be held at the New Montrose Hotel starting from 5 p.m. While the art exhibitions will run until 8 p.m, the stand-up comedy and poetry reading will begin at 8.15 p.m. and end at 10 p.m. These will be held in collaboration with Cool Hang Promotions.
Codogan explained that the SVG Visual Arts Society is hoping to follow in the footsteps of a Trinidadian organisation which holds annual exhibitions and sells art-work in prices ranging from EC$100 to $100,000.
He said that two facilitators from that organisation will visit St.Vincent in October to train artists in new techniques and instruct them on pricing. The SVG Visual Arts Society is also hoping to embark on a project with the Ministry of Education where the society trains teachers to recognise children who possess artistic ability.
Codogan said that the SVG Visual Arts Society is currently looking for a lot of support from the general public as in his opinion, “artists need sales in order to produce”.