Above: St Lucia

By the Caribbean Journal staff

St Lucia Tourism Minister Lorne Theophilus held talks this week with delegates from Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism to discuss issues in the development of the creative sector.

The Minister said the purpose of the meeting was to “give officials from both territories an opportunity to share their cultural strengths, diversities, and institutional knowledge to foster a more cordial working relationship for the development of the arts.”

Trinidad and St Lucia also discussed establishing a national registry of artists and cultural workers in St Lucia.

Marlon De Bique, cultural officer in Trinidad’s Arts Ministry, said his office was focusing on developing the creative industries through capacity building.

“We tend to work a lot in the communities with capacity building, developing the competencies in the arts,” he said.  “Steel pan is really central to our exchange work. We’ve worked extensively with steel pans and steel bands in the communities. We work with steel orchestras and they invite other members of the community and we create a holistic environment.”

The two sides broached the possibility of a cultural exchange programme between the two countries.