Creatives from across the Caribbean region are singing the praises of the arts grant programme CATAPULT which provided COVID-relief response valued at US$320,000.

Launched by Kingston Creative and Fresh Milk out of Barbados, with financing through American Friends of Jamaica, CATAPULT has not only delivered a financial benefit but has also had the effect of increasing the visibility of the artists, created websites that improved their ability to earn online and deepened the connections between the creatives of the region, who are often neglected and overlooked.

When the project closes at the end of the year, it is expected that 235 awardees will have received grants ranging in value from US$300 to US$3,000. In a year where earnings have fallen significantly across the region, monetary interventions of all sizes have been important.

Amina Blackwood Meeks, noted Jamaican storyteller, arts educator and author, won two grants.

“The grant has facilitated the partial documentation of my development as a storyteller and represents an important resource in my teaching materials as well as adding value to the promotion of my work,” she noted.

“That this platform and collaborative entities would choose to give creatives an opportunity, the encouragement and a small safe space in a corner of this new virtual world to challenge ourselves to continue to make art even/especially in this uncertain time of global reckoning, is a revolutionary act in itself,” commented Abeo Jackson, acting coach from Trinidad & Tobago.

It was more of the same sentiments for Richard-Viktor Sansily Cayol from Guadeloupe.

“I am convinced that we have a lot in common to share and innovative things to offer everyone, artists, critics and curators, in order to grow together and build a true community united around a strong and distinguished identity in the very hermetic and too elitist world art environment. Our cultures and resources are powerful, and inspire a great deal of cultural and economic activity without us being mentioned and valued. It is up to us to take charge of this problem ourselves through strong artistic initiatives. It is in this sense that I understood the full meaning of CATAPULT.”

Andrea Dempster Chung, executive director of Kingston Creative, noted that the CATAPULT project team has been thrilled to hear the response from the grantees.

“It was hard work to mobilise in such a short space of time across 34 countries, but the need is so great, and protecting our Caribbean artists and culture is so important that it was completely worth it. It is our hope that this programme is something that we will be able to replicate in the future.”