Jamaica’s presence on the world stage is massive in comparison to our size and a large part of that is directly related to our culture. More specifically, it is related to the parts of our culture that exist in the creative realms.

Of all our cultural and creative forms, it is the music that has most powerfully taken the reins of the world’s imagination and just won’t let it go. Jamaican music has given us a cultural credibility and power that is immeasurable. In the words of Tony Rebel, “A nuh political act a nuh di coke and nuh crack. A reggae put Jamaica pon top. Of course, it’s not just reggae, it’s dancehall, ska, mento and if we venture out beyond the creative arts, we could add athletics and sports. More importantly, we need to capitalise on this and extend the global impact of Jamaican music to benefit all of the cultural and creative industries in Jamaica.

It is time for a re-imagining of this industry and how the players in it see themselves. A country the size of a dot on the physical map, but the size of a mountain on the cultural map cannot operate in silos. The teams of people working towards a robust and sustainable cultural and creative industry that helps Jamaica prosper must be sharing information and a vision and having conversations and collaborations amongst themselves. This is not just common sense, it’s beneficial for all concerned.

Win-win is a real thing. We are really all in the same boat.

Truthfully, all the elements of our culture that make Jamaican music what it is from the language to the rhythms we have retained from ancestors; the very creative energies passed down and carried in our bodies; to the melodies and lyrical genius held over from our proverbs, sayings and stories, are repositories in the music. So “Give us vision lest we perish.” All of it can be part of the successful flow to a vibrant Jamaican cultural and creative industry which houses a powerful, pioneering music industry. No doubt our music industry is the vanguard, showing us what is possible, but now we need to go many steps further and capitalise on it, not just for music, but also for dance, theatre, film, visual arts and festival arts.

All our creatives must work together and make bridges to each other and to the world. As high-end players in this orange economy, which is arguably the largest growing sector in the world, we have the potential to see our cultural resources being actualised for the benefit of the Jamaican people. Jamaica is a culturally sophisticated country that is ‘cultured within its own culture,’ as the late great Professor Rex Nettleford was fond of saying. We must awaken to this cultural sophistication and chart the world map with recognition and evidence of this sophistication. We do this by owning all of our culture and investing in it. An important part of this ownership is recognition of the value of the integration of the arts within our culture. That is why our dancers can so easily become singers, singjays and deejays. That is why our traditional and folk forms like kumina, dinki mini, brukins, ettu, as well as spiritual forms like Revival, have song, dance, ritual and dramatic elements all wrapped up in one. To take that blessing of integration even further, we can acknowledge that singing in patois or nation language owes tributes to our foremost lady of the theatre and poet, Louise Bennett Coverley (Miss Lou). The drum patterns and philosophical leanings of reggae owe tributes to Rastafari, kumina and other forms. Let us pay these tributes forward so we all benefit. One hand can slap but it can’t clap.

As much as Jamaican music ‘slap weh’ and taking it to the world even now, so much greater is possible. We must spend some time and energy investing in this greater possibility, not just with lip service but also some action. With that said, I am pleased to have been one of the panelists at the recently held Jamaica Creatives Expo at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. It was put on by the newly minted Jamaica Creatives, headed by director Marisa Benain. The event was successful at putting creatives from across the spectrum of the cultural and creative industries into one room, having conversations and networking, while fielding questions from young people interested in the industry. This, however, is only a beginning. I am grateful that in her address at the event, Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange asked an all important question: “What does it take to fulfil on Jamaica’s potential as a cultural powerhouse?”

What it takes is that ownership and investment, on the part of all stakeholders. The truth is that Jamaica has always known what its greatest resource is. It is our culture and creativity. Until we fully invest in it however, we are at a risk of losing the great wealth that is there to improve the well-being of our people. What it takes is investigation into how the music that has been successful in its own right to this point, can tag theatre, dance and film. Recently, one of the most successful Netflix films, The Harder They Fall, starring Idris Elba got massive accolades especially because of how it utilised Jamaican music especially from Koffee and Barrington Levy. These kinds of partnerships, collaborations and investments must come from within our own creative and cultural spaces here in Jamaica as well paying it forward to film, dance and theatre.

I recently had a conversation with my fellow theatre practitioner Dahlia Harris about the concept of Reggae Theatre which would sit so well within the context of who we are and help us to define a contemporary theatre ethos. For me, the Reggae Theatre falls in line with musical theatre. I firmly believe that the canon of musical works which have been created and performed over these many decades should be fully owned and re-imagined into theatrical frames. The stories they already tell can be repackaged as part of our Jamaican story to support the growing orange economy. A musical about the life of Bob Marley is currently playing on London’s West End, exactly where a musical about the life of Usain Bolt and Marcus Garvey should be playing. Let us also not forget that Disney’s most successful Broadway musical, The Lion King, was choreographed by Jamaican Garth Fagan. Dahlia Harris sees Reggae Theatre as also including theatre productions that are not musicals but have a reggae aesthetic in the same way Hip Hop Theatre flows from the American hip hop genre.

So much is possible, if we investigate, collaborate and invest in the cultural and creative industry, using workable solutions from the successes of the music industry. Of course, we must avoid some of the pitfalls of said music industry, but that is for another article. What is important now is recognition of the potential and finding ways of charting a map that sees the interconnectedness of all of who we are in the cultural and creative industries in Jamaica.

Michael Holgate has spent over twenty years exploring the world of theatre, dance, music, film, and writing. He holds a BA (English) and an MPhil (Cultural Studies) from The University of the West Indies. He is currently the Head of the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at The University of the West Indies, as well as external examiner at the Edna Manley College where he taught Caribbean Folk and Traditional Dance. An Edutainment Theatre specialist, Holgate has facilitated numerous workshops through the Caribbean on behalf of USAID, US Peace Corps, UNICEF and other international organisations. Michael is a prolific creative artist and consistently produces works in multiple disciplines. Holgate is the Artistic Director of the Ashe Company, a civil society organisation based in the performing arts.