When a Category 5 hurricane hits Jamaica it doesn’t only topple trees and cause the devastation we are so familiar with seeing on our phones and TV screens. It also silences the street dances, cancels concerts, stops the artisan markets, damages the film-maker’s equipment, and floods the potter’s studio.

It essentially halts creative economy activities, putting artistes and cultural practitioners’ livelihoods at risk and diverting funds from cultural investment towards basic recovery efforts. In the long-term, repeated climate change disasters can destroy our cultural heritage.

Over the past week I was stuck in Miami, Florida, as the airports closed while I was in transit to Jamaica from Jakarta, Indonesia, where the Global Creative Economy Council (GCEC) was convening as well as meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and Friends of the Creative Economy — founders of the World Conference on Creative Economy. This region is the third largest in the world behind India and China, with the fifth largest economy and boasting a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$3.8 trillion in 2023.

ASEAN is also significant for its trade in creative goods at an annual growth rate of 11 per cent, and its creative industries account for 7.1 per cent of GDP, with 3.2 billion in creative services and employing 7.2 million individuals. As we discussed progressive creative economy framework being launched in the ASEAN region, halfway across the globe climate change loomed again as an ever-present threat to the Caribbean’s small island developing states (SIDS).

In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa I’ve spoken to my colleagues at the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) about practical measures taken across the world to support creatives in crisis and how these lessons could be applied to our own artistes, designers, film-makers, and musicians who are sitting in the dark — literally and figuratively — without power, water, or Internet.

Here in Jamaica preliminary reports show that homes have been lost, instruments have been damaged, gigs have been cancelled, and incomes have disappeared overnight. These are the people who shape our culture, tell our stories, and carry our collective memory. And yet, when disaster strikes, the creative sector is often invisible in the immediate relief planning and the longer-term national recovery planning.

A Region That Feels the Brunt, but Creates the Least Harm

The real irony here is that Jamaica emits roughly 8.8 million metric tons of CO₂ per year. In comparison, global emissions exceed 50 billion tons annually, which means Jamaica’s contribution is essentially negligible. But despite its tiny carbon footprint, Jamaica, like other Caribbean and small island states, faces some of the most severe impact of climate change, including stronger and more frequent hurricanes; rising sea levels; drought; flash flooding; and the resultant damage to tourism, agriculture, coastal communities, and the creative economy. Jamaica is suffering disproportionate consequences for a climate crisis it did not cause.

Jamaica also contributes disproportionately to global culture — in a positive way. This tiny island nation has given the world reggae, dancehall, ska, mento, dub, and a rich literary and visual arts tradition that continues to influence music, fashion, film, and literature worldwide. Our cultural practitioners not only define Jamaica’s powerful identity but also shape global cultural trends, making the protection of creative livelihoods in this country of 2.8 million people both a matter of local survival and an imperative for global cultural preservation.

Artistes in Jamaica just don’t have the safety nets that other professions enjoy. After the passage of Hurricane Melissa there is no desk job to return to, no paid leave, and no guaranteed income. Most rely heavily on access to equipment, digital connectivity, imported materials of production, the presence of tourists, and physical space to earn a living. Their local customers have likely also suffered damage and, therefore, have less purchasing power to acquire creative goods and services. When hurricanes destroy these foundations, creative livelihoods in a fragile ecosystem vanish instantly.

If COVID-19 taught us anything, it is that the impact of the hurricane on artistes will unfold in waves. In the first days and weeks, work stops altogether. With no power, no water, no Internet, no venues, no audiences, there can be no earning. In the following months the savings slowly deplete, materials and tools can’t always be replaced, and grass-roots artistes, who often are breadwinners for their families, start to face food insecurity. Many will simply give up and find a different way to earn income. We lose not only jobs and their contribution to the creative economy, but artistic voices and cultural traditions. We lose the music that heals us and brings us joy, the paintings that tell our stories, and the poetry and theatrical performances that remind us of who we are as a people.

The Case for a Creative Resilience Programme

It’s time to treat culture as critical infrastructure in Jamaica, not a luxury, not a nice-to-have, but a necessity for national recovery, global nation-branding, and community well-being. That’s why Kingston Creative is calling for a Caribbean Artist Resilience Effort (CARE) — a regional model that can be used across the Caribbean, designed to protect creative livelihoods in times of crisis.

The concept is simple. First, create a national Creative Resilience Fund that provides short-term financial support and long-term resilience training for the artistes most affected by the disaster. Drawing inspiration from the recently announced Irish Basic Income for the Arts, this fund would offer modest monthly stipends to critically affected artistes over a four-to-six-month period, allowing creatives to feed their families with dignity and rebuild their work and their lives. Locally, our 501 (c) 3 partner, the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ), would be critical in helping to raise these funds for creatives from the Diaspora and funnelling them to Jamaica for distribution. Donations could be made via the AFJ Disaster Relief Fund and ring-fenced for creatives by typing the words “Creative Resilience Fund” in the “Additional Information” box.

The CARE initiative would also give artistes free access to shared workspaces at the Kingston Creative Hub; studios and rehearsal spaces with reliable power and Internet; as well as mental health support sessions; training in disaster preparedness; and an equipment grant to replace tools, costumes, and instruments lost in storms. We are not alone in this predicament, so a regional approach is needed.

Art as Healing and Recovery

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, USA, in 2005, researchers found that communities that participated in arts activities were better able to rebuild, reconnect, and recover emotionally. Murals became symbols of strength. Music helped communities process grief and find hope. We can take that same lesson here in Jamaica so that creative expression is not an afterthought, but is intentionally used as a form of recovery and healing for the nation and the worst-affected regions of the country.

To raise funds and awareness, leading entertainment companies are planning to come together to host a benefit concert, which we hope will be widely supported. This event would bring together Caribbean artistes and musicians to mobilise global funds for those most affected by Hurricane Melissa while celebrating the resilience that defines our island.

Climate Justice in Action

Let’s be clear, these storms will not stop. They will certainly intensify. And unless we act by putting a cultural safety net in place, each one will wash away a little more of the unique cultural identity of our island nations. We have to start having honest conversations about climate change, take bold steps to protect our culture, and build our capacity to survive what’s coming.

Governments, multilaterals, international partners, and private sector companies have an opportunity (and indeed a responsibility) to ensure that creative communities in small island developing states are not left behind in climate recovery. Artistes deserve to be seen as essential workers in the rebuilding process — carriers of hope, identity, and social cohesion. The Caribbean’s culture is one of its greatest renewable resources. It sustains us spiritually and economically. Protecting our creative economy is not optional; it is climate justice in action.

If we want to preserve the rhythm and resilience of our region, we must start by protecting the artistes, the people who give it its voice.

Andrea Dempster Chung is co-founder of Kingston Creative.

Hurricane Melissa also silenced creatives and their economic activities.