Mentoring by the Masters – Programme Overview

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Programme Overview

Mrs. Ingrid Ryan-Ruben

Director of Culture

They often say that three times’ a charm and the Mentoring by the Masters Programme maintains our goal of providing the possibility for knowledge transfer to occur as an exchange of ideas and advice between accomplished and upcoming persons within the Creative and Cultural Sector.

In vetting the selection process and nominating Mentors, we chose to continue to call upon the expertise of the Assessment Committee for the National Registry of Artists and Cultural Workers, with members from the following agencies:

  • Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts
  • National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago
  • University of the West Indies
  • University of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association
  • Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO
  • Division of Community Development and Culture, in the Tobago House of Assembly
  • FilmTT
  • MusicTT

These stakeholder representatives are entrusted with executing the work of the National Registry of Artists and Cultural Workers which leads the Mentoring by the Masters Programme.

We also saw it necessary to continue to focus on the core areas of work of the Culture Division of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, that are:

  • Heritage Preservation
  • Festival Development
  • Development of the Cultural Industries
  • Development of the Competencies in the Visual, Literary and Performing Arts
  • Performing Arts Companies

A series of workshops were held allowing five (5) accomplished artists and cultural workers to mentor developing practitioners in their respective fields for eighty (80) contact hours over a three month period. This award ceremony serves to respectfully acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the following mentors:

  • Albert Laveau: Developmental Theatre (Performing Arts Companies)
  • Narcenio Gomez: Wire Bending and Carnival Arts (Heritage Preservation)
  • Paul Keens-Douglas: Story Telling and Oratory Traditions (Heritage Preservation)
  • trinidad + tobago film festival: Festival Development
  • Winsford Devine: Song Writing, Music Composition and Arrangement (Development of the Competencies in the Visual, Literary and Performing Arts)

Our mentors were charged with the task of developing their own training schedules and courses, attuned to their own teaching and delivering styles with the support of facilitators where it was deemed applicable. This allowed for participants to not only be taught by their requisite Mentor, but also meet, interact and even network with industry professionals and artists alike.  We continue to have a high application response and over one hundred (100) individuals were able to participate in the programme.

It is significant to note that we at the Culture Division understand the interconnectivity of our projects and how they enable us to work on fostering an appreciation and interest in the Creative and Cultural Sector as a career. The Mentoring by the Masters Programme is but one key initiative in our slate of activities geared towards developing and empowering the creative citizenry of Trinidad and Tobago.