Tribe Sankofa, a local performing arts collective journeyed to Barbados on Friday, August 18 for the Carifesta XIII Symposium. The Symposium will be put on by the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill) in collaboration with Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, and will be hosted on the University campus. Carifesta XIII Symposium is part of the 13th staging of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (Carifesta).
The group will remount their acclaimed production Word Soul: The Lorna Goodison Edition, while
Artistic Director and founder Fabian Thomas will give a presentation entitled “Black Bodies: A
performance ritual for the dead and the living”, which addresses the concept of ‘ritual theatre’ vs.
‘ritual in theatre’ and the power of healing that can be derived through the performing arts. He
will be part of a panel with the theme: Indigenous Cultural Forms, Spirituality and Artistic
Expressions. Black Bodies is a collection of stories of four Jamaicans whose lives were cut short
due to human rights violations by police in Jamaica; this is juxtaposed against similar incidents in
the United States.
In mid-July, after an expected funding source was unable to assist the group, and not being
selected as part of Jamaica’s official contingent, they reduced the size of their group from twelve
to six and turned to crowd-funding, using the popular platform GoFundMe to raise the required
funds needed to make the trip. Individuals and local organizations also assisted in their
fundraising efforts.
The vision of Artistic Director Fabian Thomas, Tribe Sankofa was established in 2011. They
describe themselves as a performing arts collective with a vibrant and eclectic cadre of multitalented
performers, who combine their artistry to add an exciting new dimension to the
performing arts landscape. The group is unafraid to tackle issues pertaining to society’s ills;
rather they delve into the gritty underbelly and expose these issues with a view to bringing about
awareness and effecting change. They can be thought of as activists on stage.
The Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) is a roving multi-disciplinary art festival which has
been held in various CARICOM countries since its establishment in 1972. The Carifesta XIII
Symposium seeks to engender a keen exploration of the many, oftentimes multifaceted
dimensions of cultures of the Caribbean.
