In early March 2020, The Gambia Government declared a State of Health Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit The Gambia just as it has hit the rest of the World. Like for all other sectors the culture and creative industry has not been spared by this ravaging viral disease.
Therefore, the culture and creative stakeholders and authorities are using online platforms, in the face of COVID-19 restrictions and the regulatory measures. It is in light of this that Gambian artists and stakeholders in the culture and creative industries formed the Resiliart movement to ascertain and tackle the impact of COVID-19 in the industries, at the end of every month during this pandemic.
Resiliart is a UNESCO online effort to foster dialogue among Gambian artists, arts administrators and policy makers, and also UNESCO itself to assess and chart the way forward during and after COVID-19. The Gambia is the first country in Africa to do this online discussion.
The first online meeting, held on May 7th was hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture through the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) with the support of the UNESCO office in Dakar.
The two-day teleconference availed the NCAC the opportunity to use UNESCO Resiliart platform to continue to create hope and resilience among artists through online discussion from the safety of their homes. The meeting enabled Gambian artists’ voice to be heard on the impact of the pandemic on the arts, and it is envisaged that it will clear the way for a roadmap for an intervention by government, UNESCO and other partners, to support the arts and the culture sector, as part of COVID-19 social response.
Speaking during the online debate, Baaba Sillah, a Gambia leading novelist, acknowledged that COVID-19 has impeded their lives and livelihood on a very unprecedented and massive scale, to the extent that its full impact is yet to be fully assessed.
As a writer, he revealed, most of his books are bought by tourists who come to this country. “I presume it is the same thing that has happened to all the other writers,” he noted. Therefore, he said, the economic impact is severe and demoralising for them as people.
Rohey Camara, an award-winning actress and a producer, conceded that COVID-19 has affected her daily routine as an actress. She said the only way she manages is by doing movies to earn a living but the impact of the COVID-19. She called on the television stations and sponsors to support them launch their movies live on TV so that people can watch them at home. With this, she said, they can have something to survive on.
Jerry Jallow, aka Jizzle, a young Gambia rapper, affirmed that COVID-19 has ruined a lot for some of them; especially with regard to their shows and other activities. According to him, he was on a countrywide tour before the news of COVID-19 broke out in the country. Though, he said they have been in most of the venues they are supposed to be yet they were left with Brikama, and Manjai which were among the major areas where he was looking up to, because he got so much love from them.
Jallow also disclosed that they were supposed to go on a European tour and that they are losing a lot of money that they had invested.
Sheikh Tijan Secka, manager STS Productions, said this situation has taught him something and that is, there are certain avenues and platforms that they could make money as creators; especially on online platforms. He cited YouTube as an example. “I think this is an area where the government could intervene to find a way for content creators or YouTube account holders to be able to gain revenue from their content,” he suggested.
Hassoum Ceesay, Director of National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC), thanked Gambian artists for their contribution to the Resiliart Debate, assuring that the dialogue will continue so that our artists will not lose out, and will come out of this pandemic stronger. He commended UNESCO Dakar Office for their support and funding.
The teleconference featured Rohey Camara, an award-winning actress and producer; Baaba Silah, writer; Baboucarr Cham, cultural promoter, radio personality and manager; Lamin Jarju, UNESCO NATCOM; Jerry Jallow aka Jizzle, a young Gambia rapper; and Sheikh Tijan Secka, Manager STS Multimedia Productions; Hassoum Ceesay, Director General, NCAC, and Ndey Fatou Jabang, dancer and manager of Flexfusion Dance Troupe.
