A Music Walk of Fame for Port of Spain excited people and drew a large public response. The idea germinated from the October 31, 2019 declaration of the capital as a Unesco City of Music, a part of the wider creative cities network.
The walk of fame was among other initiatives developed by a team led by sociologist, development consultant and former TV presenter Carla Foderingham.
Some of these initiatives are still ongoing.
Not only was the project affected by the covid19 pandemic which began in 2020 but the designation was not associated with access to a fund or monetary allocation.
“All work to date is the result of grant funding and voluntary work still ongoing,” Foderingham said in e-mailed responses to Newsday. The initial project had a four-year plan from 2019-2023.
Some of the other initiatives included music zones, a Carnival Museum and cultural exchanges. The Carnival Museum today exists at 81 Charlotte Street, Port of Spain.
There have been exchanges with the cities of Jinju, South Korea in 2022; Metz, France in 2023; Lliria, Spain in 2024; and Ulyanovsk, Russia in 2024.
The music of Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument played for the first time in the cities of Jinju and Metz, and information on TT culture was shared widely with creatives and policymakers with Pan Trinbago providing support to the exchanges, Foderingham said.
She assured the city was not in danger of losing the designation despite the pandemic setback and the lack of funding.
[caption id="attachment_1151401" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The North West Laventille Cultural Movement performs at the opening of the Highlanders Pan Theatre in Laventille in 2023. Panyards are seen as being central to the development of the music zones where nationals and visitors can enjoy live indigenous music beyond Carnival and cultural and religious festivals, says Carla Foderingham. - File photo by Jeff Mayers[/caption]
She suggested speaking with Port of Spain mayor Chinua Alleyne about the walk of fame but Newsday was unable to reach him.
But the work done so far has grown fruit.
The city of Wuxi, China, is currently in talks with Port of Spain’s creative city personnel to develop their Creative City of Music application and Port of Spain networked with the creative cities Latin American Music sub network to develop a two-year implementation plan to promote the region’s music and creatives, Foderingham said.
She hopes these developments could lead to TT entering a bid to host the annual Creative City conference in Port of Spain in 2027.
[caption id="attachment_1151400" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Zuri Griffith, Shercyah Goodridge and Makena McMillan play the tamboo bamboo at the Carnival Museum, Duke and Charlotte Streets, Port of Spain, on July 25, 2024. The Music Walk of Fame will address information gaps on the icons and innovators of TT's cultural traditions including the tamboo bamboo, calypso and pan. - File photo by Faith Ayoung[/caption]
Other deliverables Foderingham and the team want to accomplish in
