The Walcott Collection

Ti-Jean Productions Limited & The Derek Walcott Festival presents:

THE WALCOTT COLLECTION

OPENING RECEPTION:

Date: Thursday 4th April, 2019

Time: 7pm - 9pm

Venue: Medulla Art Gallery

Address: #37 Fitt Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

R.S.V.P:  1(868)680-1041, 1(868)622-1196, or [email protected]

Closing date: Thursday 18th April, 2019

Gallery hours: Mon-Fri  10am-6pm, Sat 11am-2pm

Please see schedule below for ancillary events:

WRITING WORKSHOPS - *Registration required

Featuring: Ishion Hutchinson and Kate Snodgrass

Date: Saturday 6th April, 2019

Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Venue: Medulla Art Gallery

Address: #37 Fitt Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

Contact:  [email protected] or

Cost: $250 (early bird special); $500 (includes lunch)

*Register at Paperbased Book Shop

The Market at The Normandie

10 Nook Avenue, St. Ann's

Port of Spain

1(868)6253197

WALCOTT'S WAY: POETRY, PAINTING, PLAYS

Panel Discussion: Featuring Jackie Hinkson, Ishion Hutchinson, Kate Snodgrass, Wendell Manwarren, and moderated by Sean Hinkson

Date: Saturday 6th April, 2019

Time: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Venue: Medulla Art Gallery

Address: #37 Fitt Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

R.S.V.P:  1(868)680-1041, 1(868)622-1196, or [email protected]

BIOGRAPHY:

Derek Walcott (1930-2017). Walcott lived in Trinidad for over 20 years and remained dedicated to developing the arts in the Caribbean. One of his earliest plays, ‘Drums and Colours’ (1960) examined the West Indian Federation. Another production, ‘Steel’(2005), was inspired by the founding of the steel pan movement, and his last published book of poetry, ‘Morning, Paramin’(2016) again emphasized his profound admiration for Trinidad and Tobago. 

We are honored to celebrate his work in Port of Spain, the city he saw as culturally diverse and profoundly innovative, an Athens of the Caribbean:

"This is Port of Spain to me, a city ideal in its commercial and human proportions, where a citizen is a walker and not a pedestrian, and this is how Athens may have been before it became a cultural echo."

 (The Antilles: Fragments of Epic Memory, Nobel Lecture, December 7th, 1992).

As a young boy, Walcott would spend the holidays at a family home in the St Lucian countryside where on evenings family and friends would gather to tell folk tales. This left an indelible impression on the young poet/playwright. ‘Ti Jean and His Brothers’, written for his son, Peter, in 1958, is inspired by a West Indian folktale about three brothers who attempt to outsmart the Devil. The musical explores integral leitmotifs of colonialism, morality, corruption and creative authority.

A prolific artist, of Walcott’s approximately 30 plays, the best-known are ‘Dream on Monkey Mountain’ (produced 1967), a West Indian’s quest to claim his identity and his heritage; ‘Pantomime’ (1978), an exploration of colonial relationships through the Robinson Crusoe story. ‘The Odyssey: A Stage Version’ appeared in 1993 (staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company) and ‘Ti-Jean and His Brothers’.

Walcott has gained numerous awards over the years, including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (USA, 1981), Trinity Cross (Trinidad, 1993), The Queen's Medal for Poetry (England, 1986), and the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry Lifetime Award (Canada, 2015). There have been several tributes and memorials, over the past two years - including Nobel Laureate Week in St Lucia,  in New York at the 92nd Street Y, The University of Alcala in Spain and the British Library in London. We are honored to continue this in Trinidad and Tobago.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

FIRST CITIZENS

THE AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION

SHELL

THE KAPOK HOTEL

THE FRENCH EMBASSY

MEDULLA ART GALLERY

BIG BLACK BOX

PRESTIGE HOLDINGS

Many thanks to our Management Committee:

Colvin Chen, Sean Hinkson, Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts, Geoffrey MacLean, Martin Mouttet, Yvonne Webber, Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, Anna Walcott-Hardy.

Image: "Ti-Jean & Fireflies" watercolour & pen, 12" x 18"

Copyright: Derek Walcott Estate

Photography: Mark Hardy

Graphic Design: Agyei Archer

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/562900070863454/

Official Facebook Page: Derek Alton Walcott: https://www.facebook.com/officialderekwalcott/