Cultural Development

The Cultural Development Department is headed by the Chief Cultural Officer who oversees a staff of 8 Cultural Officers assigned in the following areas:

– Dance
– Film/Video
– Literary Arts
– Music
– Theatre Arts
– Visual Arts

– Curator-Queens Park Gallery
– Research/Documentation

And four (4) other support staff in Administration and at the Gallery.

Chief Cultural Officer – Andrea Wells

The main functions of the department are:

• Carrying out the cultural development policies and programmes of the Foundation.
• Conceptualisation and preparation of programme proposals and budgets.
• Identification and mobilisation of technical resources in such a way as to enable the Foundation to implement its cultural development policy.
• Organisation of training programmes for individuals and groups in the various disciplines of the Arts.
• Organisation of educational programmes pertaining to the cultural heritage of Barbados for individuals and groups.
• Carrying out research and compiling data on the cultural heritage of Barbados.
• Assisting in the organisation of national festivals.
• Producing the annual NIFCA-the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts.
• Liaising with various governmental and non-governmental departments in the facilitation of cultural development in Barbados.

Chief Cultural Officer

The Chief Cultural Officer has responsibility for:

• Overseeing the administration of the department’s programming and exhibition goals.
• Serving as the NCF’s representative to several cultural committees, most notably the Barbados National Committee of International Council of Museums.
• Forging links between the Operations department and other departments within the NCF and Government.
• Supervising the staff of the Cultural Development Department of the NCF.

The objectives of the Cultural Development Department are:

• To develop a cultural awareness and national identity among Barbadians
• To train our artists to recognise, strive for and achieve standards of excellence
• To identify persons ‘at risk’ of becoming involved in socially and culturally desirable activities
• To expand and enrich the creative framework for artistes to maximise their creative and business potential.