Dr. Terrence Farre & Activist Muhammad Muwakil on Demming Chronicles

Demming Chronicles chats with Dr. Terrence Farrell about the the concerns expressed about foreign exchange shortages in T&T and the fact that the Central Bank has over the past 6 years been injecting foreign exchange into the market. The conversation also took account of the black market, the Heritage and Stabilization Fund, the reserves and the possible concerns of foreign investors. Three takeaways from the conversation are that the country must adjust to suit the reduced income flows; the economy must be diversified away from the energy sector; and that the country needs deep transformation of key institutions including the transformation of our culture and attitudes.

At 17 minutes, the conversation moved from economics to the cultural sector and a chat with Activist Muhammad Muwakil. He commented on the need to insert creatives and artists into every project being considered for development in order to design welcoming, functional spaces. In contemplating what is need for performers to thrive, Muhammad commented on the need for more medium and small performance spaces which cater for the artists who have outgrown the 50 person performance space but are not ready for the 400 person spaces. He ends on the note that if the artists are vibrant then the imagination the country will be vibrant so we need to set the artist’s imagination on fire or all will be lost.