THE fourth issue of The Arts Journal had its media launch last Thursday at an event that ironically saw most of the media houses absent.

Representatives from a total of three media houses turned up at the simple launch held at the Rupununi Room of the Tower Hotel, although every media house was invited.

Commenting on the rationale of having a media launch, Secretary to the Arts Forum Incorporated – the group which publishes the Journal – Ameena Gafoor, stated that the media plays a powerful role in shaping and influencing public opinion; with the Arts having taken a back seat within the public sphere, the Forum thought that the media could play a more active role in bringing them to the fore.

Gafoor, the founding editor of the Journal, stated that Guyana has not only a vibrant tradition of fiction, but also an invaluable artistic heritage which needs greater recognition.

The Journal was envisioned as a vehicle which offers critical perspectives to contemporary literature, art and culture of Guyana and the Caribbean, and the first issue – focusing on the Indian presence in the artistic and cultural life of the region – came out in 2004. The publication of the peer-reviewed critical journal is also intended to encourage a high standard of scholarship in reference to these issues.

Gafoor stated that the successes of the Journal, with subscriptions being held by a number of libraries and private collections in the region and further. The journal is printed in a limited edition but, however, what is important is that it reaches out to a target audience of students, researchers and scholars, locally and internationally, the founding editor Gafoor noted.

Subscriptions for the journal come from the main libraries of universities as well as a number of public libraries and private collections in Guyana, the West Indies, Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, while a few copies have reached Australia and India. The previous issue was funded by UNESCO, while the cost for the printing of the current issue was covered by a grant from the IDB.

According to Gafoor, the journal is committed to writing that is lucid and free of linguistic jargon so much so that its accessible language has broadened its appeal to a general readership.

“Guest-edited by Dr. Gemma Robinson, the fourth issue,” stated a release from the Arts Forum, “contains creative pieces by Wilson Harris, Fred D’aguiar, Vahni Capildeo and David Dabydeen, and highlights well-researched enquiry into areas such as Publishing, the emergence of a literary voice in the region by the Guest-editor, art, film and photography, among other important but little-known areas of scholarship. The cover of this issue features the work of Guyanese artist George Simon while the art of Aubrey Williams is discussed from a scholarly and fresh perspective by Dr. Leon Wainwright.”