Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Boris Gardiner (left) and a member of the Mighty Diamonds perform at the JAVAA 'Tribute to Bob Marley and Dennis Brown' at Oakton Park, Half-Way Tree, on Friday, February 9. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

Hype, glitter, glam, sex and dancehall sells in Jamaica. Like sharks sniffing out a fresh kill, corporate Jamaica is drawn to the contemporary - which often equals young, dancehall and non-serious material.

On a flyer, billboard or press release for huge events such as Sting and Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest, as well as the regular all-inclusive parties, the list of sponsors seems to compete for space on a well- decorated and advertised promotion.

With these events often having an extensive list of major sponsors such as Digicel, Red Stripe, Cable and Wireless and Appleton, it seems hard to believe that there are still events which are fighting tooth and nail to get funding. Unlike the regular entertainment events, these are of a more 'serious' nature - those events which stay far away from the hype and excitement.

Sponsorship

Lord Laro (left) receives his award from Kingsley Goodison at the 2006 'Tribute to the Greats', held at Curphey Place, Swallowfield. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

According to Marie Francis, communications consultant and former executive member of the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA), it is always difficult to find sponsorship for less 'hype' events. Francis assists in putting on private events, fund-raisers for the Foundation for International Self Help Development (FISH) Medical Clinic and JAVVA. In all cases, she attests that finding sponsorship is near to impossible. "I think the lack of sponsorship is due to the kind of show I'm usually involved in, whether it be JAVVA or otherwise. It's not the usual Sumfest, Sting, East Fest, where you have a slew of artistes, whether it be dancehall or mixed. For the most part, these events have mostly vintage artistes with a contemporary artiste thrown in," she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Francis believes that corporate Jamaica may not see these types of events as drawing a crowd so that their products can reach a mass market. However, the lack of sponsorship for these events limits what they can do in the first place and often results in a minimum if any promotion at all. Francis cites the example of 'JAVAA Jammin', which the organisation has tried to make into a bigger event, but the sponsorship simply isn't there. Another example is the 'JAVAA Road Show', which was meant to be an annual event, but was only staged once due to lack of sponsorship.

"I think for the main part, corporate Jamaica is interested in contemporary stuff which attracts numbers, which is debatable. I've seen vintage shows draw more or sometimes the same as contemporary shows," Francis said.

Another show that is left out in the cold is 'Tribute to the Greats', an annual event at which unsung heroes of the music industry are honoured. However, according to Kingsley Goodison, CEO of 'Tribute to the Greats', getting sponsorship is one of the most difficult and tiring elements of producing the show.

Cultural and uplifting events

The cast of 'A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and a Prayer: Readings on Violence Against Women' on stage at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts , UWI, Mona, after its one-off showing in mid-September. - Contributed

He says "cultural and uplifting events don't see sponsors paying them any attention. They are considered old people show; dem don't have use for old people. They don't even pay us the common courtesy or decency to reply. Is a teenage business; they only pay attention to the dancehall business". Despite this, 'Tribute to the Greats' is forging on honouring persons such as Strange Jah Cole, Derrick Morgan, Bob Andy, David Madden, Bunny Wailer, Marcia Griffiths, Merritone Music, Sonia Pottinger and Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, among many others.

Vintage shows aren't the only ones left out in the cold. Shows of serious and often moving content also feel the burden of lack of sponsorship. This was the case for 'A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and a Prayer: Readings on Violence Against Women' which was held at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, UWI, Mona campus, on September 16. The production was a series of readings from a book of the same name that was looking at violence and women.

Director, coordinator and producer of 'A Memory, A Monologue', Fabian Thomas, told The Sunday Gleaner that sadly the show had no sponsors on-board. "I think because it was a one-off show we didn't really get any sponsorship. Sponsorship for the arts is really lacking. People throw millions at sports, but not arts. I'm committed to one-off shows that are issue related. It would be nice to get solid sponsorship on a issue show," Thomas said.

However, that will not deter him from trying again, as after opening to rave reviews 'A Memory, A Monologue' will be shown at the Fairfield Theatre in Montego Bay on November 25. This time around Thomas hopes that the show would have got sufficient attention and considered mainstream enough to garner sponsorship.

With dancehall as the baby of the corporate world, other events are left to mature, fade or grow on their own.