PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Foresee Foundation is honored to announce that its beloved, Sint Maarten-born Soualichi Stories series has received breakthrough funding from the Prins Bernard Culture Funds Caribbean (PBCF).
This grant from the PBCF will allow Soualichi Stories to take an exponential leap forward in its continued efforts to preserve our Sint Maarten heritage through the art of Caribbean storytelling. While the project has premiered to the island a traditional folktale each week, broadcasting almost 30 times per week through 8 different local radio stations, the PBCF funding will catapult the effort from audio to include video representation as well, and also pedagogic components.
The series began several months ago as an audio-only series, at a time when the island entered into its vital lockdown phase. The series has provided precisely what the community needed in order to remember and reconnect with the essence of its rich culture and Caribbean roots. During the initial onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Soualichi Stories provided a welcomed respite from the daily news and the constant political focus that dominated our radio airwaves. Soualichi storytellers have allowed many to reflect on the traditions and lessons of our ancestors – the good old days and the good old ways.
The next phase of the Soualichi Stories, funded by the PBCF, will take all these poignant tales and add the vital element of visual design – since individuals learn in different capacities, Soualichi Stories will expand its reach further now into our community. The goal is to create a rich and colorful environment that will enhance these stories in a bold and expansive new way.
The Prince Bernhard Culture Fund Caribbean is a private, independent foundation that focuses in the fields of history, literature, visual arts, music, dance, theater, arts and culture education, monument conservation and nature conservation on Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. It grants subsidies in order to preserve the culture and nature on all six islands as a whole, as well as to further to develop and stimulate them.
This next phase will be one of the most creatively challenging endeavors that the Foresee Foundation has undertaken. Foresee Foundation is attempting to capture visually the mood and the enchanting qualities that the stories established in their audible renditions by adding layers of color, movement and style, in the hope of captivating the audience with these stories once again.
Soualichi story number 7 premiered this past Monday and is titled, “Anansi and the common sense.” We encourage anyone who has been touched by the Soualichi Stories to stay connected to the Foresee Foundation via their facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/foreseefoundation/) and / or their website (https://www.foreseefoundation.com/project/soualichi-stories/) as we attempt to take “we stories” to another level.
