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To help finance theGarífuna Museum, Lucy sells traditional foods in the Garifuna Plaza. Tela, Honduras. Photo credit: Drew Irwin. |
My name is Máxima Thomas. I graduated from the Higher School with a degree in Social Sciences, and from the National School of Studio Art as a professor of Studio Art. My life's work is to promote the arts through permanent showings of painting and sculpture, and by developing projects to disseminate, preserve, and conserve Garífuna culture. Our work is designed to rescue and preserve Garífuna culture in its authentic form - without succumbing to folklore and forsaking its meaning because of lucrative pay.
The Museum's Mission
In 1996, we founded the Garífuna Museum. The primordial objective is to disseminate Garífuna culture and to offer cultural education and tourist services to those who visit our communities, interested in knowing more about Garífuna culture. We present them with information through exhibitions on the life, work, and transcendence of Garífuna culture since our arrival to Honduras. Also, we provide a few of the antecedents from the Garífuna's departure from St. Vincent. We are an educational resource for grade school, secondary, and university students, whose programs explore Garífuna culture but had no previous center for investigation.
Sustaining Local Artists and Producers
To support the Garífuna Museum, we have implemented a craft shop and a small art gallery, which sells paintings, on the first floor. We earn 10 to 20% from each sale, which sustains the museum and the entrance fees. The Museum also helps Garífuna painters and artists, who sell their work in the area, to make a name for themselves. There is an artisan exposition room so that Garífuna handicrafts can be seen, and so that the artisans can sell their products and get money to cover their daily expenses. There is also an expo-sale of paintings that we call the Art Gallery. However, it still does not meet all of the necessary conditions to preserve the paintings. The paintings are exposed to dust and need a more enclosed place so they don't deteriorate.
We are planning a Garífuna Plaza, where those people who make typical baked foods and pastries can bring their products to the Museum and market them. Before, there wasn't a place where you could come to sell and buy Garífuna products. We are satisfying these supply and demands. We also have a restaurant service, where you can sample traditional plates and learn about Garífuna gastronomy. With our food sales, we underwrite the project, "Garífuna Plaza." This makes our project more sustainable because of the sales commissions we earn. It is no much, really, because the prices of our products and handicrafts are not very high.