Steelpan’s new pitch

TWO YEARS from now, the Minister of Culture – whoever this may be – will have to tell Parliament what the State has done to promote and develop the steelpan at the national, regional and international levels.

That is the sole mechanism of accountability in the legislation passed last month to etch into law the steelpan as this country’s national instrument.

The observance of World Steelpan Day on August 11 marked the first time pan was celebrated while imbued with this new status. The day has come and gone, but the question remains: will that status make a difference?

The many concerts and events put on this month by the State were promising signs. However, guaranteeing steelpan’s place in our future and maximising its potential should be about more than just a few annual fetes.

The National Musical Instrument Act 2024 is silent on specific ways in which national status will translate into change. Aside from the requirement of a ministerial report, there are no other notable details.

In contrast, an act of Parliament from 1986 gave Pan Trinbago responsibility to promote the development of the movement; to purchase, lease or acquire land; to advance the welfare of steelband members and to encourage research.

The Trinidad and Tobago National Steel Orchestra Act 1999 regulates that entity, including its finances.

A symbolic gesture alone, powerful as it is, cannot replace measures to encourage even more manufacturing, research and appreciation.

Nor can it address the needs of the thousands of steelband members who keep the instrument alive each year, as well as the issue of reliance on tenuous corporate sponsorship.

We are asking more of pan. Officials wish to use it as a crime-fighting tool. There is also the implied hope, given the instrument’s formal fusion, now, with TT as a location, that it can bolster tourism.

For all of this to happen, and for us to take advantage of the global recognition given by the UN in 2023, there needs to be sustained effort, energy and enthusiasm. The steelpan must become part of a modernised vision.

We need more policies, more fiscal incentives to bolster production and technological advance in manufacturing, more funding of music festivals. We need more awareness of the instrument, through inclusion in more and more schools and global marketing efforts.

A permanent home for Pan Trinbago is outstanding; it is engaged, disappointingly, in a controversial leasing arrangement. The National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain, inspired by the Chaconia flower, is also no replacement of the monument and museum long clamoured for.

Steelpan is unique. Its history is unique. Its sound is unique.

To do the national instrument justice requires a unique effort, too.