After an intensive week of artistic awakening workshops in several schools, the adrenaline gave way to total disappointment for those responsible for this multidisciplinary initiative dedicated to the youth of Saint Martin due to a dubious organization on the part of the services of the Community concerning the restitution day scheduled for last Friday morning.
This restitution day was an opportunity for the ARIANA association, the partner artists and the children involved in the MIX'ART program to celebrate a week of art rich in emotions and the transmission of knowledge. Initially scheduled for schoolchildren on Friday at 10 a.m. in the sports hall of the Vanterpool stadium, the event was moved to the Marigot seafront at the last minute, leaving little maneuvering on the logistics to be put in place for a such gathering. It was to host an exhibition of the 35 street art canvases produced by the students who followed the workshops led by an artist, whether ESPA, MASH or Hajar Masbah who came specially from Paris. Not to mention the children's concert for children who have followed the musical workshops of four professional musicians for a classical musical journey around the opera with Mozart's Magic Flute. But it is finally on the parking lot of Galisbay that the representation was improvised. The weather conditions were not on the side of the organizers either with strong peaks of wind. If the ARIANA association, after months of work, had succeeded in setting up a week of cultural openness with the MIX'ART program centered on music, opera and the plastic arts targeting 500 young people thanks to workshops in schools, the day of restitution was hardly up to the level of wonder aroused by these four artistic days. The 500 children arrived by bus around 9 a.m., in a parking lot in full sun. The stage was only roughly set up and no street art canvases were on display. In short, nothing was ready. Catherine Proust, director of the ARIANA association, did not hide her deep disappointment, shared by the vice-rector Michel Sanz. After 1h30 late, the concert was finally able to begin with an interpretation of Mozart's Magic Flute with the children and the musicians. The quartet remained on stage to play several other pieces including the hymn of Saint Martin, sung in chorus with the children seated on the floor. The show was cut short due to the tight timing of the shuttles to bring the students back to their respective schools. The concert open to the general public scheduled for the evening was canceled, the conditions were hardly met for the musicians to offer a service worthy of the name, and without a concert piano which had to be provided by the Collectivity. The latter, subject to the “right of reserve” during the electoral period, accuses an unreasonable choice of date in a week when the SXM Festival also took place, which would have, according to Alex Richards, director of the culture department at the Collectivity, monopolized the service provider in charge of organizing the MIX'ART restitution day. This date had however been agreed and confirmed by all parties last December. _VX
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