New straw market officially opened
With a celebration of fireworks, live performances and applauding guests, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham officially opened the new straw market as the flagship venue for authentic Bahamian art and craft.
The prime minister saw the new straw and craft market as more than a new location for straw and craft vendors who have been displaced by recent fires. The new structure is crucial to the government’s plans to revitalize the City of Nassau and catapult Bahamian products to compete on an international level.
“This grand edifice inspired by our natural architectural history and built to showcase traditional Bahamian crafts is an investment in the future,” Prime Minister Ingraham said. “It is the centerpiece to my government’s plans to make significant improvements to our tourism product, assist in the rebirth of downtown and the City of Nassau, and help foster a relay zone in Bahamian arts and craft.”
Citing the significance straw work plays to the cultural and economic development of the country, the Prime Minister said that The Bahamas will have to up the ante on the design, creativity and quality of items produced locally. The government is also hoping to make the new straw market the best in the region.
“Today represents a new day for our straw and craft industries,” he said. “It is a day to seize the future. In order to seize this future, we must commit ourselves to significantly increasing the quality of goods produced as well as the quality and sustainability of these goods, and the timeliness with which they are available to consumers.”
The recently established Straw Market Authority will provide clear guidelines for operation of the new facility, and will set “high expectations and quality standards.” Prime Minister Ingraham said the guidelines to be instituted, which will also reflect Bahamian values, are used in public-sponsored arts and craft centers around the world.
“We are using 21st century technology, modern best practices and innovative thinking to showcase to a global market, traditional Bahamian craft, ingenuity and imagination,” he added.
In response to media reports of garbage left behind by vendors moving into the new building, Prime Minister Ingraham offered a mild warning to the straw market’s new residents.
“I say to all our straw vendors, our craft vendors, our wood carvers: Welcome to your new home, take care of it. Take very good care of your home,” he said.
“Because of the significant investment the country has made in this new market, the Bahamian people will expect much of you and so you must ensure that the maintenance and upkeep of this facility, built on some of the choicest land in The Bahamas, is uncompromised.”
The vendors were advised to settle their differences quickly and amicably, greet guests pleasantly and keep their surroundings neat and clean.
The Prime Minister said the straw and craft industry is an excellent example of how Bahamians can keep money in the country as items are resourced and manufactured locally.
“We are pleased at increased levels of production at the Family Island level and examples abound throughout the length and breathe of The Bahamas as virtually every Family Island now produces a dazzling array of crafts, souvenirs, native jewelry, straw work and other products of Bahamian ingenuity and artistry.”
The Prime Minister said despite the tragedy of the recent fire in downtown Nassau, there is still cause to celebrate as Vendue House, home of the Pompey Museum, will be restored.
He also expressed the joy of visiting a government-constructed straw market that was built on time and within budget.
