The mission of the SNFCA is to create access for talented individuals, not only in Guyana, its home base, but through the wider Caribbean. It is hoped that this medium serves as an avenue for the development of the creative energies, so relevant to current socio-economic life

chance. The Foundation hopes to encourage, nurture and harness raw talent – performing arts (dance, drama, music), visual arts (painting, film, sculpture, photography), graphic arts ( animation, illustration), fashion arts (design, modeling, styling),culinary arts and other creative forces –positioning it for national, regional and international viability.

The SNFCA will also parlay the burgeoning activity of the creative arts to network related associations within the multi-lingual territories of the Caribbean. Over the last decade, the creative energies have become one of the driving forces of sustainable development initiatives of international economies, so much so that sheer unadulterated talent has facilitated non-traditional income generation and phenomenal event tourism ventures, allowing for a share of the multi-billion dollar new age creative industry.

The talent of the Caribbean has always fascinated the international observer/scout. Luminaries like Bob Marley (music), Oscar de la Renta(fashion), Euzhan Palcy(film), Rex Nettleford(dance), Peter Minshall(costuime), Winston “Spree” Simon(steelpan) and Nobel laureates Derek Walcott, Arthur Lewis and Vidya Naipaul have been the precursors and purveyors taking the aesthetic of the Caribbean to the world.With recent breakthroughs like Jaunel Mc Kenzie(model), Rihanna(music), Anya Ayoung-Chee(fashion), Brian Lara(sport) and numerous recording artists – Shaggy, Sean Paul, Machel Montano – it becomes more so opportune to lure the world to our ‘pot of gold’ idyll, which constitutes the imaginary, yet symbolic, rainbow that is the archipelago in the Caribbean Sea.

Against this backdrop, we find it incumbent to empower our young creative talent through positive engagement and progressive activities. 2012 marks a turning point for the efforts of Sonia Noel, an acclaimed Guyanese fashion designer, who has utilized her celebrity to harness and stream-line young talent. With programmes like Guyana Fashion Weekend, Guyana Model Search, Designer/Stylist Portfolio and Diatribe she has been able to maximize her reach to engage the youth, locally and even regionally.