Arts council’s journey
THE need to conserve, preserve and promote indigenous and contemporary art and craft saw the creation of the Fiji Arts Council (FAC) in 1964.
The charitable organisation is one of three management agencies that come under the Department of Heritage and Arts.
Registered as a formal organisation under the Charitable Trust Act, the council receives a grant from the Government as well as an annual service agreement and since its inception has been active in the promotion and development of our artists and crafts people. The council is the national agency and catalyst for the support, development, and promotion of the arts and creative industries in Fiji.
The beginning
FAC, under the then Ministry of Fijian Affairs, was housed at Gorrie St, next to where the Fiji Employers Federation building now stands. The oldest staff member of FAC confirmed the old wooden structure, which was frequented by street kids and vagrants during weekends, was burnt down in 1992 and the lot has been vacant ever since.
The council was then given a government quarter at Muanikau (located near the back gate to USP) which is now a kindergarten, to use as an office. After five years at Muanikau, the council moved to Procera House at Waimanu Rd.
New ideas
Under the leadership of thendirector Letila Mitchell, the Fiji Arts Council embarked on a journey of innovative ventures to include all art forms — from the visual arts, dance, and music, to sculptures etc.
These initiatives were also a way of showing the government and other stakeholders that through art, people’s perceptions and perspectives can change.
“The Waimanu Rd area was synonymous with drunks and petty crimes, and we pretty much transformed the back of Procera House and filled it with art.
“Artists were working in public and paintings on display at the car park (now Rup’s Big Bear car park) and there were traditional and contemporary dance groups performing every week. It became known as The Fiji Centre for the Art,” a senior council staff member shared.
“Letila had arranged for all art forms to be facilitated in the four rooms on the top floors with a rent of $150 a month.
“I believe if it had been allowed to continue, Fijian artists and craftsmen would’ve been well positioned in today’s art scene with their studios,” he said.
Redirection
Before Letila Mitchell’s contract as director expired, she had started working on moving the FAC to the former Boys Grammar School building (next to the Suva City Library), her replacement, Peni Cavuilagi, also started pushing the government for the establishment of a National Arts Centre before he was transferred to the Department of Culture and Heritage as director.
The council also welcomed master Lai Veikoso from the then Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT) into its fold, where he ran music classes in one of the rooms at Procera House. Most of his students from FIT followed him to Procera House.
He led a traditional dance group called “Kabu ni Vanua” which represented Fiji at the Pacific Festival of Arts in American Samoa.
Discussions with the then government for the use of the old Boys Grammar School had reached the final stage and was approved by cabinet but the change in government put everything on the backburner and the council was subsequently moved from the Ministry of Fijian Affairs to the Ministry of Education. It would remain under the Ministry of Education for 16 years.
Relocation
At that time, Peni Cavuilagi would come back as director and FAC moved from Procera House at Waimanu Rd to 81 Suva St where they remained for four years until the change of government in 2022.
One of the first acts of the new Government was moving the council back under the ambit of the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs. Under the leadership of new director Macuisela Raitaukala, the FAC has now moved into the old Boys Grammar School building after 16.
“We are now looking forward to next month’s International Mother Language Day in collaboration with our linguistic unit from the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs and we’re planning to have a market day in the compound,” Mr Raitaukala said.
“We have also been mandated by the Government to select and finalise Fiji’s 100 representatives to the Pacific Arts Festival in Hawaii in June and to also run the Melanesian Arts Festival to be held in Suva in 2026.”