RENOWNED Fiji artist and poet, Atueta Rabuka, 38, is calling for a radical shift in how the nation perceives art.
He also warned that outdated stigmas were suppressing the next generation of Fijian talent.
He believes the decline in art as a possible career path stems from a systemic lack of support that begins long before a student reaches higher education.
To save the industry, he argues that the change must be driven from the top down, at institutional level, to reshape the grassroots foundation.
“We need schools to take it more seriously, because we need to be doing this from a young age,” Rabuka said.
He pointed to international models where art remains a consistent elective from kindergarten through high school, contrasting it with Fiji, where the subject is often sidelined.
According to Rabuka, the 80s way of life, an era where traditional academic studies were seen as the only route to success, continues to haunt modern households.
This perspective, he says, falsely labels art as a “useless” pursuit with no substantial value.
“If we view art from the same perspective as agriculture, we will be able to put a value on it,” he said.
Rabuka said if the creative sector were treated as a primary industry, its economic potential would be undeniable.
Despite the global “creative economy” expanding at a rapid pace, Rabuka reiterates that pursuing art as a professional career is still frowned upon in many Fijian homes.
Rabuka said universities and governing bodies would only treat arts with the necessary gravity once the public perspective shifted.
Until the remnants of old-fashioned thinking are replaced with a modern valuation of creativity, he fears Fiji will continue to lag behind a world that is full of imagination.
