Sculptor has big plans for public places

His sculpting achievements range from the towering citrus man in the Stann Creek Valley to the commemorative plaques of George Price, Father of the Nation. Today, News 5’s Jacqueline Woods dropped in on artist Stephen Okeke, a man who never seems to run out of interesting ideas.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting

The new pieces, which represent a chiclero at work, Garifuna drummer and coconut man, are models for much larger sculptures Stephen Okeke is hoping to create. The purpose is to beautify some of Belize City’s public places.

Stephen Okeke, Sculptor

“I made the drummer for example; I thought the drummer will be very good in addition to the chiclero and the others would be a very good combination for the city roundabouts because these are central areas where all the tourists who come to Belize and out of Belize and business, they go through all the roundabout. So when you have these kind of sculptures, they are telling you about Belize. Once somebody comes around here, they don’t need any explanation, they tell you about Belize.

I think in Belize we are very used to personal collections; small carvings. I respect the Belizean carvers, they are very used to those personal collections, but there is the need for public sculptures. Public sculptures are also a means of public visual dialogue. We use the sculpture to represent the culture of Belize, and that is very much lacking. The tourists who come around will have only a limited array of things they see, especially when it comes to arts. We only have very few among the Mayan sites and when you come to Belize City, there is almost nothing like that.”

While the concept sounds good, Okeke has yet to sell the idea to the proper authorities. And who would those authorities be? Anyone willing to spend the thousands of dollars necessary for Okeke to work his artistic magic. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.

If you would like to assist Okeke with his latest project, please don’t hesitate to call him at 014-1515 or visit his studio at sixty-eighty Buttonwood Bay.