‘It is such a traumatic thing to learn of the sudden death of such a major contributor to the WSICE dream to continue nurturing the future of our humanity. Our universe will miss his gentle and Africa and black cultural advocate soul.’
VERNON Shabaka Thompson, renowned Carnival specialist and international art manager, passed on Tuesday July 4 in Saint Lucia, the Caribbean.
He was said to have died of heart-failure-related complications, according to a statement by the management of Zmirage Multimedia Company, ZMC, the frontline technical theatre company, to which he was a long-time associate.
Until his death, Shabaka Thompson was lead consultant and head of United Kingdom operations of ZMC, also oversighting the company’s operation in the Caribbeans.
The CEO of Zmirage company, Dr Teju Kareem, in a statement, recalled how the intervention of Shabaka Thompson changed the culture and landscape of Carnival production and management in Nigeria, and in Ghana by extension.Shabaka was a highly resourceful professional whose service would be sorely missed not just by the ZMC, but also the Nigeria carnival production community, stated Kareem.“At the ZMC, he spearheaded most of our operations in the UK and the Caribbeans and was a regular visitor to Nigeria, especially attending the yearly Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, WSICE programme through which, in past 14 years, we not only celebrate the annual birthday anniversary of the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, but also contribute to the grooming of next generation of leaders through our annual essay writing competitions for Secondary Schools, and cultural advocacy sessions.“As a matter of fact, he had just – some 16 hours before his shocking passing — submitted his travel itineraries to the Nigeria High Commission in the UK to commence his travel to Nigeria to join us in Lagos and Abeokuta for the 2023 edition of the WSICE, which holds July 13-15,” stated Dr Teju Kareem, the CEO of Zmirage.The WSICE is the annual Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, through which the ZMC and its Us-based partners, Global NewHaven led by Professor Segun Ojewuyi, celebrate the life and essence of the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka. The late Shabaka had been a part of the project since its inception in 2010 both as a consultant and a contributor to its yearly socio-cultural and political advocacy sessions.Shabaka was a renowned specialist in carnival management around major centres of the world. He was for many years director of the famous Nottinhill Carnival in the United Kingdom, from where he was head-hunted by ZMC to serve as technical consultant to the Calabar Carnival, in Cross River State, and later the CARNIRIV in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He was reputed to have initiated and realised a major capital project called Carnival Village, which provided technical support to projects around the world.
According to the Socanews.com, a regular mouthpiece for Carnival community in the Caribbean, “While he was the director of Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre, he was instrumental in the formation of the Association of British Calypsonians (ABC, now ACASA) and the London Calypso Tent. He was involved in many carnival arts projects in the UK, the Caribbean and Africa. Soca News will carry a full obituary in due course.” Dr Teju Kareem, in a statement recalled how the intervention of Shabaka Thompson changed the culture and landscape of Carnival production and management in the Nigeria, and in Ghana by extension.
“It is such a traumatic thing to learn of the sudden death of such a major contributor to the WSICE dream to continue nurturing the future of our humanity. Our universe will miss his gentle and Africa and black cultural advocate soul,” said Kareem.
“We commiserate with his family and all the people he left behind in all the stations where he operated and registered irrepressible impressions and impacts on our collective humanity,” concluded Dr Kareem.
Co-Executive Producer of the WSICE, Professor Segun Ojewuyi, director of Global NewHaven, stated: “Shabaka was a good man. A true collaborator and man of the arts.”
The Illinois, US-based Professor of Theatre, Ojewuyi, added: “Shabaka never left the motherland forever chorded through the navel of Africa to the world.”
About Shabaka Thompson
Vernon Thompson, popularly known as “Shabaka”, was a Cultural Leader with extensive experience in carnival, theatre, event management and production, working over three (3) decades in Canada, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and Africa. He is currently an Executive Director with Zmirage UK and artisan consultant and entrepreneur with De CORE Ltd, UK. He was an ardent carnival practitioner producing costumes for Notting Hill, Nottingham, Calabar (Nigeria) and Trinidad carnivals.As the Director of London’s leading African Combined Arts Centre, the Yaa Asantewaa Arts and Community Centre (London), Shabaka initiated and realised the Carnival Village project for the development and sustenance of Carnival Art in London and all its related industries, a project of which he was the initial Chief Executive. He was instrumental in initiating the London Calypso Tent in partnership with the Association of British Calypsonians in 1992 (now ACASA). In 2004, he received an Arts Council Fellowship Award for two months study of the Miami Carnival. In 2005, he was the Acting CEO of the London Notting Hill Carnival.Shabaka lectured in schools, colleges and universities, conducted Theatre in Education (TIE) workshops in primary and secondary schools across the United Kingdom, and presented papers at national and international Carnival Arts conferences. His theatre involvement incudes acting and directing, spanning across various countries. He was currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Carnival Arts Studies, having previously attained his Master of Arts in Carnival Studies, both at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).Shabaka’s vision was to contribute to the economic liberation of African people through empowerment, leadership and the development of sustainable institutions and communities.
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