Open
Up!
Photo by Mayers Jay
The Open Up! forum provides a platform
for all artistic disciplines. Comedy, spoken
word, dance, music, and visual art can all
be experienced under one roof. Members
of the audience are asked to make a small
donation which is then split evenly amongst
the performing artists. Despite the long hours
organizing each event, Renwick-Risbrooke takes
nothing for herself.
And she isn’t the only one giving. Space for Open
Up! is donated free of charge.Venues include
Veni Mange, Digicel IMAX Theatre and Stumblin’
on the Avenue. It is partly because of their open
hearts that Open Up! has been made possible.
The faithful Open Up! following is yet another
reason for its success.
Interview with
Feli Renwick-Risbrooke
By Mika Maharaj
Open Up!’s facebook group has over two
thousand members and counting. And these
aren’t empty numbers. A large majority of
the group is comprised of active members --including the founder! Renwick-Risbrooke reads
each poem; listens to every shared song; and even
offers advice and encouragement.
Open Up! isn’t just another facebook group or
organization. It’s a family. And as a family, they take
care of each other. When artists aren’t performing
on stage, they are hard at work behind the scenes.
They advertise, film and photograph each event.
They arrive early to help set up and stay late to
close it down. And more importantly, they share
the love and keep each other going. That’s the real
secret to its success. Everyone gives of themselves.