Legacy in Action: Champions for Tobago Culture – A Conversation with Jared Prima, Chief Executive Officer

Posted Dec 01, 2025

Tobago’s culture is shaped not only by its history, but by the people who continue to breathe life into its traditions, performances and creative expressions. With this spirit at heart, we are pleased to feature Mr. Jared Prima, Chief Executive Officer of the Tobago Performing Arts Company (TPAC), in “Legacy in Action: Champions for Tobago Culture” – a new series that introduces readers to the visionaries and culture-bearers who help the island’s heritage flourish in fresh, meaningful ways. As CEO, his leadership guides the growth of Tobago’s performing arts ecosystem, while his experience as an educator and film director brings depth and intention to the initiatives he shapes.

In this opening instalment, Jared shares thoughtful reflections on the role he plays, the responsibility he carries toward Tobago’s artistic communities, and his commitment to strengthening the foundation on which local talent continues to thrive. His insights set the tone for a series that celebrates the people ensuring Tobago’s cultural legacy remains vibrant, relevant and full of promise.

Here’s what he had to say.

1.Tell us about your journey and what inspired you to dedicate yourself to preserving and showcasing Tobago’s culture?

I have been performing since I was four years old – first as a young singer, always comfortable in the spotlight. That early confidence pushed me into countless roles, including becoming King of Carnival bands in primary school. In 2003, while teaching, a stressed colleague asked me to take over directing a school play. I stepped in, and that production went on to win the drama festival. That victory revealed something I didn’t fully understand before…I had a natural directing eye, sharpened over years of reading obsessively and imagining worlds. In 2006, I briefly detoured into Physiotherapy at UWI, but one day on the way to Chemistry class – ironically, a course I got an A in – I felt a clear spiritual tug that this wasn’t my path. A year later, I started over, pursuing a double major in Literatures in English and Theatre Arts. My years at UWI’s Department of Creative and Festival Arts became a creative laboratory. I performed in many lead roles but spent just as much time studying my directors, absorbing technique and instinct.

At Milner Hall (now Freedom Hall), I directed plays, experimented boldly, and even created Carnival bands and clothing lines – expressions that shaped my understanding of culture as both art and identity. After graduating in 2010, I was immediately thrust into co-writing and co-directing the Tobago Heritage Festival Opening Night with my long-time collaborator, Onika Henry. I would go on to direct the Opening Night three times (2010, 2014, 2017), including a special 2014 collaboration with the late Tony Hall, while also serving on the Board of the Tobago Festivals Commission.

In 2018, I left Tobago on a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue my MFA in Filmmaking at Florida State University. I completed the degree in 2020 – right before the pandemic – specializing in directing, and received the school’s highest honour, The Pathfinder Award for the filmmaker with the most distinctive voice. My thesis film reimagined the La Diablesse as an avenging angel confronting a runaway father, merging folklore with lived Caribbean truths.

Today, my creative mission is rooted in telling our stories with honesty, imagination, and cultural memory. I’m deeply committed to exploring the idiosyncrasies of Caribbean life, the magic of our folklore, and the ancestral echoes that shape who we are. As a filmmaker, I hope to help us unpack, interrogate, and rediscover ourselves – one story at a time.

2. In your opinion, what makes Tobago’s culture unique and why do you feel it’s important for people around the world to experience it?

I believe anything that makes a people unique should be celebrated and shared. Our culture is our signature – an unmistakable marker that identifies us anywhere in the world. On a planet this vast, it’s our quirks, our rhythms, and our way of being that make us interesting and unforgettable. These are the very things that pull people to our shores.

How we speak – both to each other and to visitors – our food, our traditions, our deep respect for the land as healer and provider, even our tribal instinct to look out for our own… all of it forms the tapestry of who we are. Add to that our performative spirit, our love of festival and expression, and you begin to understand why our culture feels almost magical. Anyone longing for paradise – one wrapped in authenticity, warmth, and a truly unique way of life – should come to Tobago. There is nowhere else in the world quite like us.

3. How does your work help visitors connect with Tobago’s culture, and what do you hope they take away from the experience?

A lot of my films, even my work in the US, have been inspired by or have directly pointed to our Tobagonian culture. My films have been featured and have won awards in Jamaica, LA and Tokyo, which tells me that all over the world, people are interested in stories about Tobago and a Caribbean way of life. Film Tourism is the end goal…to make movies that encourage both visitors and more film productions, with Tobago as both destination and location.

4. What challenges have you faced in keeping Tobago’s traditions alive, and how have you overcome them?

Funding and collaborative support are still challenges to overcome. Over the years, more collaboration between creatives has been building, but we still have more to do. The availability of film [industry] specific knowledge is a challenge, as I think our traditions can really be immortalized in film. More allies who want to tell our stories here are needed. I hope to encourage more local narrative content creation through my personal work and my work at TPAC.

5. When you think about the future of Tobago’s culture, what excites you most, and what advice would you give to the next generation of cultural champions?