Pre-eminent Guyanese cultural icon Claire Ann Goring died on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, at Franklin – Long Island Jewish Hospital, in Valley Stream, Long Island, her family said. She was 72.
Goring, who had resided in Elmont, Long Island, was an artist, graphic artist, playwright, costume designer, theatrical director and entrepreneur.
“She was a proud daughter of Guyana’s soil, who had the best of both worlds, as she was raised in the historic village of Victoria, on the East Coast of Demerara, and the city’s capital, Georgetown,” Dr. Rose October, another distinguished Guyanese cultural figure and Goring’s close friend, told Caribbean Life exclusively on Tuesday. “She is an alum of Bishops’ High School.”
Dr. October – a Laurelton, Queens-based, Guyanese-born dancer, choreographer and theatrical producer – said that, for over five decades, Goring “unselfishly advanced Guyana’s graphic and festival arts.
“She demonstrated a consistently high level of commitment to managing and promoting the celebration of Guyanese creativity,” said Dr. October, stating that Goring was an early member of Design and Graphics.
In the early post-independence years, Dr. October said this public agency was the home for a community of artists and writers, who piloted projects to develop “a sense of Guyanese identity through the visual identities they created for national institutions.”
Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, she said Goring was the creative engine behind significant innovations in Guyana’s festival arts.
“Her design and ‘wire bending’ skills revealed an imagination that was inspired by the color, rhythms and textures of Guyana,” Dr. October said. “Her creativity in this sphere has established the benchmarks – the standards to be emulated in Guyanese festival arts.”
As a designer of carnival costumes, Dr. October said Goring received accolades for her winning costume designs in Guyana under the establishment of Solo Productions.
She said Goring was professionally trained in wire bending in Trinidad and Tobago, and had the opportunity to pass this trade on to young and upcoming costume designers.
Since her migration, in mid-80s, to the United States, she was involved in the West Indian American Carnival in Brooklyn, Dr. October said.
As an artist, Goring sketched her ideas and designs in preparation for projects, said Dr. October, stating that these projects range from book illustrations to costume designs.
Dr. October said one of Goring’s latest sketches for book illustrations can be found in first volume of “My First Masquerade Book”, authored by Dr. Juliet Emanuel; while her latest costume designing sketches were actualized for Guyana Cultural Association’s (GCA) Family Fun Day 2019, when she spearheaded a team that produced a children’s costume band.
In addition, Dr. October said Goring conceptualized and made costumes for theatrical productions.
As a skilled and expert graphic artist, Goring’s creative talent can be seen in her production of magazines, brochures, newspapers and marketing campaigns, Dr. October said.
“To date, her funeral programs, mostly booklets by design, are true unique keepsakes for the families of the deceased,” she said. “Moreso, her graphic arts can be found in GCA’s online magazines and lots of organizations’ promotional materials.”
As a playwright, Dr. October said Goring’s works were performed at many Guyanese events in the Diaspora.
In February 2020, Goring was commissioned by Barbara Atherly, former Counsel General of Guyana to New York, to write the script for Guyana Jubilee Republic celebration.
“The play, ‘One People: Guyana United We Love’, was a spectacle to behold, as some of Guyana’s most gifted performing artistes took to the stage,” Dr. October said. “This was one of her many rich productions that spanned music, song, dance, spoken word, and, of course, spectacular costumes.”
She said Goring’s plays unfolded on stages in the US and overseas, especially as she gave back to her alma mater, Bishops’ High School.
As an entrepreneur, Dr. October said Goring was the chief executive officer of Hybiskus Creations, a company dedicated to developing and distributing art and craft.
“She was known for her colorful and intricately handmade greeting cards and plaques,” Dr. October said. “As a matter of fact, the ‘Stick Men’ that represent GCA’s logo, and found on awards, were conceptualized by her.”
Dr. October said Goring’s work as the former cultural director – at the time of passing, executive director – of the Guyana Cultural Association of New York, since its inception in 2001, can be characterized as “tenacious”.
“She was unstinting in her efforts to make the Guyana Cultural Association and the annual Guyana Folk Festival in Brooklyn the premier not-for-profit association in the Guyana’s Diaspora, committed to the preservation and promotion of Guyanese heritage and the celebration of Guyanese creativity,” said Dr. October, who is also a prominent member of GCA, and active participant and Mistress of Ceremonies of the Guyana Folk Festival in Brooklyn.
“Under her leadership, GCA has earned respect for the work it does to reaffirm and to celebrate the folk heritage of Guyana’s multi-ethic ancestry,” she added.
By 2015, Dr. October said Goring had advanced another important element in her “unselfish vision: the creation of the GCA’s Arts and Cultural Center that catered to serving especially the children of the underserved community.”
Goring was also the president of Friends of Victoria Village Diaspora, an organization that was dedicated to the redevelopment of Victoria Village, the first village bought by freed slaves after emancipation in Guyana.
“She felt it was her mission to teach young men and women that their fore-parents were conscious, organized and deliberate agents in the transformation of themselves and their future,” Dr. October said.
Additionally, she said the Valerie Rodway Centenary Concert in August 2019 in Brooklyn was “another exemplary show of Claire’s leadership that allowed the community to enjoy a Sunday afternoon treat of classical and patriotic artistic performances.”
She said Goring was honored for her work in promoting Guyanese culture. The recognitions received included those from the Guyana Cultural Association of New York, Inc., where she received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award; The Brooklyn Borough President (Eric Adams); the New York City Council; the New York State; the Guyana Tri-State Alliance; The Guyana American Economic and Cultural Organization; The Allied Organization; The Caribbean Community; and The Guyana Day Committee for her outstanding community service.
Dr. October said one of Goring’s most recent recognitions came from the Government of Guyana in 2020, when she received the Medal of Service Award – “an award that speaks to her outstanding service as leader who keeps Guyana’s flag flying high.”
“The passing of Claire has left a void in the Guyanese and Caribbean communities,” Dr. October said. “She was a key player, responsible for inviting non-Guyanese performers and cultural groups to be a part of Guyana Cultural Association’s Family Fun Day. She had unselfishly given to other communities and individuals alike.”
Rickford Burke, the president of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), told Caribbean Life on Tuesday that he was “devastated” at Goring’s passing, describing her as “a sister, mother, counselor, mentor, advisor, guide and, most important, a confidant.
“She has been a loyal, unyielding, nonnegotiable and unapologetic supporter of mine and all of the endeavors CGID and I have pursued,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better big sister and mother figure. Like so many others, she has been my conscience as I traveled this wretched path called life.
“Claire was a genuine Guyanese patriot, and such a special and rare repository of Guyanese arts and culture that she was an endangered species,” Burke added. “She was the source to consult in the Diaspora on our unique culture. This was demonstrated through her love and care for the arts and her indefatigable promotion of our Guyanese culture.
“She was a pleasant soul,” he continued. “Always civil, classy, savvy and quietly peppery, if rubbed the wrong way, albeit a disciplinarian. No one can speak ill of Claire. Her life epitomized love, joy, peace, understanding and consideration for others.
“She loved children and young people, and made it her mission to impart her skills, expertise and knowledge to them through various fora, like summer camps, classes and other educational endeavors,” Burke said. “Her death has left a sprawling void in our Diaspora, her family and extended family, and a deep well of sorrow in our hearts. “Personally, this one hits hard. But we will weep, mourn and celebrate her life. Then, we will carry on her legacy and vision for the preservation and enhancement of Guyanese culture.”
Goring leaves to mourn many family members and friends, along with colleagues of organizations which she served.
As the tributes flow in on social media, many remember her as a person of sophistication, who was respectful, kindhearted, warm, empathetic, caring, unselfish, and, most importantly, a brilliant creative who cared about youth and community.
“The Guyanese community has lost a true daughter of the soil – Claire Ann Goring – a Guyanese cultural icon, unmatched,” Dr. October said.
