Art Museum showcases ‘Carnival Blues’

By Neil Armstrong

Photos by Nila Gupta

As the busy carnival weekend approaches, enthusiasts will be able to participate in “Carnival Blues,” a celebratory cycle of programming over two days to mark the conclusion of the exhibition “Land. Sea. Sugar. Salt.: Terrestrial and Aquatic Contemplations of the Caribbean,” at Art Museum, University of Toronto.

Curated by Michelle Jacques and Sally Frater, the exhibition which opened on February 25, and closes on August 1, Emancipation Day, “aims to create a space of reflection and elucidation by giving primacy to the voices of eleven artists who think deeply about the Caribbean and have familial and lived ties to the region. Each of the works speaks to an intimate engagement with the land, sharing a way of knowing it through physical experience and embodied knowledge.”

Multidisciplinary artist Bushra Junaid and visual and media artist Natalie Wood, guest-curators of “Carnival Blues” on July 23 and 24, said when they stepped into the gallery space for the first time, they felt “the movement of people across, toward, and outward from the vast territory of islands, mainlands, and waterways of the Caribbean, as well as the influence this migration has had on Canada and the world. We also thought of one of its most significant exports and gifts to humanity: the distinct form of Caribbean Carnival.”

Both attended an artist talk led by Jacques and Frater, and Junaid was approached by Barbara Fischer, executive director and chief curator of the Art Museum, about doing some programming.

The Montreal-born artist thought it was important to partner with Trinidad and Tobago-born Wood who along with artist-activist Michael Lee Poy, also from the twin island republic, founded Blue Devil Moko Jumbie Mas Camp, a community-based carnival arts initiative.

Junaid said the programming had to be multifaceted so it includes a panel about different aspects of carnival, hands-on “mas” camp workshops led by artists and educators Mosa McNeilly, Charmaine Lurch, and Alyssa Mattrasingh, two dance workshops — an African by artist and dance educator Collette Murray, and a Caribbean by artist and educator Stephanie Cole. There will be a Moko Jumbie workshop led by Xica Dieffenthaller-Lee Poy, and then everything culminates in a procession.  

Wood said carnival was a gift to Canada and “we struggle often to ensure that people realize the giftedness in carnival.”

“We thought maybe there’s a way that we could have a conversation with the exhibit through presenting the idea of carnival programming. And, in particular, we’re looking at traditional mas programming.”

She said within the traditional mas there are a lot more opportunities for narratives connected to the history of carnival and those dealing with the present time.

Wood said within the community there is a need to have this conversation around carnival and Caribbean carnival and its relevance not just to the people who gifted it to Canada but to the youth.

On July 23, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., there will be an online and in-person “Tidalectics Panel Discussion” at the Paul Cadario Conference Centre at the university.

“This panel brings together a multidisciplinary group of artists, scholars, and educators to reflect on Carnival in Caribbean art practices and expand its discussion into mainstream museum culture. Together they consider ideas of freedom, liberation and resistance represented by Blue Devil and traditional masquerade; maroonage and queer maroonage; tidalectics and diasporic breathwork; ecoaesthetics and architectonics,” notes a synopsis.

It features Dr. Ronald Cummings, English and Cultural Studies scholar; Michael Lee Poy, artist, architect, and educator; Geneviève Wallen, independent curator, writer and researcher; and Natalie Wood, artist, scholar and educator; with veteran theatre practitioner Rhoma Spencer as the moderator.

The events are free but registration is required for most programs.

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