Carnival in the Caribbean

The CAC in New Orleans hosts an exhibition devoted to the influence that Carnival and related traditions have had on contemporary performance discourse and practice.

Marlon Griffith, Positions + Power, 2014, Port of Spain, Trinidad. © Arnaldo James, 2014.

“EN MAS’: Carnival and Performance Art of the Caribbean” introduces performance art with a focus on the influence that Carnival and related masquerading traditions have had on contemporary performance discourse and practice in both the artistic and curatorial realms.

Indeed, it takes into account performance practices that do not trace their genealogy to the European avant–gardes of the early twentieth–century but rather to the experiences of slavery and colonialism through to the mid–nineteenth century, the independence struggles and civil right movements of the mid–twentieth century and population migrations to and from the former colonial centers for most of the last century

John Beadle, <i>Inside-out, Outside-in</i>, 2014, Nassau, The Bahamas. Image courtesy of the artist. — **Top**: Marlon Griffith, *Positions + Power*, 2014, Port of Spain, Trinidad. © Arnaldo James, 2014. **Above**: John Beadle, *Inside-out, Outside-in*, 2014, Nassau, The Bahamas. Image courtesy of the artist.

Throughout the 2014 Caribbean Carnival season, the exhibition tracked nine artists – John Beadle, Christophe Chassol, Charles Campbell, Nicolás Dumit Estévez, Marlon Griffith, Hew Locke, Lorraine O’Grady, Ebony G. Patterson, and Cauleen Smith – as they engaged, transformed, or critiqued historical and contemporary Caribbean performance practices from Carnival in Santiago de los Caballeros, Port of Spain, Fort-de-France, Kingston, London and Brooklyn, to Junkanoo in Nassau and the New Orleans second line – sometimes using their own imaginary cartographies and invented performance traditions. The resulting newly commissioned works took place according to different modes of public address and audience engagement including semi-private rituals at the margin of the festival celebrations and street processions in the midst of the carnival revelry.

Charles Campbell, <i>Actor Boy: Fractal Engagement</i>, performance, April 21, 2014, Kingston, Jamaica. Photograph: Marvin Bartley — Charles Campbell, *Actor Boy: Fractal Engagement*, performance, April 21, 2014, Kingston, Jamaica. Photograph: Marvin Bartley

Prior to a national and international tour organized by ICI, EN MAS’ will bring together material remnants or reconstitutions from the performances as well as photographic and filmic interpretations, thus presenting some of the best photographers, filmmakers, and videographers working in the Caribbean today, such as Marvin Bartley, Arnaldo James, Marlon James, Raymond Marrero, Oneika Russell, Nile Saulter, Storm Saulter, and Michelle Serieux. The exhibition at Contemporary Arts Center is designed by Gia Wolff.

Christophe Chassol, Big Sun, video still, 2014. Image courtesy of the artist

Christophe Chassol, Big Sun, video still, 2014. Image courtesy of the artist

Nicolás Dumit Estévez, C Room, 2014 at Museo Folklórico Don Tomás Morel, Santiago de los Treinta Caballeros, Dominican Republic. Photograph: Raymond Marrero

Marlon Griffith, Positions + Power, 2014, Port of Spain, Trinidad. © Arnaldo James, 2014

Hew Locke, Give and Take, performance, August 23, 2014, Tate Modern, London. Photograph: Akiko Ota

Hew Locke, Give and Take, performance, August 23, 2014, Tate Modern, London. Photograph: Akiko Ota

Ebony G. Patterson, Invisible Presence: Bling Memories, performance, April 27, 2014, Kingston, Jamaica. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago

Ebony G. Patterson, Invisible Presence: Bling Memories, performance, April 27, 2014, Kingston, Jamaica. Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago

Cauleen Smith, H-E-L-L-O videostill. Location: Booker T. Washington Auditorium. Cello: Monica McIntyre. Cinematography: William Sabourin, 2014

Cauleen Smith, H-E-L-L-O videostill. Location: Booker T. Washington Auditorium. Cello: Monica McIntyre. Cinematography: William Sabourin, 2014

until June 7, 2015
EN MAS’: Carnival and Performance Art of the Caribbean
curated by Claire Tancons and Krista Thompson
organized and presented by the CAC
co-organized as a traveling exhibition by ICI
Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans
900 Camp St, New Orleans

Carnival in the Caribbean

The CAC in New Orleans hosts an exhibition devoted to the influence that Carnival and related traditions have had on contemporary performance discourse and practice.

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