This year is the 50th anniversary of the West Indian American Labor Day Carnival and the Brooklyn Museum has long been a supporter of the all of the celebrations organized by WIADCA. Everyone at the Museum is really excited for this year’s festivities so I thought I’d do some research in the archives about our historic involvement. 1990 was an especially important year because the Museum had the exhibition Caribbean Festival Arts on display from September 7th through November 5th. It showcased more than 75 costumes, headdresses, and masks from many Caribbean countries as well as Mardi Gras Indians, but the exhibition concentrated on Jonkonnu, Carnival, and Hosay. Originally organized by the St. Louis Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum’s installation was unique because of the additional events and the fact that it included four stunning children’s costumes created by local Brooklyn artists.
The Museum staff saw this exhibition as “a prime opportunity to establish a relationship [with the local West Indian community] that was based on dialogue and collaboration. To carry out this goal, the Museum organized focus group meetings inviting Caribbean community leaders to assist in its outreach efforts and in the planning of public programs and involved numerous members of the Caribbean community as both organizers and presenters.” In preparing for the exhibition Museum staff worked diligently to organize programming that would “point out the various aspects of the festivals that have been deemphasized [in the exhibition]: the historical, political, religious, and sexual contexts that are so integral to understanding the entire festival phenomenon.” Included in the extensive programming were demonstrations and lectures about Calypso music by Hollis “Flash” Lashley; gallery talks with Caribbean specialists—folklorists, professors, and musical anthropologists; concerts by the BWIA Sonatas and King Wellington; costume making demonstrations and workshops led by Trinidadian and Jamaican costume designers; and film screenings of MAS Fever: Inside Trinidad Carnival and Celebration.
Additionally, the Museum’s Education department organized a ten day Summer Teacher’s Institute in which 20 teachers from New York City Public Schools learned about Caribbean culture and developed curriculums to use in their classrooms. One teacher, Barbara O’Connell, even wrote a poem about the experience, De Tropics in Brooklyn Museum:
By de hundred, by de t’ousan From country and from town By de ship-load, by de plane-load Dey all is Brooklyn boun
Dey bring de music Wid dem steel band beatin Jammin, jumpin to de soun Wid dem friend dey meetin
Dey bring de food Mad at home by tantie Calaloo, beef pattie Sugar cake and roti But de best time comin soon Mas fever risin fast For Carnival mean everytin From the first to de last.
During the course of the exhibition, 1,300+ students were able to visit and learn about the many cultures that have carnival celebrations.
Over 52,000 people visited and took part in the programs. When the Museum staff met to review how the exhibition went, the response was overwhelmingly positive. The Caribbean Festival Arts exhibition and accompanying programming was a success.
Posted by J.E. Molly Seegers