The Institute for Community Research will host the opening of Mas: Costumes from Hartford's West Indian Community, on August 21, 2014 from 5 to 7 PM at the ICR Gallery, 2 Hartford Square West, 146 Wyllys St., in Hartford.
The exhibit will feature colorful and imaginative costumes (Mas) such as those worn in Trinidad-style Carnivals around the world, including Hartford.The event will also mark the graduation of 21 young people plus over 75 volunteer and returning students who have been learning how to make and dance with traditional-style costumes (Mas) from master artists based in Hartford. The six-week project is a collaboration of the Institute's Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP) and the Connecticut International Cultural Carnival Association (CICCA), whose director Linford "Junior" Miller has organized costume production and display for several national and international carnivals.
The 2014 Hartford Mas Camp is under the direction of Linford Miller and master costume maker Keimaai "Q" Delpeche, along with experienced assistant Lerry Cooper and several volunteer educators and parents. Artistic director Harold Springer, dance teacher Coryse Villarouel, and dance assistant Asher-Lee Plummer trained the students in "displaying" their costumes in a parade as it would be done in Trinidad. According to Project Co-Director Junior Miller, "This summer training program highlights our West Indian traditions, and serves Hartford's teens by teaching them important cultural heritage as well as job training skills. Carnival is very important to our Caribbean community, and the teens now have design and creation skills that they can use in other areas. The community will now have exciting costumes on display at local festivals and parades, and in ICR's gallery."
Each teen designed and built a complete costume, including headpiece, arm and foot bands, girdles, collars, backpacks, and all frames and attachments needed for wearing the elaborate structures. They formed a Carnival "Band" called the Exotic One's, with five sections of masqueraders in different color schemes portraying the theme of "Carnival is Colors." The Band also performed with their costumes at the Taste of the Caribbean Festival at the Riverfront on August 2, at the Wadsworth Atheneum Caribbean Block Party on August 7, and in the West Indian 52th Anniversary Independence Parade and Festival on August 9.
The exhibit opening will showcase many of these costumes displayed in the gallery and some of the teens will "masquerade" their costumes in person, accompanied by the Hartford Steel Symphony led by master steel pan maker and player Kelvin Griffith. All the participants in the summer costume-making program will receive certificates for successfully completing their training. The costumes will be on exhibit until September 19 2014.
The project is made possible by a City of Hartford Arts and Heritage Jobs Grant for 2014, as administered by the Greater Hartford Arts Council. CHAP's participation is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Connecticut Office of the Arts (DECD), and the Institute for Community Research.
For more information about the exhibit please contact Lynne Williamson at 860-278-2044 x 251 or Lynne.Williamson@icrweb.org; also visit our websites at www.incommunityresearch.org and www.ctheritagearts.org
The Institute for Community Research is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts applied research and community enhancement programs to promote equal access to health, education, and cultural resources .ICR's Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program encourages and promotes traditional artists and their communities through an active process of documentation, technical assistance, and public presentations to bring their work and the history of their communities to new audiences. Support comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council as well as foundations. For more information about ICR please visit our websites at www.incommunityresearch.org and www.ctheritagearts.org