Filming Session for Mas Camp Video, 2015
SubjectPortrait of
Sheri Mathieu
Date2015 August 5
Mediumborn digital photography
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
DescriptionPhotographs of the filming of a short promotional video at Mas Camp on August 5, 2015.
(.1) Image of the Junior Queen costume at Mas Camp.
(.2-.3) Images of videographer Sheri Mathieu preparing and interviewing one of the Mas Camp participants.
(.4) Image of the student participants at Mas Camp working on their costumes.
(.5-.6) Images of one of the Mas Camp participants modeling the Queen costume backpack.
(.1) Image of the Junior Queen costume at Mas Camp.
(.2-.3) Images of videographer Sheri Mathieu preparing and interviewing one of the Mas Camp participants.
(.4) Image of the student participants at Mas Camp working on their costumes.
(.5-.6) Images of one of the Mas Camp participants modeling the Queen costume backpack.
Object number2015.196.518.1-.6
CopyrightIn Copyright
NotesSubject Note: In July and August 2015, the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) sponsored a short professionally produced video made by Sheri Mathieu of Mathieu Marketing based on interviews with the Mas Camp students and staff as well as footage from the Mas Camp workshop and the West Indian Parade. The video was used on the CHS website to help promote the Mas Camp program. It can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjYg-bbhaas&feature=youtu.be
Subject Note: Hartford’s West Indian Independence Celebration began in 1962 to commemorate Jamaica’s and Trinidad and Tobago’s independence from the United Kingdom. The week-long celebration usually concludes with a parade and festival downtown featuring floats, steel band performances, and groups of local masqueraders displaying brilliant costumes called Mas. Mas represents an important and beloved art form in the West Indian communities that make up a vibrant component of Hartford’s population. The costumes and the traditions behind them serve as central expressions of cultural identity and heritage. The beauty of the costumes displayed by Hartford’s own masqueraders in the parade and festival, along with the excitement of their dance routines, bring a tremendous energy and pride to the city’s West Indian communities.
Subject Note: From 2011-2020, the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program at the Connecticut Historical Society partnered with the Connecticut Caribbean International Carnival Association to offer an annual summer youth employment program that trains Hartford youth in Carnival traditions central to their ethnic background. At the six-week “Mas Camp,” participants learned about the history and role of Carnival and masquerade. They designed and created their own Carnival costumes under the guidance of experienced Mas artists. The teens along with over two dozen volunteers, formed a Carnival Band that participated in several summer events showcasing Mas costumes totally made in Hartford. Mas Camp has helped to ensure that the Carnival tradition continues by training a new generation in the art of Mas making. In 2017, Mas Camp was selected as one of 50 exemplary youth programs nationwide by the National Arts and Heritage Youth Program.
Mas Camp was both a jobs program and an arts learning experience with social impact. The program mentored students in workplace readiness, social engagement, and cultural knowledge, offering alternative creative activities that fostered community involvement while providing fulfilling employment. Participants learned new skills including Caribbean cultural history, costume design, garment sewing and construction, creative movement, and teamwork. The teens experienced first-hand how to follow an artistic idea from background to completion and presentation, working both individually and collaboratively. Through the program, youth discovered that giving back to their community is an essential part of becoming a productive citizen. They experienced the joy of being part of a larger cultural group, and contributed their new skills to community activities.
During Mas Camp, the teens created their own costumes following themes and color schemes that they chose. The students and staff, along with volunteers from the community, formed a Carnival band they named Exotic One’s. Hartford costume maker Keimani “Q” Delpeche, who grew up in the Mas tradition in Trinidad and Boston, taught design and building of all the types of costumes. Choreographers including Clerona Cain and Coryse Villarouel developed dance routines with the students to train them in “displaying” their costumes in a parade. Some former students became peer educators helping to supervise Mas Camp activities in later years. The mentorship of several committed community educators and cultural leaders supported the teens and provided positive role models. The beauty of the costumes displayed by Hartford’s own masqueraders in the West Indian Parade and other festivals, along with the excitement of their dance routines, bring a tremendous energy and pride to the city’s West Indian communities.
During the summer of 2015, twenty-two young people and eighty-four adult and student volunteers, children, and students from Our Piece of the Pie participated. Costume maker Keimani “Q” Delpeche created four large costumes – a spectacular Queen and three Junior Queen outfits along with experienced assistants Lerry Cooper and Tanya Bynoe, and many volunteer parents. Artistic director Harold Springer, dance teacher Clerona Cain, and dance assistant Asher-Lee Plummer trained the students in “displaying” their costumes in a parade. They formed a Carnival “Band” called the Exotic One’s, with nine sections of masqueraders in different color schemes portraying the theme of “Hollywood in Colors.” The Band performed with their costumes in the Taste of the Caribbean Festival at the Riverfront, the Wadsworth Atheneum Block Party, and the West Indian 53rd Anniversary Independence Parade and Festival.
Additional audio, video, and/or photographic materials exist in the archive relating to this community and these events.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.On View
Not on view
