Mas Camp Exhibit Opening, Performance, and Graduation, 2018
SubjectPortrait of
Sam Springer
SubjectPortrait of
Clerona Cain
SubjectPortrait of
Keimani Delpeche
(Trinidadian)
Date2018 August 23
Mediumborn digital photography
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.538.1-.22
DescriptionPhotographs of the Mas Camp exhibition opening, performance, and graduation at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) on August 23, 2018.
(.1) Image of visitors to the exhibit viewing the display and slideshow.
(.2) Image of Sam Springer performing as the DJ for the Mas Camp graduation event held on the Connecticut Historical Society grounds.
(.3-.15) Images of the Mas Camp masqueraders performing their dance routine outside the CHS.
(.16) Image of a Mas Camp participant with her graduation certificate.
(.17) Image of the Mas Camp participants Brianna Simons (left) and Monique Hazel (right) with dance instructor/choreographer Clerona Cain.
(.18) Image of Mas Camp participant Gage Tisdol holding her graduation certificate while standing with her mother.
(.19) Image of Mas Camp participants with dance instructor/choreographer Clerona Cain.
(.20-.21) Images of Mas Camp costume designer Q Delpeche standing next to the Queen costume displayed in the exhibition.
(.22) Image of Mas Camp participants and Clerona Cain viewing the display and slideshow in the exhibition.
NotesSubject 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. 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. 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.(.1) Image of visitors to the exhibit viewing the display and slideshow.
(.2) Image of Sam Springer performing as the DJ for the Mas Camp graduation event held on the Connecticut Historical Society grounds.
(.3-.15) Images of the Mas Camp masqueraders performing their dance routine outside the CHS.
(.16) Image of a Mas Camp participant with her graduation certificate.
(.17) Image of the Mas Camp participants Brianna Simons (left) and Monique Hazel (right) with dance instructor/choreographer Clerona Cain.
(.18) Image of Mas Camp participant Gage Tisdol holding her graduation certificate while standing with her mother.
(.19) Image of Mas Camp participants with dance instructor/choreographer Clerona Cain.
(.20-.21) Images of Mas Camp costume designer Q Delpeche standing next to the Queen costume displayed in the exhibition.
(.22) Image of Mas Camp participants and Clerona Cain viewing the display and slideshow in the exhibition.
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.
In the years 2011-2016, 2018, and 2019, CCHAP presented an exhibit of the work and activities of Mas Camp from 2011-2014 at the Institute for Community Research, and from 2015-2019 at the Connecticut Historical Society. Curated by Mas costume designer Keimani Q Delpeche, the exhibits featured over three dozen individual costumes made each year by teens and community volunteers, as well as the more elaborate “section leader” and “Frontliner” costumes. The exhibits included historical and cultural interpretation through signage texts, a slideshow that presented historical images, talks by community cultural leaders at the opening events, and an illustrated lecture on Carnival traditions in 2016. The exhibit projects produced a multi-faceted “Mas” experience that included the art work, exhibit, music, food, informational talks, community leaders, and scholars. Ideas presented by the exhibits included: that the West Indian community has a long history in Greater Hartford; that the community has made many contributions to the state in fields such as agriculture, art, sport, education, and small business; that Carnival embodies tradition, innovation, celebration, and creativity; that “masquerade” as an essential component of Carnival derives from a creative alteration of one’s historical and personal circumstances; and that young people can learn about and carry on cultural heritage in their own lives.
Each year the teens and volunteers who were part of Mas Camp received certificates of participation at a graduation ceremony held in late August. The students performed their dance routine. Project sponsors over the years have included: the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the City of Hartford, the Hartford City Council, the West Indian Foundation, the West Indian Independence Celebration, the UConn Caribbean Interdisciplinary Research and Outreach Institute, the UConn El Instituto/the Institute for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the National Endowment for the Arts, Connecticut Office of the Arts/DECD, the San Juan Center/Brighter Futures, Fiona Vernal, Hugh Freeney, the Freeney Foundation, Ellen M. Brown, Shipman and Goodwin LLP, and Connecticut Humanities.
During the summer of 2018, nineteen students plus several adult and student volunteers participated. Costume maker Keimani “Q” Delpeche created the Mas outfits along with experienced assistants Clerona Cain, Kay-Kaniele Reid, and Gage Tisdol, and volunteer parents. Dance teacher Clerona Cain trained the students in “displaying” their costumes in a parade. They formed a Carnival “Band” called the Exotic One’s, with five sections of masqueraders in different color schemes portraying the theme of “Butterflies of Hope.” 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 56th Anniversary Independence Parade and Festival.
Biographical Note: A Trinidad native and now a Hartford resident Keimani “Q” Delpeche was a member of the world renowned D’Midas and Associates Mas Band for 25 years. He started at age 11 hanging around the Mas camp like many Trinidadian kids do and took a liking to making carnival costumes. He learned from the teaching of master artist Stephen Derek and other workers around the camp. Q has mastered all aspects of the art of making costumes: designing to the theme, wire bending, braiding, gluing, covering, etc. At age 21 he became a traveling instructor, teaching in New York City, San Francisco, Miami, and most Caribbean Islands including St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Jamaica, and St. Croix. He did what he liked most: teaching and passing on the art of making costumes to kids and young adults alike. In 2002, he, along with other members of D’Midas and Associates from Boston, participated in the Hartford Carnival Parade. Q was the main designer and builder for the Queen costume made in the 2011 Mas Camp and since then designed and constructed the large and flamboyant multi-part wire-framed Queen, Junior Queen, Section Leader, and Frontline costumes, with input and assistance from the students who help to position and attach trim, beads, and feathers. Q also curated the Mas costume exhibits each year. His ultimate goal is to pass the art on to young Caribbean people and to educate other ethnic groups so they may aid in spreading the cultural heritage of Trinidad and Tobago.
Biographical Note: Clerona Cain is from St. Lucia, where she grew up playing Mas and learning all aspects from building costumes to developing choreography for display. She worked as a tourism professional in St. Lucia and danced with the Silver Shadow Performing Arts Company which toured around the Caribbean and also Venezuela. From 2015-2020, she taught the teens dance movements that she created with them, also instructing on display and dance while wearing the costumes, so they learned performance skills. Clerona’s work was vital for the good presentation of the costumes, and she mentored and supported the teens who were required to perform intensively as the main attraction at the Taste of Hartford event and during the long route of the West Indian Parade. She choreographed the dance routines that the teens performed onstage at the Festival held at Bushnell Park after the Parade, and also developed a routine for them to present at the Wadsworth Atheneum Block Party. Clerona led a public dance workshop at that event. She “carried” (wore) the project’s large Queen costume in the Parade in several years. She also provides in-school programs in Mas costume-making and dance with the arts education organization Hartford Performs.
Biographical Note: Sam Springer, a resident of East Hartford, is a DJ specializing in Caribbean sounds, particularly soca. His stage name is “Sammy Soca.” Sam is the son of Harold Springer, who served as the Artistic Performance Director for Mas Camp from 2011-2015.
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.
Status
Not on view
