CHS Staff Visit to Mas Camp Workshop, 2018
SubjectPortrait of
Kay-Kaniele Reid
Date2018 August 7
Mediumborn digital photograpy
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.980.1-.12
DescriptionPhotographs of a Connecticut Historical Society staff visit to Mas Camp in 2018, at the San Juan Center.
(.1) Image of Mas Camp Assistant Manager Kay-Kaniele Reid with her Mas Camp manual and log book.
(.2) Image of CHS Board Chair Bichop Nawrot observing a student preparing her costume.
(.3) Image of CHS staff talking to Mas Camp participants.
(.4) Image of costumes being prepared.
(.5-.8) Images of Mas Camp students working on their costumes.
(.9-.11) Images of Mas Camp participants rehearsing their dance in a parking lot.
(.12) Image of a masquerader's decorated shoes, an important part of the costume.
NotesSubject 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.(.1) Image of Mas Camp Assistant Manager Kay-Kaniele Reid with her Mas Camp manual and log book.
(.2) Image of CHS Board Chair Bichop Nawrot observing a student preparing her costume.
(.3) Image of CHS staff talking to Mas Camp participants.
(.4) Image of costumes being prepared.
(.5-.8) Images of Mas Camp students working on their costumes.
(.9-.11) Images of Mas Camp participants rehearsing their dance in a parking lot.
(.12) Image of a masquerader's decorated shoes, an important part of the costume.
The Hartford celebration is based on Carnival, a pre-Lenten celebration of spring and renewal in the islands, especially Trinidad. Masquerading, or playing Mas is an essential part of Carnival. Mas represents a theatrical adoption and presentation of roles and characters that originally expressed mockery of upper classes. Colorful, often spectacular costumes designed by traditional Mas artists depict fanciful themes or current issues. Gossamer fabrics, plumes and feathers, sequins and gems used in previous years are recycled to express the new year’s themes. During Carnival parades, groups of masqueraders form bands and dance to calypso or soca music. As West Indians have spread out from the islands, Carnival has been transplanted to cities around the world during different times of the year. Mas and Carnival serve as central expressions of Caribbean cultural identity and heritage.
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. 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.
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.
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: Kay-Kaniele Reid joined Mas Camp in 2014 as a volunteer participant, continuing in 2015 as a full student participant, and then becoming a peer educator in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, she served as Mas Camp Assistant Educator. A Hartford resident originally from Jamaica, Kay-Kaniele attended Morgan State University as a biology major and neuroscience intern.
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
Kay-Kaniele Reid
2015 August 6
