Staff Notices

The Department of Creative and Festival Arts presents the "Carnival Studies Mas Colloquium" under the theme "Mas Aesthetics - Exploring the Art of Mas."

This event takes place on Thursday April 9 at 9am at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) Auditorium. 

The Carnival Studies Mas Colloquium is a research event that highlights the work of practitioners from the creative industries who are actively exploring the boundaries of Mas as an artform. Guided by the understanding that Mas is both art and ritual borne out of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival space, the colloquium concentrates on exploring the visual and performative expressions of the activity. Through the colloquium leading practitioners in Mas are invited to share their work, experiences and thoughts on the impact of Mas on Caribbean art and society with students of the University of the West Indies and the general public.

The colloquium emerges out of the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) course CANV1702 Mas History: Meaning and Development. This is a level one Carnival Studies degree course that focuses on the art of Mas from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. It involves written and illustrated presentations, as well as Mas-making.

In line with the objectives of the course the colloquium provides a forum for students and the wider community with important perspectives and practices within the Carnival Arts. It is intended to be a platform for further research into the visual and creative output of Mas towards developing a level of connoisseurship of the art-form. The colloquium investigates Mas as a unique Caribbean creative practice that communicates and explores critical aspects of the Caribbean’s socio-cultural landscape.

For more info contact Joseph Drayton at 645-1955; or fax: (868)-663-2141 or email: joseph.drayton@sta.uwi.edu.