February 2012


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Mas in May

Jouvay Ayiti Mas Camp-us (aka Jouvay Ayiti or Haiti’s New Day), is a programme born of a collaboration among the Department of Creative and Festival Arts at The UWI, Studio 66, Curepe Scherzando and the Lloyd Best Institute of the West Indies in 2010. Jouvay Ayiti is a collective that consciously uses Carnival and j’ouvert as a way of shifting consciousness about Haiti.

Jouvay Ayiti seeks to situate mas making and performance, as well as other carnival arts, as central to pedagogy, and building awareness, and through creativity and innovation, as an economic contributor in non-carnival sectors. In recognition of the simultaneous workings of the mas camp (creativity, economics, community) with academia (teaching, learning, research) in the same process or space, the enterprise is called ‘Mas Camp-us.’

For J’ouvert 2012, Jouvay Ayiti, presented a full Jouvay band: 50 Years: Mud, Fete and Tears.

After Carnival, Jouvay Ayiti will launch into another series of workshops, commencing in May. The first round, called ‘Mas in May,’ will focus on traditional mas making technologies including, bamboo and cardboard sculpting, wire bending, organic and recyclable material and papier mâché.

For information on the workshops or to be added to Jouvay Ayiti’s mailing list, contact Jouvay Ayiti at jouvay.ayiti@gmail.com or call 320-0041.