If you are receiving benefits from a particular situation it is important to ensure those around you get similar opportunities.
That was the idea behind the Carnival Art Exhibition 2024 by Freetown Collective featuring The Lost Tribe artists which is being held at The Brix Hotel, Port of Spain, until February 26.
Freetown Collective manager Keron Niles said Carnival was Trinidad and Tobago’s largest cultural export and one of the largest national exports after the oil and gas, and manufacturing sectors. It was also one of the country’s largest foreign exchange earners.
“It's really important to ensure that we expand the base of beneficiaries of the festival economy. It's really, really important that a lot of people benefit, not just financially, but in experiences from the Carnival every year.
“The reason why we did this (exhibition) is because the theme for this year was all hands on deck. It was actually paying tribute to the sailors of our traditional mas. But one of the things that we thought about from the start was ‘a rising tide lifts every boats in the harbour.’ So we thought about how we could increase the base of people that benefit from this?”
The idea started with an exhibition during Freetown Collective’s concert at Sound Forge, Port of Spain, on February 4.
[caption id="attachment_1065055" align="alignnone" width="745"] Lindon Mitchel's Moko Jumbie can be viewed at the Carnival Art Exhibit at The Brix Hotel. -[/caption]
He said the environment created at Freetown Collective concerts allowed for the art exhibition there so the group used it as a platform to create opportunities for others, to allow others to gain exposure and earn an income from its event.
At the concert, the band partnered with the entrepreneur platform Nudge Caribbean, showcasing the wares of small business owners. But it was also used as a way to open people’s eyes to the multidimensionality of local artists.
After the success of the concert exhibition, the group decided to extend it for a few weeks.
Niles said, this time, the group collaborated with The Lost Tribe. The mas band was contacted because the group wanted to partner with an entity that was actively involved in Carnival, their audiences intersected, and they both valued the contribution of creativity to TT culture.
[caption id="attachment_1065057" align="alignnone" width="727"] Wicked Jab, a piece by The Lost Tribe designer and visual artist Atiba Borde. -[/caption]
“There is a misconception about the persons involved in the mas, that they only design these bikinis with sequins and beads, and there's not much creativity. One of the things the art exhibition was able to show is we are actually dealing with artists. It's important to remember that regardless of what people think about the costumes themselves.
“And so we wanted to pull the experience back into art. I think that's important because Carnival economy itself is fed by musical, visual and performing arts. We have to remember that the thing that is commercially exploited comes from som
