Eric Rose, Bahamas Information Services
NASSAU, The Bahamas – A team of Junkanoo practitioners and stakeholders will travel to the Isle of Wight, England, on April 18, 2008, to undertake a residency programme at the United Kingdom's first dedicated Carnival and Celebratory Arts Learning Centre.
"The most important aspect of this endeavour is, of course, exposure for our Junkanoo artisans, to give them the opportunity to travel and interact with artists from other countries, showcasing the intricacies of the art form and promote our cultural expression, Junkanoo," Minister of State for Culture the Hon. Charles Maynard said.
The team is comprised of members of various Junkanoo groups, each presenting on a different aspect of the art form,
The Isle of Wight is a 23-mile wide island county of South England in the English Channel and across the Solent from Hampshire. Since the Victorian era, it has been a popular resort island, known for its "quaint" villages and beautiful scenery. It is also known for its dinosaur fossils, industry, musical festivals and cultural exchange programmes.
Angelique McKay, project manager for the exchange and residency programmes, presenter at the workshops and Manager of the National Junkanoo Museum of The Bahamas, said in an earlier interview that the project is an opportunity to educate the world about Junkanoo.
"This is one of the goals of the National Junkanoo Museum that is being met," she said. "We said that we would create a 'Museum without Walls' and that is what we are doing by taking the information to the other side of the world.
"This means more people will get to experience the vibrant culture of The Bahamas and be enticed into making plans to come to The Bahamas."
Ms. McKay said the project is designed to teach Master Artists an appreciation of the art of Junkanoo, as well as have several workshops for both school children and adults that are interested in Junkanoo.
"We get to build relationships with other countries that are as interested in our culture as we are," she added.
Minister Maynard stressed that the residency is a Junkanoo appreciation exercise and not for teaching how to make Junkanoo items on the scale that they are constructed in The Bahamas for the parades.
"A lot of people get a little nervous when they hear that we are going to teach the art of Junkanoo; but it is really less about teaching someone how to do it but more about giving them a real appreciation as to what it takes to for it be done," Minister Maynard said. "No matter what you do, there are certain parts of the creative art that you cannot transfer from one person to the other. It is something that is in you, as a part of your cultural expression.
"Just as we cannot go, as a Bahamian, to another place where they have a different cultural art form and imitate exactly what they produce, we can learn some things and we could probably use it in terms of some of the creations that we do; but we will never be able to completely imitate it and we do not expect them to after this programme."
Ms. McKay said that the English carnival development team of Frankie Goldspink and Chris Slann visited The Bahamas in 2006 and experienced Junkanoo for the first time. Inspired by what they saw and heard they formulated a plan to bring Junkanoo to the United Kingdom "to add colour, energy and new skills to parades" in the Isle of Wight, she said.
Arts Council England, the UK national arts funding body, supported their plans by providing resources to bring artists from The Bahamas to the UK during the April residency and for a backline Junkanoo tour in July 2008. Minister Maynard's Ministry, the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and a private individual partnered with the Council on the project.
She added that the Isle of Wight Local Authority is developing the UK's first dedicated Carnival and Celebratory Arts Learning Centre.
"The Centre teaches all aspects of carnival and arts, including their history, culture and various manifestations all over the world," Ms. McKay said. "Junkanoo in The Bahamas was little known and fascinated them both to find out more."
Minister Maynard said that he is very pleased that The Bahamas and Junkanoo has the opportunity to be the first one given the residency in the new centre, showcasing the country's culture.
"We are ready to stand up to the plate and make the country proud," he said.
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