In Spring 2014, Carnival Arts explored the folktales, music, dance, and visual art of the Ashanti people of Ghana. The Ashanti made up a significant portion of the people who were abducted in the black Atlantic slave trade, so there is a strong Ashanti presence in the cultures of the Americas. We were blessed to […]
Category: Tradition
Anansi the Trickster Spider Workshop VIDEO
Anansi The Trickster Spider from Celeste Fraser Delgado on Vimeo. Young artists resident at Miami Bridge youth crisis shelter and Barry University students in theology and sociology classes collaborated with ceramicist Rebeca Gilling to make masks inspired by Anansi, the trickster spider famous from the folktales of the Ashanti people of Ghana and performed a […]
Anansi Maskmaking Gallery
Areito Masks
Fall 2013 Carnival Artists from Miami Bridge Central and Barry University explored the legacy of the Arawak people — the indigenous people of the Caribbean — also known as the Taínos. Inspired by artifacts discovered in archeological digs, we designed masks using cardboard, paint, wire, cork, and straw in two workshops led by Rebeca Gilling. […]
Reclining Jester
Often the most rambunctious youth prove to be the most compelling models — as is the case with this Reclining Jester.
Areito Workshop 2013
Areito is not strictly speaking a carnival — but it has all the elements of a carnival: dancing, drumming, masks, and poetry. Areito was a performance style practiced by the Arawaks, native inhabitants of the Caribbean when Columbus arrived. In Fall 2013, young artists from Miami Bridge explored the traditions of Arawaks, reciting and writing […]
Trini and Peruvian Workshops in Homestead 2010
Urban Carnival – Dog on the Neck
In the docks of Havana, a hundred or so years ago, the original rumberos would improvise songs about the news of the day, always keeping with the beat of the drums. So Carnival Arts came up with a song about the news around Miami Bridge and a neighbor, who had an unusual way of getting […]
Maroon Chronicles – The Movie
Mariama and Youssou, two teenagers in love, are abducted from their village in Senegal and sold into slavery at different plantations on a Caribbean island. Each escapes with the help of friends, but the slavers chase after them. Will they find freedom? Will they find each other? Watch and see.
Tied Together – Making a Garland on MLK Jr. Day of Service
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/63772690] Barry University volunteers teamed up with young artists at Miami Bridge for a Carnival Arts take on MLK Jr. Day of Service, tying together a garland of flowers to decorate our Barranquilla-carnival-style float at the Miami International Airport exhibit.