Carnival Workshop
Saturday, April 12, 1pm- 4pm
DETAILS
WHEN: Saturday, April 12, from 1pm to 4pm.
WHERE: The Maker Exchange
The Tennessean Hotel
710 Clinch Avenue, Knoxville, Tennessee
COST: FREE!
DETAILS: 20 Participants Max
REGISTER
View the workshop description below!
WORKSHOP
Workshop Description:
In this 2.5 hour workshop, participants will first learn about the dominant histories for Carnivals or Mas across the Caribbean and Latin America in a short (30-minute) lecture by Dr. Aris Moreno Clemons and Mr. Brian Boyce. Mas, short for 'masquerade', is an event where participants dress in costumes, masks and other disguises to dance through the parade route. These costumes bring an artistic narrative to the heart of carnival, and carnival-goers are encouraged to join a band and play Mas.
In the second part of the workshop, Dr. Clemons will walk participants through the production process of a Carnival Feather Backpack, currently used to “play Mas” across the region. Participants will then reproduce the design and be able to take home their creations. Materials for the workshop will be provided and each participant will receive a “backpack base” for which to add their designs. In this way, all participants will be involved in what is traditionally called “Mas camp,” where costumes are produced for the celebratory parade known as Carnival.
Presenters: Aris Moreno Clemons is an Assistant Professor of Hispanic Linguistics in the Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures department at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Having completed her doctoral degree in the Spanish and Portuguese Department and the Mexican American and Latina/o Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin, her work spans the fields of linguistics, education, anthropology, and Black and Latinx studies in order to interrogate the intersections of language, race, and identity. Originally from (all over) the Bay Area in California, she has been steeped in the traditions of anti-racist pedagogies and has dedicated herself to developing and sustaining these practices in her own research and teaching. As such, her research agenda is rooted in social change through an examination of the ways that what appears to be common knowledge is often constructed and ideologically maintained by various social institutions.
Brian Boyce: As a well-rounded professional, he has worked in various capacities of Trinbagonian and Caribbean culture including Carnival and Theatre.
This is also evident in his educational background which includes an M.A. focused in Carnival Studies, B.A. in Mass Communications and A.A.S. in Journalism and Public Relations. He is currently pursuing a PHD in Cultural Anthropology while working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University Of Tennessee Knoxville.