With over 50 presentations in three days, discussions surrounding all aspects of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival—mas, steelpan, calypso, and soca—began at the 11th Steelpan and Carnival Arts Conference at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA).
Titled ‘Famalay!,’ the 11th Steelpan and Carnival Arts Conference is jointly hosted by the International Carnival Arts Conference Committee and the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
The brainchild of Trinidad-born Dr. Haroun Shah, it aims to explore, discuss, and collaborate on several topics under the broader theme of Trinidad Carnival.
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Professor Emeritus Clement Imbert, said it was timely that the Conference is held in Trinidad and Tobago, the Mecca of Carnival, this year.
“Nowhere else do you have such a rich combination and such an extended pair of festivities. And of course, Panorama is one of the biggest music festivals in the world so it is very fitting that Haroun asked for us to have this Conference here.”
Head of the International Carnival Arts Committee, Dr. Haroun Shah, said the theme encourages participants to think of Carnival as a way to connect with the global diaspora, particularly in countries and cities where there are concentrated amounts of persons of Caribbean descent such as London, Toronto, New York, and Miami.
“There are huge Carnivals in the city, developments taking place in the diaspora and in Trinidad and during this Conference, I hope that you would see in some of the contributions that we, too, are making, and how we can work together with you.”
Programme Leader of the Master of Arts in Carnival Studies at the Academy of Arts, Letters, Culture, and Public Affairs at UTT, Dr. Kela Francis, encouraged persons to think of Carnival as more than just a street party. She said it is an opportunity to explore the impact that mas, steelpan, soca, and calypso have on the fabric of the culture.
“This is an opportunity to marry stiff, what people think is stiff academia, with people who actually play, create, and so on. It’s a rich conversation to have because the narrative around Carnival, reducing it to just a street party, ignores how impactful and how important it is, right? As one of the presenters said this morning, you know, it’s a way for us to take off the mask we wear every year and expose something deep about ourselves.”
The three-day conference will include several sessions, ending with discussions and discourse. The conference will conclude on March 8th.