art4Dst33t SAN FERNANDO

One of the things I wanted to do with art4Dst33t is to reach people where they were. Amidst the usual festival activities I found that adding street stencils that spoke about some of our traditional history could be done.

Port-of-Spain is the major venue for our revelry. We could not go to Tobago, so we took the opportunity to include another part of the country that we could reach. So off we went the very next day to San Fernando. One of the special moments was meeting the Director of Culture Eugene Joseph who was excited to be part of the project. Mr.Joseph was the first person to greet me at the Ministry Of Culture with my proposal.

When I made my pitch to him he asked me whether I had a plan, a budget, an idea of where I wanted to do the project and a timeframe. I applied affirmitively. I have all of that. I am ready to go. He said, Great! Then we can do it. It is still the most amazing experience I have ever had in presenting a plan for a concept. It was kismet. Everything just unfolded naturally.

San Fernando is absolutely different from Port-Of-Spain. It is a circular town and it feels like one lost in time.

San Fernando is a busy, narrow hub of activity. People, vendors and cars vie for space and there we were putting down stencils and spray paint cans and walking along the Carnival Route like it was a normal day.

What was really special about being in San Fernando in its hub was the interactivity with the public. Particularly the vendors. The curious did more than just look on. One lady asked me whether I could spray paint her shirt and I complied.

She was so pleased. She said that this would be her outfit for Carnival Tuesday.

Our art4Dst33t on a tee-shirt gets pride of place on makeshift galvanize sheeting.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The MerMade Shopp -

Image
The MerMade Shopp  After I completed my degree at PRATT I was deciding my next career move. The pull and tug between being in New York with its enticements and wanting to take my learning back to my homeland occupied my mind. A friend of mine, Mervyn De Goeas was also of like mind and was encouraging me to consider going back to Trinidad. He had procured funding to create his dream theatre and we had several conversations about his plans that factored into two to three years ahead. He had also secured permission for plays and had outlined who he would want on his team. He reasoned that I could do all the aspects of design from trademark to set design. So, convinced by this initiative I returned to Trinidad and Tobago. After even many more conversations on the viabilities, The MerMade Shop was created. The first play chosen was Rick Abbott’s PLAY ON, . a light hearted period comedy. WHo knew that this play would mirror what would happen elsewhere. We procured the then major space fo...
Read more

art4Dst33t The SAVANNA

Image
PROJECT: art4Dst33t : 1’ to 2’ hand cut stencils - theme : Traditional Carnival Characters of Trinidad and Tobago funding : The Ministry of Culture of Trinidad and Tobago locations : Port-of-Spain and San Fernando duration of project : Three days ———————— I learned so much from doing art4Dst33t . First of all, having an idea and then considering how to make it happen is a free flowing moment. Many thoughts about HOW to do it come up. But also WHY DO IT? How to do it…who can help, what it costs… all are factored into this idea. In Trinidad and Tobago we have the luxury and challenge of people in authority and the public blankly looking at you and listening to your exciting idea totally poker faced. Nobody cares ! One really has to believe in oneself and one's intentions. Always in the back of your mind you know that you can be completely dismissed by others. So you have to go for your dreams. The opportunity that I see in our Carnival season is its very contradiction. Traditionall...
Read more

Where we begin: Stony Brook

Image
SPATIAL consciousness WHAT does SPACE * mean? * This Performance shows the labor of work. The viewer can see what physical effort looks like in a working day. Is it empty? What fills it? Sight….Sound…..is it Light?….is it Heavy? …how do you Define the spaces you enter? …. what do you look at or feel ? …How conscious are you about THE ROOM? Performing the STATE This is a larger statement. In Trinidad and Tobago ‘ the State ’ is the biggest vehicle of control. Our government is the major employer of its citizens. We observe what IS Performance within the State? Is it by rote? Is it conscious? Is it healthy? How do we as citizens support a LIVING Space? SOCIAL JUSTICE Aesthetics helps answer the question. - When we are all invested - and this must go beyond a salary, - it must go past herd thinking - when we think as a Group understanding that WE ALL MATTER, - we support the same Goals and Intentions - there is Fairness and Equity - then and only then can we feel SEEN HEARD RESPECTED. T...
Read more