EN MAS'

EN MAS’: Carnival and Performance Art of the Caribbean was an exhibition curated by Claire Tancons and Krista Thompson; organised by the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), New Orleans, and Independent Curators International (ICI), New York.

The international travelling exhibition EN MAS: Carnival and Performance Art of the Caribbean made its way to the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) in January 2016. EN MAS’ was a pioneering exploration of the influences of Carnival on contemporary performance practices in the Caribbean, North America, and Europe. Conceived around a series of commissioned performances across six different countries, the exhibition considered the connections between Carnival and performance, masquerade and social criticism, diaspora and transnationalism. Its title comes from a pun on “Mas” (short for “masquerade” and synonymous with carnival in the English-speaking Caribbean).

“Carnival has a long history in our Islands and we are excited to host EN MAS’ as the first venue on its regional tour,” said Natalie Urquhart, NGCI Director. “The nine artists featured in the exhibition have created a series of contemporary performances that draw on the tradition of carnival as a vehicle for social commentary while bringing contemporary performance practice into the wider public arena. We hope the exhibition will be well received by our diverse audiences and that it will encourage dialogue about the role that carnival can play in contemporary Caymanian art practice.”

EN MAS’ took a look at the history of performance that does not take place on the stage or in the gallery, but rather in the streets, addressing not the few but the many. The exhibition introduced performance art with a focus on the influence that Carnival and related masquerading traditions in and of the Caribbean and its diasporas have had on contemporary performance discourse and practice, in both the artistic and curatorial realms.

The exhibition was made possible by an Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award. Additional support was provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and by the Institut français in support of African and Caribbean projects. The exhibition debuted at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) New Orleans in spring 2015.