One of the prominent themes of EN MAS is the mask, which is commonly worn during such festivals. Here masks are shown in Hew Locke's "Give and Take". In light of this, the NAGB will host a mask-decorating workshop at Gambier Primary to raise funds for the school.

Today, Saturday, May 21, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) is encouraging all members of the public to support Gambier Primary's fundraising initiative. The school will be hosting a fair to raise money for a covered assembly area, and the NAGB will be participating with a mask-decorating workshop for kids.

The workshop is particularly appropriate, in light of the NAGB's most recent temporary exhibition, EN MAS': Carnival, Junkanoo and Performance Art of the Caribbean. The exhibition is curated by Claire Tancons and Krista Thompson and features a body of works exploring the relationship between performance art, street festivals and contemporary art. EN MAS' has been making the rounds, travelling from New Orleans to the Cayman Islands before coming to the NAGB. One of the prominent themes in the exhibition is the mask, which is commonly worn during such festivals.

Connecting the visual arts with the country's history and heritage is a mandate of the NAGB, as are making art accessible to the general public and promoting local artists. The NAGB's team will be doing all three at the fair, and invites all members of the public to participate for a worthy cause. The mask-decorating workshop begins at noon and the fair will be open from 12 noon until 7 p.m.

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