NASSAU, The Bahamas -- The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the National Airport Development Company (NAD) and Cultural Experience Productions (CEP) have partnered in the program “A Taste of Junkanoo”, bringing Junkanoo artwork to the millions of passengers passing through the Lynden Pindling International Airport.
During a tour of the artwork at the Airport, Monday, April 26, 2010, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture the Hon Charles Maynard said his Ministry is excited about the exposure of Bahamian culture in general and, in this instance, Junkanoo.
“This is something that persons have been advocating for a long time,” Minister Maynard said. “We found NAD to be very co-operative and it took a small commitment from our Ministry, in terms of resources, to make it happen.
“It is a test project, in the first instance; but based on the initial success and the feedback, we expect that this is going to be a long-term venture where we would be able to get the winners from each of the parades to have their pieces displayed for a period of time. It gives the exposure to our national celebration and causes people to, hopefully, want to experience it in its full splendour.
According to NAD, installation of the Junkanoo displays took place on March 15 and will be up until the end of May in the Domestic Departures Lounge, International Terminal / B Pier, Bahamas Customs Hall and the US Terminal C Pier.
Project Manager from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Angelique McKay said the program was an extension of an earlier project that was aimed at businesses displaying Bahamian artwork, as artists were seeking more spaces and galleries to showcase their talent.
She said NAD is big enough in space and visitor traffic to showcase even larger Junkanoo pieces.
“We met with NAD a few times and they were more in agreement to be able to accommodate the Junkanoo artists and to be in a position to be able to rotate those pieces; so what that does is it allows us to continually expose another area of the culture of The Bahamas,” Ms McKay said.
“When persons come in, we press that stamp into their brain, into their consciousness, and when people leave, they are able to see that. This is not only in the international terminal, but in every terminal where you either come in or leave you get that same stamp with a piece of Junkanoo art that is up close and personal.
President and CEO at NAD, Craig Richmond said the partnership is in keeping with the company’s cultural mandate and the program is sensitising visitors to the Bahamian experience.
“We would like to keep doing that (displaying Junkanoo pieces) in the future,” Mr Richmond said. “We will bring in some of the most spectacular costumes because we think that it is fun for people to see that, most of our visitors have never seen it before – fun for Bahamians to be reminded; but fun for people especially here in the US terminal who have never to seen it before.
“This is part of our art program. We have permanent art, the commissioned pieces, that are going in. We have rotating art, which will be artists putting in their pieces for six months behind glass. And then we have aspects like this, where you have a big Junkanoo costume out where people can see.”
Mr Richmond added that there is nothing like Junkanoo around the world and the one thing that he would like to see, for the passengers passing through the terminal, is more information on the cultural celebration.
“The one thing that we would like to see – and the Ministry is going to put up shortly – is explanations (about Junkanoo) because, if you get off the airplane from somewhere in the States and you never saw it before, you might wonder “What is this?”
“The story of Junkanoo is very interesting – where it comes from, the shack experience and everybody working hard to make it work – and then for visitors to understand what is the significance of the amount of work that went into that and that (in the case of the off-the-shoulder piece on display) someone had to carry it for hours and dance,” Mr Richmond said. “We really think it helps hugely with the Bahamian sense of place.”
Ms McKay said the program allows the Junkanoo artists, from a cross-section of various groups, to realise another way of generating revenue from something that they are so passionate about because the exposure will create more interest in them.
“Persons are going to begin to inquire about it, more opportunities to create these pieces are going to happen, more opportunities to have smaller festivals are going to be created,” she said. “That is the way that we envision something like this beginning to happen. With the expansion of the airport, it creates further opportunities for us to able to be a part of that because NAD appears to be very committed to supporting the arts and the culture of The Bahamas.”
She also pointed out that a few of the Junkanoo artists working on the expansion of some of the pieces were not in the same group, showing that there is a sense of camaraderie, even across group lines.
Minister Maynard added that as a Junkanoo artisan himself, he is happy to see that a piece that used to be thrown away after one parade is being saved and recognised as art.
“Now more and more people save them for some kind of reuse,” Minister Maynard said. “I could think of no better reuse than this and I am proud to know that I had a little hand to play in making sure that this could be a reality for people I can relate with, in terms of the amount of commitment they put into create their artwork.”
Mr Richmond added that NAD would like to continue the showcasing of Bahamian culture and Junkanoo, in particular, in new and progressive ways.
“I would even like to see in the future, especially in the new terminal during times like Christmas; I would like to see Junkanoo live,” he said. “I think it would be hugely welcoming to people.
“If they had not seen it, it would get them excited to go down town and see it. I think it has a huge ability to export that enthusiasm and that fun, as well. There’s nothing like it.”
