Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

esearch that is already available within Goldsmiths College, on Carnival and this
includes the carnavalised strategies for the reading of Caribbean literature, the music
of Carnival, carnival arts and continuing education.
4.36.3 University institutions aside, the Arts Council has done much to promote Carnival
arts. In the run up to the 1996 Notting Hill Carnival, the Arts Council arranged a
series of debates on carnival in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Arts
(ICA). The talks were part of the ICA’s ‘Spaced Out’ programme and speakers
included the dramatist Errol Hill who is recognised as an authority on Carnival, Pat
Bishop and Clary Salandy of Mahogany Carnival Band. One point that is not often
stated is that many of the practitioners hired to lead these Carnival workshops are
professionals in their fields, often holding degrees in art-related subjects such as
theatre design, fashion, administration, community relations and education. One
student observed: “The assumption among some of the students is that because it’s
carnival, a guest tutor is only present in the classroom because they work with a
masquerade band. It’s not always like that”. 92
Mainstreaming Carnival Arts in Higher Education – The Case Studies
4.37 The Anthropology of Carnival: Masquerade Politics (Elective Unit for anthropology
students at the University of East London) - students study carnival and participate in
some form of carnival performance. The course consists of workshops in mask and costume,
samba percussion and dance. There are numerous topics to choose from including Carnival as
play, Carnival as transformation: Lewes Fire Festival, the Notting Hill Carnival and the
anthropology of “mas”, Carnival as resistance: black resistance in post “emancipation”,
Trinidad and Carnival as joking relationship: Cohen’s theory of the Notting Hill Carnival. In
terms of learning outcomes, students are expected to be conversant with an appropriate body
of interpretative literature, especially the different theoretical assumptions about Carnival
from European historiography compared to social anthropology, acquire management and
carnival skills, and enhance their report and creative writing skills.
4.38 Teacher training - In 1999, the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths College
ran an Art Education, Carnival arts and Caribbean cultures course aimed at teachers, youth and
play workers, classroom assistants and museum education staff. It had accreditation at
Masters Level for students who were suitably qualified. The course aim was to explore ways
of including Caribbean cultural material more effectively in multicultural or intercultural
project development. The learning outcomes were as follows: to raise awareness of Caribbean
visual culture and the culture of Carnival; develop skills in making traditional western art
practices relevant to African Caribbean students; enable students to gain a greater
understanding of Carnival arts and the ways in which these can be approached in schools or
other settings; develop some practical skills relating to the construction of Carnival costumes;
gain a firmer understanding of Caribbean visual art practices and their place in the African
diaspora; and develop skills, knowledge and understanding of how Carnival can underpin the
National Curriculum.
4.39 A carnival workshop is central for first year students on its BA education course as part of their
professional studies. The course, in part, is taught by practitioners from well known
masquerade bands including Ros Price from South Connections and it is compulsory. Every
92
Carol Brown.
148