Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

Case Study 2
Masquerade 2000 – An Innovative Approach to Creation
Lincoln Rahmut started and operated the masquerade band Perpetual Beauty in the late 1970s from
his house in Walthamstow. He eventually left the group twenty-one years later when he was
approached by colleagues to set up a new organisation. Taking up the challenge, he created
Masquerade 2000. Rahmut’s philosophy of moving on in Carnival is not new, for some Carnivalists
have a history of moving from one band to another to face more challenges. And the competition
amongst designers and bands is fierce. In Rahmut’s opinion, Carnival is living art. He says: “We use
all sorts of creative arts within Carnival. We do sculpture and cover all aspects of history, life and
emotion. We research and create all these costumes to reflect something.”
Although it may be hard for some Carnivalists to place a value on their creations, Rahmut has costed
his character costumes at £450 each. This, in carnival terms is not considered excessive. Many
designers succeed in creating extravagant and original designs with few resources. Although some
critics of Carnival see this as a limitation, there are others such as teacher and designer Leah Parker
who argue that what is being demonstrated is innovation and resourcefulness. Corn husks, crisp
packets (with the silver side used as lining) and corks are some of the materials used. “In fact”, she
says, “the Notting Hill Carnival can be seen as a great advertisement for recycling”. And the
innovation has paid off. Masquerade 2000 costumes have been used in the Australian feature film
Diana and Me, requested for adverts by Vidal Sassoon and used for catwalk work on the BBC Clothes
Show. More recently, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, commissioned Rahmut to create
a sculpture. Known as “The Crossing”, it currently sits in the Trade & Empire gallery of the museum,
but will be moving to the Merseyside Gallery in Liverpool soon. For Rahmut and Masquerade 2000,
the Carnival arts is a growth industry, which is flexible and resilient enough to cater to the needs of
diverse audiences and venues.
1.56 At the time of the Review Group’s public hearings in 2001, the masqueraders were distinctive in
that they were not represented by any umbrella or trade organisation. All the other arenas were
represented by an umbrella organisation to which their bands were all members: the British
Association of Steel Bands (representing steel bands), the Association of British Calypsonians
(representing calypsonians), British Association of Sound Systems (representing the static sound
system DJs) and the Caribbean Music Association (representing the soca DJs). Although an
umbrella masquerade association had been in existence in the past, differences had led to its
demise. Two issues became abundantly clear during the hearings. The first is that the Mayor’s
strategic review and certainly the Carnival Review Group’s interim report and recommendations
on route change, reducing vehicle numbers and size and support for those art-forms which
reflected traditional Caribbean culture, not only required the masqueraders to develop
appropriate (and unified) responses to these developments, but also to actively engage in the
review process.
1.57 Members of the Review Group were firmly of the view that the presence of an umbrella
organisation with a mandate to represent and speak on behalf of mas bands would have assisted
the individual bands greatly and this was acknowledged during the ‘Mas at Carnival’ public
hearing. It was clear that in the absence of such an organisation, the body responsible for
planning and managing the Carnival appeared to be the next best option. In the case of NHCT,
the masquerade bands were at a disadvantage because they had no representation on the board.
For the Review Group, this raised a number of questions concerning the relationship between
NHCT and the very carnival constituency groups that the organisation was created to represent.
1.58 In the months and days leading up to the Carnival in 2001, the level of media scrutiny, fuelled by
an open hostility between the leadership of NHCT and RBKC respectively, served to crystallise
the need for the masquerade bands to become more involved in the decision-making and
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