Let’s face it, when it comes to the arts pecking order, carnival arts is not at the top of the list. But during the last decade in the UK there seems to have been a revival in carnie fortunes. Things started looking up in 1998 when Arts Council England announced it was investing £3 million towards a new National Centre for Carnival Arts in Luton.
But was their faith and their money misplaced? Does anyone really appreciate carnival arts as an art form?
As one might expect, the Arts Council doesn’t think so. A recent press release announced that in addition to funds allocated for the new centre, ‘we support carnival groups across the country throughout the year and are committed to developing carnival arts and artists, with investment in Carnival in London totalling £1million in 2005/06.’
But the funding body’s commitment to this underdog of the arts world, has attracted criticism from some quarters. Writing in online new journal Spiked, Josie Appleton described the Centre’s mission statement ‘to “[disseminate] best practice within the carnival community” as whacky.’
Of course The Luton Carnival Arts Development Trust, (as the Centre was named) is used to fielding critics. A notice on their web page seeks to legitimize their entitlement to funding, thus: ‘Lots of people think of Carnival as being just a ‘one day thing’, but actually it takes all year to create. All the fabulous costumes you see in the parade, the steel pans and drums being played, the dancers and the street performers, all of these groups and more are working for twelve months of the year, rehearsing, designing, making and sharing their love of carnival arts with others.’
Sceptics might read that and still not be convinced by the validity of the art form. Fair enough, appreciation is subjective after all. But it would be a cold heart indeed that wasn’t warmed by the clear connection carnival has to ordinary members of the community doing all that ‘rehearsing, designing, making and sharing their love’ in the build up to that one special day.
The carnival arts have always belonged to the people. Modern carnivals are a fusion of carnival traditions that arose independently throughout Italy, as festivals celebrating the end of Lent (carnevale is Italian meaning “to put away the meat”), and out of ancient African tribal traditions. This fusion took place primarily in South and Central America, the Caribbean, USA and later throughout Europe. The epitome of carnival expression takes place every year during in Rio de Janeiro over four days that include Carnival Sunday (seven weeks before Easter Sunday).
At the grassroots level carnival arts serve an important function in arousing the curiosity and excitement of local communities, as well as providing a means for fostering links with other cultures within those communities. They empower whole groups of people, develop their confidence and make them feel good. Essentially, carnival arts deliver public goods that public money, such as the investments made by the Arts Council, can buy, and relatively cheaply at that.
In the UK school outreach work is undertaken to ensure that carnival arts continue to resonate with children and the Arts Council has again stepped in to support a recently announced award for National Young Carnival Designer.
With the publication of the Arts Council’s National Carnival Arts Strategy 2005-2007, one might begin to suspect that such a major focus on what has traditionally been viewed as an art form practised mainly by members of a poor minority is simply political manoeuvring to win over minority community groups. Then again, the world seems to be full of conspiracy theories nowadays. And in the meantime, at least the Notting Hill Carnival, London’s answer to Rio, is secure for another couple of years.
