The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

THE ARTISTRY of Junkanoo costumes cannot be fully appreciated by a view from the sidelines or the television screen. From afar, the colours are not as vibrant; the pieces are not as grand; the engineering and detail are overlooked. It is only through a close encounter that the full creative worth of costumes can be recognised.

Junkanoo World Museum and Arts Centre located Horseshoe Drive has been open for the past three years. It offers an up-and-close experience with Junkanoo pieces featured in past parades. Hundreds of pieces are plastered on the 30-foot high walls of the museum.

The centre is owned by Quinton “Barabbas” Woodside, who is also the founder of Barabbas and the Tribe and Roots Junkanoo groups. The centre held a cocktail reception last Tuesday to recognise young men who contributed their time and effort to make Junkanoo World a success.

Before becoming a museum, the centre was the shack for Roots and Barabbas and the Tribe. However, Mr Woodside had bigger dreams. He transformed the shack into a space that would help in the preservation of Junkanoo artwork and ultimately the country’s culture.

“It is very important to try to preserve costumes. I have pieces all the way back from 1970’s and when I look at what I did from way back then to now, there is a great difference. You can then see how engineering improved and how the construction of costumes has changed.

“People come and they are amazed by the structure of some the pieces in the museum. And then other artists come in and they look at some of the costumes and they go to work. They get their ideas and inspiration from the pieces in the museum. They choose to create costumes the same way as they saw them in the museum or they create them better,” Mr Woodside told Tribune Arts.

Some of the pieces on display in Junkanoo World Museum and Arts Centre are Mr Woodside’s personal pieces and others were donated to the museum by other Junkanooers.  

Mr Woodside said in a museum setting, the detail and ingenuity of lead pieces, head pieces, face masks that are plastered on the walls can be closely examined. It is an opportunity to see what many do not by simply sitting on the bleachers or in the comfort of their homes.

“There have been a lot of pieces that have been lost. After a parade you may see people taking them on the back of their trucks. They do not throw them away. They are recycled. But because sponsors are hard to find, they try to at least keep the frame or structure. They strip them down and they rebuild them,” he said.

However, Mr Woodside said the original art pieces cannot be preserved because they are recycled.

In the past students from Claridge Primary, Christian Heritage, and Gerald Cash Primary school participated in a tour of the museum as part of Junknaoo World’s goal to educate Bahamians on the rich cultural and heritage of the Bahamas, said Mr Woodside.

“We had school children come through and we teach them how to make lobster pots, fish pots;we teach them how to make drums and teach them how to make their own costumes. It is a great income. We preserve the costumes and we travel extensively for our country. As you notice we have a gift shop with craft items. We ship things to the Turks & Caicos. We ship things to London; they love our drums. It is a great thing we have here,” he said.

“I do not think we have sufficient schools coming through. When you call some of the schools they say they do not participate in Junkanoo but at Junkanoo World we do not only teach Junkanoo. We educate them about culture and every aspect, whether it’s straw work, dance, music, art, because it is important for them to understand their culture. And when they come here they see the how we have taken our culture around the world.”

Junkanoo World also has a store which offers a range of authentic Bahamian handicraft such as wood carvings, dolls, leather goods, bead works, souvenir drums, handcrafted jewellery and hair and fashion accessories.