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BRIC Rotunda Gallery presents

MAS’ FROM PROCESS TO PROCESSION Caribbean Carnival as Art Practice

Guest Curated by Claire Tancons

September 12 – October 20, 2007

Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 12 from 7 to 9 pm Panel Discussion: Thursday, September 20 at 7pm MAS’ Procession: Saturday, October 6 at 2pm

MOKO JUMBIES: TheMOKO JUMBIES: Dancing of Spirits Trinidad

© Stefan Falke from his book

Brooklyn, NY (Aug. 6, 2007) – BRIC Rotunda Gallery is pleased to present MAS’: From Process to Procession , an exhibition about Caribbean Carnivals as art practice curated by Claire Tancons. MAS’ features Laura Anderson Barbata , Nicolás Dumit Estévez , Stefan Falke, Marlon Griffith, Karyn Olivier, Caecilia Tripp, Superior Concept Monsters / (Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles) , eight artists ranging from performance and processional artists to masmen (masqueraders). Coming from and/or having worked in the Caribbean, all the artists in the exhibition recognize Carnival as a potent vehicle for contemporary artistic practice with a public reach and a global appeal.

MAS’: From Process to Procession captures the creation process of contemporary Caribbean Carnivals from preparatory drawings and works-in-progress to final street processions. Short for masquerade, Mas’ is synonymous with Carnival, and is a common name for the living art that is central to the annual festivities in Trinidad. Carnival customs and practices from Trinidad and other countries, including the Dominican Republic and Curaçao, are represented in the exhibition through drawing, costume, sculpture, installation, photography and film.

Caribbean carnivals have evolved into an art form that bridges folk traditions with multimedia art in a dynamic interdisciplinary art experience. MAS’ seeks to unveil Carnival with its innovative forms, satirical appraisals, and public presentations, as one of the most complete yet under recognized contemporary art forms.

In conjunction with the exhibition, artists, musicians and Carnival experts will come together to discuss the importance of Trinidad Mas’ in the development of Carnival as art practice, contemporary Carnival practices in the Caribbean and beyond and why Carnival or Mas’ is an energetic and valuable art form at a panel discussion at BRIC Rotunda Gallery on September 20 at 7pm .

Claire Tancons has recently been appointed Associate Curator at Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans (CACNO) where she will contribute to the programming of the Visual Arts Department and assist with the implementation of PROSPECT, the US new international Biennial, with a first edition in the Fall of 2008. A native of Guadeloupe, French West Indies, Tancons holds degrees in Museum Studies from the Ecole du Louvre, Paris, and in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute, London, as well as being a former Curatorial Fellow of the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. She has held research and curatorial positions in the US as well as organized independent projects internationally in Trinidad and South Africa. Her most recent New York project was ( The efflorescence of) Walter , Ralph Lemon’s first visual arts exhibition, which she co-curated with Anthony Allen for The Kitchen in the Fall 2007. She was until recently a Research Associate at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris and has written for exhibition catalogues and reviews such as Nka , Small Axe , and Third Text .

BRIC Rotunda Gallery presents contemporary art, public events and an innovative arts education program. The Gallery’s aim is to increase the visibility and accessibility of contemporary art while bridging the gap between the art world and global culture in Brooklyn and the world beyond. BRIC Rotunda Gallery is the visual arts program of BRIC Arts | Media | Brooklyn , multi-disciplinary arts and media non-profit, dedicated to presenting visual, performing and media arts programs that are reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse communities, and to providing resources and platforms to support the creative process.

Located in Brooklyn Heights, just over the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, BRIC Rotunda Gallery is a short walk from the 2,3; 4,5; M; or R trains at Court Street/Borough Hall; or the A, C trains at High Street. The Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 to 6 pm.