This Saturday 26th August, 11:30-5pm, Blemme Fatale Productions are running a costume making and Caribbean diasporic history workshop for people of African and Caribbean heritage, ahead of Carnival.
We spoke to the team about what workshop participants can expect, creative expression through clothing and the importance of Carnival.
Tickets are on sale now for only £2.50. Get yours here.
This Saturday you're going to be running a unique guided costume making and Caribbean diasporic history workshop. Can you tell us a bit about what the workshop is going to involve and what participants can expect? We've got a cute weekend planned cuz if we going to carni we going to come with the knowledge and we going to come with a fire costume!! The history of notting hill carnival will be explored with the group led by MB Fortune. Alizée Ndiaye will support with sketches and building costumes. No sewing experience needed - we've got glue guns! Expect good Trini food, music and loads of materials including gems, feathers, stretchy fabric, fishnets, bras, wire all on us!! Bring bras, underwear and fishnets if you got stuff already. and it doesn't end there !!! ON SUNDAY, we will be doing a cute professional shoot at Notting Hill Carnival at 11am so you all get lovely photographs in your costumes :)) Led by the amazing Alizée Ndiaye, participants will have the chance to create a stunning piece to wear. Can you speak a bit about clothing as a space for creativity and personal expression? Clothing, especially cultural clothing, is a powerful armour we can put on ourselves where we can quite literally feel pride and confidence and ourselves. There is a really defined Caribbean fashion culture that we don't tap into enough and how at home it could make us feel. From Miss Lou Bennett's madras to the camo and ripped skinny jeans combo - the Caribbean celebrates creativity and personal expression through clothing and carnival is the pinnacle of this spirit. MB Fortune will be sharing history behind Caribbean culture during the workshop. Why do you think it's so important that we know, and build on, a connection to shared history? It's so important we understand our shared history, especially considering how recent it was, because we deserve to know our culture, history and language in a way that colonialism has denied us. And we have to fight for that. And that means making our own supplementary schools to teach Black history, developing our own language courses because our languages aren't being taken seriously and hosting workshops so we can create and absorb the knowledge as a collective. The workshop is taking place ahead of Notting Hill Carnival. What does Carnival mean to you?
Carnival is the spirit of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora.
Carnival is a celebration of empanciation, rebellion, Afro-Caribbean folklore, culture and tradition.
Carnival is the history of our ancestors and through such struggle we can have solace knowing they felt joy.
Buy your £2.50 ticket to join the workshop here.
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