The Guyana Cultural Association of New York (GCA) is collaborating with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in the 10th annual symposium at the Guyana Folk Festival to preserve the heritage of Masquerade Arts in Guyana.
Speaking in a recent press conference in the boardroom of the ministry on Wednesday, Minister Frank Anthony said that masquerading had become a nuisance to the public instead of being treated as an art form with a legacy and history. He said masquerade bands that parade during the Christmas season demonstrating their passion for masquerading are treated by civilians as a nuisance for obstructing traffic and are stigmatised for the “fine change” they request.
“The workshops would help us to build our appreciation for masquerading and to see it as something integral to our culture as Guyanese,” the minister said, noting that after a long time they are able to recruit this type of talent and publically educate and examine the heritage of such a phenomenal art.
Secretary of the GCA Juliet Emmanuel said it is anticipated that the symposium will help to rehabilitate masquerade art in Guyana and contribute a strategy toward the promotion of its legacy. She said the GCA had been fervently working toward building a curriculum for the symposium that would foster appreciation for the history of masquerading and address the issue of decline in the art. “Masquerading is more than blocking traffic,” she said. “It’s an art.”
President of the GCA, Vibert Cambridge, said that at the symposium there will be lectures on the legacy and origin of the masquerading arts. It will also address the language of masquerade. “It tells a story,” Cambridge said. “In the sessions we will have discussions about the tradition of masquerading, and we will also show films to share knowledge about the art and help you to distribute the knowledge.”
The symposium began yesterday and will continue today at the Umana Yana.
