2019 celebrates fashion, art and photography, showcasing the country as a significant cultural heritage destination. Our National Pavilion, entitled Find Yourself: Carnival and Resistance, further develops the concept of sustainability, telling the strength of a small Caribbean country and how their intangible cultural heritage is translated into contemporary art. As Antigua and Barbuda’s, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Chet Greene has stated, “The origin of carnival as an act of resistance remains true in modern festivals, and is of relevance today in our fight for social justice.”

The environment of a carnavalesque world is flexible, accommodating shifting identities, which leads to introspection. This exhibition is a global study of national identity through expression or repression of rituals and defiance. The international migration of symbols of freedom of expression and treasures highlight the unique history and similarities among people from many continents. As an example, our show investigates Venetian glass beads first brought to the West Indies by Christopher Columbus through to recycled glass beads from Africa.

With the pageantry of costumes, parades, resolute song and dance, it is the manifestation of defiance from its inception as a slavery and post abolition phenomenon to the present day-–where the people celebrate beauty at the same time protesting against climate inequality, human trafficking, and other issues that threaten the stability of the peaceful island nation.

In Find Yourself, portraits of Antiguans and Barbudans align the gallery walls in daily life, weddings, funerals, and carnival. The photographic exhibition is enlivened by videos of music, protest songs called calypsoes, and dance, with towering mannequins clad in modern-day carnival dress as a contemporary personification of strength.

Forward looking and at the same time thorough in understanding a people’s history, Antigua and Barbuda’s carnival expresses political will and the sovereignty of a soul, and stands as a microcosm of the world and today’s vulnerabilities. Woven into the exhibition in its stance against cultural and human exploitation is a message to challenge modern day slavery and social inequality. As these threats are equally dangerous across the globe, visitors are invited to contemplate their respective society within the pavilion and to find meaning in their own national forms of cultural expression.

Finally, on behalf of the curator and the Honourable Ministers Greene and Matthew, the National Pavilion of Antigua and Barbuda would like to thank President Baratta and the curator Ralph Rugoff for the invitation and wishes good work to all the National and Collateral participations.