Build Your Own Junkanoo Character

Interdisciplinary artist Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow is bringing her dynamic workshop to King Manor! Jodie explores the different characters of the Jamaican Junkanoo through a series of performances and workshops. Audience members are invited to create their own Junkanoo-inspired character as a way to educate and revive this tradition. This workshop will feature a historical overview of each character along with costume building using ready-made materials. Shredded clothing and ‘junk’ will be used to create Junkanoo costumes and props that are meant to be activated not only during the traditionally held Christmas Holidays but during other times of the year as participants see fit.

Unlike the carnival processions during Labor Day in Brooklyn that are celebratory for being Caribbean, Jodie celebrates decolonizing by bringing Junkanoo to a heightened relevance through a series of educational workshops, exhibitions, and performances during other times of the year. She has researched the customs of the past to re-invent ways to address today’s political climate, instilling the known present and the building of more informed futures. With this workshop, Jodie offers an in-depth study and a more conclusive understanding of this Pan-African tradition.

Advanced registration required. Ages 12 and older.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program,  a program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and administered by Flushing Town Hall.