Curators in Conversation | Our Road to Freedom: Jab, J’ouvert, Revelry & Resistance

As part of CCCADI’s 50th Anniversary Year celebration, “Our Road to Freedom” brought our community together at the intersection of Juneteenth, the summer solstice, and Elegua’s Feast Day to honor Carnival as a living ritual of liberation. At the heart of the day was our “Curators in Conversation” panel, led by Know Your Caribbean, bringing together artists from the exhibition “Jab, J’ouvert, Revelry & Resistance” to share the stories, histories, and spiritual lineages behind their work. Visit our website for more information about the exhibition and our 50th year: https://www.cccadi.org/ Meet the voices featured in this conversation: 00:00 Introduction 00:23 Keegan Taylor is a stick fighter, martial artist, and cultural preservationist from Trinidad and Tobago dedicated to reviving Kalinda, the traditional Afro-Trinidadian art of stick fighting. A lead practitioner and educator with the Kalinda Kollective, Keegan blends martial precision with deep cultural and spiritual understanding. He is also the founder of Ten Global Media, supporting the documentation of traditional arts through film and digital education. (https://www.instagram.com/iamtendaji/... ) (https://www.instagram.com/kalindakoll...) 01:51 Ani Brutus is an interdisciplinary artist of Haitian-Filipino descent working across print, paint, textile, and assemblage. Through layering, Brutus explores how the stories of ancestry and the soul of revolution manifest in everyday life. Trained as a printmaker at the Experimental printmaking Institute at Lafayette College and currently studying at CUNY Hunter College, Ani has exhibited with Haiti Cultural Exchange, Studio 45, Blue Print Archives at Moda Curations, Black Girls Sew, and Push-Up Gallery. (https://www.instagram.com/anibrutus/?...) (https://www.anibrutus.com/?utm_source...) 04:10 Sandra A. M. Bell is a third generation Carnival costume designer, Production Manager, Producer and Teaching Artist. She is CEO of Journeyagents, Inc., co-founder of the JOUVAYFEST Collective, and Executive producer & Head Curator of “The J’ouvert Genesis Immersive Experience” exhibition. A New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow, Sandra has been named Individual of the Year for best Costume Design multiple times by Brooklyn Carnival J’ouvert City International and Trinidad & Tobago Traditional Mas competitions. (https://www.instagram.com/jouvayfest_...) (https://www.jouvayfest.com/) 09:13 Henry Danner is a photographer and visual storyteller who uses his camera as a tool for change. Working across street photography, documentary photography, and photojournalism, Henry highlights the poetic nature of everyday life and the strength of communities, with a focus on Black Identity, social justice, criminal justice, education, and community development. An alumnus from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and co-founder of the visual artist collective Souls in Focus, his photography has appeared in Virginia Quarterly Review, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Pitchfork, and is part of the Brooklyn Museum's permanent collection. (https://www.henrydanner.com/) 11:47 Stephanie Pierre is a cultural curator and creative place maker crafting transformative experiences at the intersection of arts, wellness, and social impact. As founder of The Melanin Project, she pioneered initiatives celebrating marginalized narratives and collective healing, and led the establishment of NYC’s first Haitian Heritage Parade. (https://www.instagram.com/hat5hep5ut/...) She contributed to the exhibition by being a liaison between the center and Haitian artist Michel Chataigne. Michel Chataigne is a trailblazing figure in Haitian fashion and beauty, marking 40 years as a designer, hairstylist, educator and cultural icon. Founder of the Michel Hair Design Institute (Haiti’s first cosmetology school) and the Fashion & Design modeling agency, Michel has shaped Haitian fashion and beauty for generations. (https://www.instagram.com/michelchata...) 16:43 Melody Capote Watch as these artists and cultural bearers sit down with Know Your Caribbean to unpack the concept and stories behind “Jab, J’ouvert, Revelry & Resistance”, exploring Carnival as resistance, joy, and a living archive of freedom.