The theme of this year’s Community Carnival is ‘Past, Present & Future’ and the event will begin with the traditional Carnival Procession at 12 noon from Vane Terrace, outside Darlington Arts Centre and Stanhope Park on Saturday June 27th. This year’s carnival artists are Emma Shankland and Amy Johnson, and we caught up with them at their first open art workshop for community groups involved in the Carnival.
Emma has worked in theatre and art workshops in schools and community centres in both the UK and Canada for the last 20 years and most enjoys being a maker. All her skills are very useful for community carnivals and she is looking forward to the art workshops with community groups, making lots of costumes, props and masks. Amy is an artist who has run her own business in the North East for the last 6 years, delivering carnival workshops and her own art practice, including working on last year’s Darlington Carnival, and she most enjoys being a sculptor.
They both feel that the best things about being involved in a local carnival are the excitement, colour, large scale models, costumes and WOW factor that working together with local community groups can create. ‘Getting people involved in art, and to work together, have fun and produce a big event like Darlington Carnival is a great achievement. It’s fun and hard work mixed together with the anticipation of the Carnival Procession and the chance to show off to the whole town what can be gained by working together’
Volunteers from Willow Road Community Centre planning ideas with the Carnival artists
