Masking to UNmask. Masquerade workshop with Waldane Walker

This two-day workshop series invites the queer and extended community to engage in an immersive exploration of ancestral traditions of masquerade rooted in African and Caribbean practices, which hold profound cultural and spiritual significance within their respective communities.

The workshops aim to challenge and rewrite dominant narratives around queer identity and expression by exploring the transformational qualities of masking within this context, and by supporting how the sacrality rooted in these practices offers a reconnection with self. Walker presents masquerade (or “playing MAS”) as a potent act of revelation, a way to uncover one’s truest self.

Through this lens, the workshops delve into themes of joy, healing, resistance, and self-discovery. Participants will engage with masquerade traditions such as Jonkonnu (Jamaica), Dame Lorraine (Trinidad & Tobago), Egungun (Nigeria), and Gelede (Benin) as a transformative tool for accessing and expressing their authentic identities.

In concluding the series, participants should be empowered with both tangible and intangible contributions to the practice of MAS, whether it’s through the paraphernalia created in the process, the archetypal masquerade expressions that spark joy, or the energising movement practices that promote personal transformation.