Under the Arches: A Story of Sunshine (Part Two)
Sunshine International Arts | 2002–2025
Carnival isn’t just a moment—it’s a movement. And in 2024, we opened the doors to our most ambitious expression of that movement yet: Carnival Dreams.
Curated by Ray Mahabir, the exhibition was a love letter to the last 27 years — a vibrant collection of costume, colour, community, and resistance. It was a space where people could not only see the artistry behind the work, but feel its meaning. Understand its origins. Learn its power.
For many, it was the first time they truly understood the depth of Carnival. Not just the spectacle — but the sacrifice. Not just the beauty — but the story. From Trinidad to London, from emancipation to expression, Carnival Dreams told the truth in full colour.
It wasn’t just a look back — it was a stake in the ground. A declaration: Carnival belongs here.
Because what we’ve built under these arches isn’t just an art space — it’s a bridge. Between memory and movement. Between tradition and new imagination. A space that holds both resistance and renewal.
Our vision for the future is simple: to protect, teach, and evolve Carnival. To continue carving out space for cultural expression that is rooted in heritage and open to innovation. To ensure that young people not only learn their history — but see themselves in it.
And for me, that vision is deeply personal.
I was born Trinidadian. Carnival isn’t something I learned — it’s something I am. At eleven years old, I dreamed of becoming a Carnival artist. That dream never left me. It followed me across oceans, across decades, into this very moment.
Today, I share that story in our workshops — especially when we explore culture and identity. I tell young people: Don’t give up on your dreams. Your story matters. Your history matters. Carnival is a teaching tool. One of the most powerful we have.
Because Carnival is more than feathers and basslines. It’s memory. It’s movement. It’s survival.
I often ask myself: When did I first feel the power of culture as a force for education or resistance? There were so many moments. Watching my mother sew cloth into fantasy. Seeing the joy and purpose that Carnival brought to the streets. Later, working in the UK and realising how few spaces existed for these stories to breathe.
That’s why we have to document it. Why we can’t let Carnival be flattened into a party. It’s a legacy. A line of history that stretches through emancipation, through migration, through joy, through grief — into creation.
And I see its impact every single year.
I see it when a young person learns what J’ouvert means — and what it meant for those who came before. I see it when someone who’s never made art before suddenly holds a headpiece they crafted with their own hands. I see it when culture goes from abstract to embodied — when they realise they are part of something powerful.
That’s what Sunshine Studios is for. To be a space where you can wear your culture. Shape your history. Live your legacy.
So we continue. We protect the roots of Carnival while opening the door to the remix. We keep telling stories. We keep creating space.
From our first Carnival inside the arches, to now — twenty years, hundreds of hands, and thousands of memories later — this place still hums with possibility. The rumble of the trains still moves overhead. And beneath it all, our rhythm continues. Culture. Community. Carnival.
It all happened here.
It all happens here.
Under the arches. Always.
📸 Have memories from your time at Sunshine Studios? Share your stories or photos with us for our upcoming Sunshine Archives series. Let’s honour the journey together.