When Dr. Martha Radice first traveled to New Orleans over a decade ago to attend a major anthropology conference, she never expected the city to have such an impact on her research. It was.
A social anthropologist whose research focuses on the social, spatial, and cultural dynamics of cities, her exposure to New Orleans’ carnival culture inspired her to turn the annual celebration into a festival. We began to explore the impact it has on the thousands of people who participate in it.
“Carnival brings a lot of joy to people, but it also requires a lot of effort,” says Dr. Radice, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Her current research project is Seize the Joy: New Orleans’ New Wave Carnival Crew Explores the “new wave” of carnival krewes and masking in New Orleans. This work focuses on the Walking His Krewe (a social club that organizes carnival activities) who hand-make costumes, floats, and throws and parade on foot instead of riding on floats.
Dr. Radice, along with photographer Ryan Hodgson Rigsby, is giving the public a glimpse of that joy and the work behind it through a joint exhibit currently on display on the fence outside the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The show will run until just after Mardi Gras Day, February 13th of this year.
This research is funded by an Insights Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and a New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation Archives Fellowship.
Starting a carnival from scratch It’s a tribute to the people who handcraft the New Orleans Carnival and walk it through the streets. It features 70 photographs taken by Hodgson Rigsby over the past eight years and the stories of the people depicted. Dr. Ladis, currently on sabbatical in New Orleans, wrote the accompanying text, captions, and quotes.
Ryan Hodgson Rigsby and Martha Radice pictured near the “Carnival From the Ground Up” exhibit in New Orleans. (Photo © 2024 G. Mouton, III.)
Ladis first met Hodgson Rigsby in 2016 on a four-month research trip to New Orleans. She saw him taking pictures everywhere she went. She notes that Hodgson Rigsby is working on a similar project to hers, but uses photographs instead of words, and that her research into something so visually dynamic as Carnival is already a cultural and I realized that collaborating with talented photographers who were familiar with the community would be very fulfilling. The two planned to create an outdoor photography exhibition as one of Dr. Radice’s knowledge mobilization events supported by his SSHRC Insight Grant.
See images and stories from the exhibition at the bottom of this article.
create in a social way
The captions and quotes accompanying Hodgson Rigsby’s colorful photographs are taken from Dr. Radice’s interviews with delegates, and explore what attending a carnival, especially the “do-it-yourself” part, means to people. It explains what to do.
What she discovered is that creating a carnival brings joy to people. It’s not just about the excitement of the parade, it’s also about the satisfaction of being able to learn new skills and skills, freeing people from the behind-the-scenes work of making things for the carnival.Teach others along the way.
“There’s joy in being creative, coming up with new ideas, and playing with familiar themes,” she says, adding that people enjoy working and parading with other members of the group. They also build a sense of community when they perform in front of crowds lining the streets.
“There’s also the excitement and magic that people feel when they’re in a moment of their own creation, when they show up in a suit or costume on a parade or Mardi Gras day. For many, it’s about preserving a long-standing tradition or , it’s spiritual because you’re participating in rituals that have deep meaning.”
Passersby view carnival from above on Decatur Street in New Orleans. 70 photos of him are available 24/7. (Photo © 2024 Ryan Hodgson Rigsby)
Dr. Radice’s research allowed her to experience first-hand the joy of carnival. An anthropologist, she uses participant observation techniques to learn about her research topics.
“I was able to learn about carnival by attending and helping out,” she says.
“I think being able to create something with other people in a social way, in an environment outside of paid work, is an important and rewarding kind of activity, and that’s probably a very good thing for us as humans. What’s amazing is that New Orleans Carnival establishes a social structure every year that allows people to do this. And I think that’s something we can really learn from.”
Follow @carnivalfromthegroundup on Instagram to see daily photos and read more about the exhibits Starting a carnival from scratch On Dr. Radice’s website.
See selections from the exhibition below. Photo by Ryan Hodgson Rigsby. Words by Martha Radice.
Photo © 2024 Ryan Hodgson Rigsby. Please do not reproduce without permission.
The Society of Sainte-Anne, dressed as a phoenix, will parade down Chartres Street toward Jackson Square on its way to the river for Mardi Gras 2022. Sainte-Anne was founded in 1969 by a group of friends who wanted to revive the extravagant and glorious street masking tradition of Mardi Gras’ past. As one long-time member puts it, they remain “a very anachronistic and anarchic group with no membership list or dues. We were once a secret society and are now the kind of band you often see on Mardi Gras mornings.” , a spontaneous event in which a group of friends and neighbors dressed in their finest regalia take a long walk together.”
Photo © 2024 Ryan Hodgson Rigsby. Please do not reproduce without permission.
Crew de Lune will be parading with the theme “Night of the Living Art” in Crewe Bohème’s 2023 parade. His Krewe de Lune, founded in 2009, not only hosts the annual Spaceballs and Lunar Lagniappe fundraisers, but also creates amazing puppets, costumes and contraptions to delight parade goers. Masu.
Photo © 2024 Ryan Hodgson Rigsby. Please do not reproduce without permission.
Members of the Totally Orgasmic Crew of intergalactic Ne’er-do-wells, better known as TOKIN, will be parading at the Crew du Vieux in 2023.
Photo © 2024 Ryan Hodgson Rigsby. Please do not reproduce without permission.
“It’s healing the child inside. Most of the women I’ve met, most of the Babydolls, have been through struggles in their lives. It’s healing, it’s spiritual. It’s healing for the audience. When people see me or other women dressed like dolls, no matter what they’ve been through, they just see us and meet us, even if it’s only for five minutes. Even if it doesn’t last, it’s five minutes of mental healing. When we play on Mardi Gras day, it doesn’t matter what hardships happened yesterday. When we put on our regalia, it’s learning to let go. It’s like, all that matters is healing, bringing a happy and joyful spirit. It’s a spiritual release.”
Baby Doll Carol “Kit” Harris of Nowlins Dolins dancing at the 2019 Krewe Paranoia Parade. The tradition of baby doll masking dates back to the early 20th century. Although it declined in the mid-20th century, proud black New Orleans women began reviving the baby doll in the 1970s. Founded in 2016 by Baby Doll Kit, her N’awlins D’awlins is one of her groups that continues to thrive in culture.
Photo © 2024 Ryan Hodgson Rigsby. Please do not reproduce without permission.
“At work, he’s always covered in filth and polished up with glamorous Mardi Gras make-up, whereas he’s an art rat behind the scenes. The idea was to create a masking play where you don’t know which is the real reality. Being on the river is the most sacred time of the Mardi Gras day. I always end up crying. There’s a baptism there. Rivers give you more space to process. They give you a break during the day where you can focus on yourself. It’s an intimate moment. At work, you can keep floats out of your face all year round. We’re going to leave it in a few inches, but we don’t know how it’s going to turn out until the parade finally starts and it comes together as one unit. The pictures along the river are what I’m gushing about. Using floats, the artists hide behind the surface of the water. Dressing up in costume is one of the few creative experiences where you can see people’s reactions in real time. But if you need too many interactions, you can hide behind a mask and find that sweet spot.”
Caroline Thomas is the Art Director at Royal Artists and the lead painter for the Rex and Proteus Carnival Parade, and will be seen at work in Rex’s den in 2022 and in Mississippi on Mardi Gras Day in 2023. He was photographed wearing the costume at the river.
Photo © 2024 Ryan Hodgson Rigsby. Please do not reproduce without permission.
“I belong to the Krewe of Armenius, one of the oldest gay krewes in Mardi Gras. Instead of a parade, we throw a ball. This blue costume was part of the ball painting, but the krewe’s Tradition is to take the costumes to the French Quarter’s Bourbon Street Awards on Mardi Gras Day to show them off again, so instead of six months, a year’s worth of work is completed in just one night. 2020 Theme is “time ball”. There’s a three-foot TARDIS on my back, undulating blue and black with Roman numerals, so it’s the opening sequence of Doctor Who. And the costume won the Best Drag category. We won in 2022 as well! I started doing drag in his 2018 and it’s been going so well that I was able to quit my day job in public health to do my art full time, even though I loved working in public health. . Right now, the sweet spot for me is combining drugs and public health!”
Debbie with a D (@debbiewithad) created this outfit for her first performance at the Krewe of Armeinius bal masqué. Here she is preparing to host Tuesday’s Open Talent Night at Oz on Bourbon Street.