On May 5th, 2012, CAMACA Folk Designs hosted an Art Reception to officially launch its business. The event held at Marlee’s Tea and Coffee House in Atlanta, GA was attended by many supporters of Caribbean art and culture including president of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Georgia, Alan Simpson, Atlanta Carnival Public Relations Officer, Junia Blackburn and members of WRFG’s popular ‘Caribbean Runnings’ radio program including yours truly!
The event featured the designs of fabric artist and creator of CAMACA, Marie-Ella Williams who gave the audience insight on the inspiration behind starting this initiative, the reasons why she chose her designs and the future plans for the business. The evening also featured local artistes who showcased their poetry and spoken word skills. The night concluded with a steel-pan rendition from local DJ, King Apache.
CAMACA Folk Designs, uses the medium of fabric art to capture images and tell stories of the rich cultural heritage of the Caribbean. The company was established in 1988, and has decided to launch its business to the international markets. Designs come in various sizes and renditions including pen and ink, hand-cuts and motifs. One of the most prominently featured designs include; the ‘Pan Man’ which was inspired by the steel-pan instrument invented in Trinidad and Tobago. The ‘Banana Lady’ is another popular designs that captures the market day tradition in the Caribbean. Other designs available include the Banana Tree, Coconut Cooler, Humming-Bird and Butterfly.
Creator, Marie-Ella Williams believes her work helps to ’preserve dying traditions from around the Caribbean.’ She believes that ‘Many Caribbean nationals are becoming more and more divorced from their culture simply because they do not know much about it. CAMACA focuses on using images and stories to bring cultural traditions alive and to embrace the beauty that the Caribbean has to offer.’ In addition to the art-work, CAMACA plans to bring like-minded cultural enthusiasts together every month to share stories and traditions from around the world.
About CAMACA:
CAMACA Folk Designs, LLC uses the medium of fabric art to capture images and tell stories of the rich cultural heritage of the Caribbean. Each design is uniquely created from hand-colored fabric. They come in the form of motifs, hand-cuts, quilts and pen and ink. Each product is complemented with an original Caribbean poem, folk-tale or recipe.
For more information on how to purchase CAMACA art-work, contact Marie-Ella Williams at ellawill2@camacafolkdesigns.com or go to www.camacafolkdesigns.com
