Nestled in a little alcove at the Normandie Hotel in St Ann’s lies the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago. It’s where Video Producer and Graphic Designer Mary-Ann Brailey is part of a team of five, comprising Kwynn Johnson (Research Officer), Claire Woods (Research Officer), Judith Blackman (Administrative Assistant) and Ronnie Joseph (Public Relations Officer). Together, they are responsible for preserving our twin island’s Carnival happenings for posterity. Today, Woman Wise chats with Ms. Brailey about her own Art, Carnival and more.
Mary-Ann Brailey’s smile is the first thing that catches your eye. The second are the many photos that cover the walls just above her workspace. There are pictures of her five “going on 15” year old daughter Mia in uniform, at home, playing with toys…. Scenes from Carnivals past, Midnight Robbers, Pierrot Grenades and 3D pictures of the female red devil mascot Brailey created named “CITT” (an acronym for the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago) decorate many spaces. A place of honour, however, is reserved for a photo of one of our deceased icons of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Pat Bishop, who Brailey described as a “true mentor and friend”. “When this institute started in 2004 and until her death in 2011, everything that we did – and still do – was Pat’s vision,” said Brailey with a soft smile. “Every direction we took was Pat’s direction. They way we do things, how we do things... it’s Pat. This institute is Pat. We are a research based non profit organisation and our purpose is to do research, collect, conserve, archive and educate. When people want information on Carnival, this is where they come. Students, researchers, visitors from other countries – all come here to check out our materials. But as you can see, there is only so much we can do with the little that we have. We need bigger space. Our vision for the Institute is a large one. We really want this institute to become what it’s supposed to be; it’s our desire to see it flourish into what it should be.”
Carnival is just one side of the multi-talented Brailey, and it was easy to imagine her with her video camera going through Port of Spain, South Trinidad and Tobago to capture the essence of T&T. Plans for capturing Carnival 2012 are already underway and in the meantime, she nurtures her other love; Graphic Design. “Self taught,” she says with pride. Brailey’s road to art began as a child; she was always sketching and drawing and flourished as a promising art student both at primary and secondary school where she enjoyed creating oil paintings. After leaving school, art took a back seat for a while when she got her first job at Maraj Gold Limited; she enjoyed the independence, but still felt as though a piece of her was missing – decorating the store’s show windows would be the one place where she could indulge her creativity. Fate, however, would lead her to a meeting with Ronnie Joseph, a Curator at The Gallery 1234, who would take her under his wing and teach her all about the world of fine art. “The spark came back,” Mary-Ann said, smiling hugely.
Under his guidance, she became an assistant curator and learned how to mount and curate exhibitions. From there, she was introduced to the world of graphic design and “I became hooked on that,” she said, laughing. “Corel Draw, Illustrator, Photoshop… you name it, I worked with it.” Together with her boyfriend Orlando Dinchong, they have combined his animation skills and her flair for graphic design, scriptwriting, set design and show production into a business that specialises in video-production and 3D Computer generated modelling and animation. Again, the late Dr. Pat Bishop played a significant role here as well. “When everyone else didn’t give us a chance, Pat understood our talents and pushed us to the max; we ended up doing all of Pat’s animation and videos,” Brailey said, playing a video clip of the CEPEPPERS television ad they created for the CEPEP Company Ltd. “This ad especially was her favourite. The process itself was rather funny, because Pat came up with the character and gave me just one sentence and left it up to me to flesh it out, but that part is also lots of fun for me. So far, we have produced and directed music videos, documentaries, TV advertisements like the CEPEPPERS, presentations and infomercials, which most of the time include 3D computer generated animation. I should also add that working with Orlando is just great!” she said, sotto voce.
When asked if her work has become her life, she was quick to say that the love of her job is what drives her to succeed. However, she admits that sometimes she’s guilty of leaving herself last, but… “My first priority is God,” she said firmly. “My God comes first for without Him, neither I nor my talent nor my blessings would exist. My next priorities are my job and my family, who I love with all my heart...they are my everything. To me family is most important and it’s the best thing anyone can have, it’s God’s gift. “My vision is to carry by abilities to greater heights. Pat once said I am passionate... I actually didn’t realise it until she said it. I miss her, gosh... I still have Ronnie though; truth is I will always love Ronnie and Pat. They taught me what I know and they groomed me into the person I am today. I feel I make people happy when I do my art for CITT, for my clients or work with my hubby. I always tell people that my clients are anybody and everybody. It could be a big corporation or a shop owner… I don’t reject anybody and I’m never too busy to help. I’m never too busy for anyone.”
