We’re so fortunate here at Select Gallery to be situated in the heart of Notting Hill, just steps from Portobello Road, and nothing exemplifies our beautiful area more than the Notting Hill Carnival! Spanning the last weekend of August, this three day festival celebrating Caribbean culture is second only to Brazil’s Carnival in Rio de Janeiro in terms of size, with around 2 million people attending every year, and includes a myriad of different events highlighting the best and brightest of the community it represents.
The origins of the carnival stem back to 1959, when Kelso Cochrane, a 32 year-old Antiguan-born carpenter and aspiring lawyer, was tragically killed in a racially motivated attack on Southam Street. What followed was an outpouring of community-led solidarity and an increase in activism protesting against the problematic race relations of the time, with two subsequent events then being credited with influencing the creation of the Carnival we know and love today. The ‘Caribbean Carnival’ held at St Pancras Town Hall in January 1959 was the first – held indoors and televised by the BBC, it was the organised by Trinidadian journalist and activist Claudia Jones, often called ‘the mother of Notting Hill Carnival’. Consisting of various bands, dance troupes and a beauty contest, it was a vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture in the face of adversity.
In August 1966 ‘London Free School-inspired’ festival was held, organised by community activist Rhaune Laslett. Being the first organised outdoors event, it was a way for all nationalities in the area to come together as a cohesive community. As an established community activist with a history of addressing and easing inter-cultural tension in the area since the violent race-riots of the 1950s, she set out to include the local West Indian residents in her event.
The band were already popular amongst the Caribbean community, having been regulars at the indoor carnival events. As Laslett had intended, many local Caribbean residents attended, and her vision of an outdoor multi-cultural community celebration was a huge success: the first event saw Henderson’s steelband weave its way through Portobello Road as a trail of locals spontaneously gathered and danced in the street to the sound of pan. The first Notting Hill carnival was officially born.
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL TODAY..
Notting Hill Carnival is still proudly a community-led event, its ever-increasing popularity over the last 5 decades has seen it become the wonderfully diverse and vibrant event it is today. With over a million visitors expected over the August Bank Holiday, London’s NHC is second only to Brazil’s Rio Carnival in size, and is now one of the globe’s largest annual arts events. NHC is considered to be the largest street event in Europe.
Whilst Notting Hill Carnival is rooted in Caribbean culture, with its Windrush-generation influence remaining strongly evident, it is at the same time characteristically ‘London’ – today’s modern London.
The celebrations begin early on the Sunday with J’Ouvert. The word J’Ouvert stems from the French ‘Jour ouvert’ meaning ‘opening of the day’. It is tradition in the Caribbean to launch Carnival just before sunrise, continuing into daybreak.
J’Ouvert morning is one of Notting Hill Carnival’s best kept secrets. Droves of hardcore revellers converge onto the streets of Notting Hill in thevery early hours of the morning to celebrate the opening of carnival, to dance and get messy. Expect to see colourful paints and powders in place of the mud and oil of Caribbean tradition, but the high energy and party pandemonium is universal.
There are live performances too. the first stages were organised by Wilf Walker in 1979, chiefly featuring reggae and punk bands. Wilf’s early live stages featured performances from emerging talents Aswad and Eddie Grant, who both went on to become two of the UK’s biggest musical exports.
In the 90s, hip hop legends like Jay Z, Lil’ Kim and Busta Rhymes all performed on an NHC live stage, more recently the likes of Stormzy, Wiley, Craig David, Giggs, Major Lazer, Mr Eazi and Stefflon Don.
*Select Gallery will be closed for the duration of the Bank holiday weekend whilst Carnival commences.
If you have any enquiries or need to get in touch then you can reach us still via our contact form, we will be open again as normal on Tuesday 29th 10 – 6pm.