The Rise of the Cherry Blossoms blooms to win the ninth annual Ontario Science Centre Innovation in Mas' Award at the 2018 Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival
TORONTO, Aug. 3, 2018 /CNW/ - Science is everywhere; including in the colourful and intricate costumes of the 2018 Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival. For the ninth consecutive year, the Ontario Science Centre proudly continues its partnership with Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival by presenting the Innovation in Mas' Award. Last night, this honour was awarded to Michelle Reyes for The Rise of the Cherry Blossoms from the band Wonders of Spring produced by Louis Saldenah, Louis Saldenah Mas K Club, at the Peeks Toronto Caribbean Carnival King and Queen Competition and Show. The Rise of the Cherry Blossoms was designed and performed by Michelle Reyes.
"The costumes we see at Carnival are more than stunning, they are also feats of engineering," said Maurice Bitran, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Science Officer, Ontario Science Centre. "Our Innovation in Mas' Award recognizes the ingenuity and creativity behind the beauty and celebrates the Mas' Designers as makers —the individuals who best demonstrate problem-solving, risk taking and inspiration in their design."
Created in 2010 to highlight the innovation involved in costume-making, the Innovation in Mas' Award honours the Designer whose creation best exemplifies the application of principles and practices of innovation that include risk-taking, problem-solving, daring perspectives in material use, mechanics and engineering; along with demonstrated consciousness of the values of community collaboration for future generations and evolution of this unique craft.
This year's jury, chaired by Vishnu Ramcharan, Community and Visitor Engagement Specialist, Ontario Science Centre comprised:
- Walter Stoddard, Senior Scientist, Programmer-Researcher, Engineer, Educator Ontario Science Centre
- Francis Jeffers, Founder, Visions of Science, Executive Director of the Canadian Multicultural Inventors Museum , Community advocate , Henry Jerome Award recipient
- Candice Dixon, Textile – Fashion artist , Costume Design and Fabrication, Ontario Arts Council grant recipient
- Quentin VerCetty, Afro-futurist , new media artist, Educator, Founder of Black Speculative Arts Movement Canada, Toronto Community Service Award recipient
"Every Mas' camp demonstrates the skills, attitudes and practices of innovation, so the joyful collaboration we found in Michelle's creation was no surprise," said Walter Stoddard, Judge, Senior Scientist, Programmer-Researcher, Engineer and Educator at the Ontario Science Centre. "As an educator, Michelle's design process effectively brings her classroom to the stage and Carnival community. In just her second year as a Designer, her vision already offers a powerful lesson around the intersection of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM). This tipped the scale and earned her this year's Innovation in Mas' Award."
The process to win the Innovation in Mas' Award is involved. It not only involves judging during the King and Queen Competition and Show on-site at Lamport Stadium but also pre-competition conversations with relevant Mas' camp representatives, observations of assembly prior to stage appearance and of course the stage appearance. Criteria the judges use include: problem-solving and risk-taking, aspiration and inspiration, material innovation, mobility, community building with the next generation of designers and also collaboration beyond traditional Caribbean communities.
Additionally, for the very first time, the jury included a Special Recognition from the Female Individual category, to Curtis Eustace for his creation Goddess of the Glaciers also from Louis Saldenah Mas' K Club.
The Innovation in Mas' Award, a unique, custom-designed trophy, will remain at Louis Saldenah Mas K Club camp until the Science Centre's Community Day celebrations on September 23, 2018, when the winning Designer along with the Creator of the Special Recognition costume will receive commemorative copies of the trophy for permanent ownership.
About the Ontario Science Centre
Guided by our mission to inspire passion for the human adventure of discovery, the Ontario Science Centre strives to be a global leader in lifelong learning; a vital link in Ontario's education and innovation ecosystems; and a convener of public dialogue about technology, science and society. The Centre has welcomed more than 52 million visitors since opening as a Centennial project in 1969, pioneering an interactive approach now adopted by science centres around the world. An agency of the Government of Ontario, the Centre relies on funding from the province, as well as donations from generous individuals, corporations and foundations who share the Centre's vision to contribute to a more curious, creative and resilient world. Learn more at OntarioScienceCentre.ca.
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SOURCE Ontario Science Centre
Media contacts: Jefferson Darrell, Media Relations Officer, 416-696-3154 | c: 647-464-9665, [email protected]; Andrea Mus, Media Relations Officer, 416-696-3191 | c: 416-895-5482, [email protected]
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