British and Colombian artists Charles Beauchamp and Julieta Rubio trained as painter–printmakers and have had regular solo exhibitions in London.

For the last 20 years they have designed and created award-winning giant puppets, costumes, masks and floats for carnivals, festivals, community projects and theatre. They have collaborated with circus, carnival, dance and community groups in England, Ireland, France, Italy, Colombia, Cuba, South Africa and China.

Their on-going exploration into creative design, and their cross-cultural collaboration with other artists, musicians and choreographers, has given them many opportunities to develop their artistic vision and to extend the boundaries of carnival art. Their studios, based in South London, are also used at regular intervals for community art workshops.

Mandinga Arts was set up in 2002 by Beauchamp and Rubio in response to a clear need for artists to work together on performance opportunities – to practice, improve, educate, share and promote carnival arts. The company exists to bring together live music, carnival costume design and dance, drawing on diverse influences from Europe, Latin America and Africa, with community based contributions to the carnival movement in the UK.

Mandinga Arts operates an open door policy, inviting any person with an interest in carnival art to share in the process and to participate in annual festivals and carnivals such as Notting Hill Carnival, The Mayor’s Thames Festival, El Carnaval del Pueblo and other local and national events.

Background to the name Mandinga

From south east of Takrur, south of Ghana, Senegal and Niger, lay the land of the Malinke. Malinke is a Fulani name for the people who call themselves Mandinga. In the country’s hinterland one finds the Mandingas and the Foulas. Renowned warriors for their bravery they were farmers and storekeepers. This West African Muslim tribe was deeply affected by the slave trade in the former European colonies. It was bellicose, subversive, revelling against conversion to Christianity and once enslaved in the gold mines of New Granada (Colombia). Its tribal name became, as in other Spanish Colonies, a synonym for Demon.

The Devil in the Western world is know by an infinite number of names such as Satan, Demon, Lucifer, Luzbel, Beelzebub, Birus, El Putas, Mephistopheles, Mandinga etc.

Colombia, a country which places most of its fiestas under the aura of Catholicism, has among its most luxurious and authentic fiestas the Carnaval del Diablo. The Devil appearing in these fiestas is not the demon of the Christians, the enemy of Catholicism and of human beings, a malevolent character; the devil is kindly, smiling, amiable, entertaining, amusing, a messenger of the joy of the world.

In Capoeira, Mandinga means a mixture of shrewdness, street-smartness and wariness. It should not be confused with the English world malice. Malice, sometimes is called Mandinga, although the latter word has an even broader meaning, since it also implies that one understands the basic forces of nature and knows how to use them to a certain extent by means of rituals involving magic.

The Aurelio Dictionary translated the word Mandinga as Magic or a Spell.

Nicolas Guillen, a famous Cuban poet proclaims: “I am Cuban, I am Lukumi, Congo, Mandinga and Calabari ”.

For information on Mandinga Art's internship programme, click here.