He is one of Trinidad & Tobago's most iconic, revered and celebrated artists. Peter Minshall celebrates his 80th birthday on July 16. Actually born in Guyana, he was brought to Trinidad as a child by his father, a cartoonist, and has made an indelible impression on the arts tapestry of this land.
Peter designed and made his first costume at the age of 13 while attending Queen's Royal College (QRC). He studied Theatre Design at the Central School of Art and Design in London. Still a teenager, he designed carnival costumes for relatives and friends but he came to the attention of critics and the art fraternity in 1974 when he designed an awe-inspiring costume, From the Land of the Hummingbird, for his younger, adopted sister Sherry-Ann Guy (Coelho).
Peter's first big band in T&T Carnival, Paradise Lost, for veteran bandleaders Stephen and Elsie Lee Heung, in 1976, revolutionised mas. This production propelled T&T mas, design and Carnival into a new dimension, out of an era of pageantry then ruled by the likes of George Bailey, Harold Saldenah, Irwin Mc Williams and the Lee Heungs.
Peter's designs and costuming set the benchmark for excellence in mas and, for decades, earned the mas man several victories and awards. He won the coveted Band of the Year title on nine occasions, his last being his 2020 presentation, Mas Pieta.
Everybody has their favourite Peter Minshall presentation but mine are Red, Danse Macabre, River and Papillion. I still get goosebumps whenever I remember the freedom and exhilaration I felt in my first jab jab mas, playing in Noble Douglas' section, in Danse Macabre. I also still have my chair and umbrella playing in Red.
Peter also accrued global critical acclaim for his work beyond T&T Carnival. He won kudos for his work for the opening ceremonies of the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis; the Barcelona 1992 Olympics; the Atlanta 1996 Centennial Olympics; the 1994 Football World Cup; and, the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
Happy Birthday Peter Minshall, the G.O.A.T. mas man.