The Carnival museum has been an idea long in the making. The opportunity to realize this idea came with the founding of the museum in March 2021 through the efforts of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Bands Association (TTCBA) and the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago (CITT). These two groups fully realized the Carnival Museum after successfully winning a public call for proposals published by First Citizens Bank for use and repurposing of its former head office location, the Trinidad Co-operative Bank ("The Penny Bank"). 

 

Major Carnival stakeholder groups Pan Trinbago and the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) then joined to lend their support to the effort.

 

Through the award of this building, the Carnival Museum will be able to acquire and conserve the nation’s Carnival assets, knowledge and experience. This historical heritage site will now be the foundation to transition the space from banking pennies to banking our Carnival cultural heritage.

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The Carnival Bank

The “Penny Bank” building, which was built in 1914 initially for a bank, is in need of extensive renovations in order to modify the layout into one suited to a museum.  At present, architectural plans of the museum layout are being conceptualized along with the museum concept and early exhibitions of the walk-in and virtual experiences, following which, the plans to enable the reconfiguration to a more suited museum layout will be undertaken. The proposed site at 81 Charlotte Street, Port of Spain, is in close proximity to the ‘birthplace’ of Carnival – Piccadilly Street. This would align completely with the proposed plans for the beautification of Charlotte Street announced recently by the Mayor of Port of Spain.