J’Ouvert Jamishness New York 2012–2014: From Mas Camp Paint Fete to Major New York Tradition
Before J’Ouvert Jamishness became one of New York’s longest-running Caribbean paint parties, Julianspromos was already documenting its early years. Established in 2011, J’Ouvert Jamishness developed a distinct place within New York’s Soca scene by taking the paint, powder, water and abandon associated with J’Ouvert and transforming those elements into a standalone summer fete experience. Today, the event’s official profile describes it as New York City’s longest-standing J’Ouvert party and continues to use the identity “The Elite Paint Fete Experience.”
Presented by Ago Solvo, the event took the paint, powder, water and freedom associated with J’Ouvert and turned them into a dedicated daytime Soca fete. What began in a relatively intimate Brooklyn mas-camp setting would grow over the next few summers into a much larger production drawing thousands of patrons.
Julianspromos grew with it.
From 2012 through 2014, our cameras returned to J’Ouvert Jamishness each summer, documenting the event as the crowds got bigger, the branding became stronger and the production moved from Volume II Mas Camp to the much larger Pulse 48. Looking back now, the three years tell two stories at once: the rise of J’Ouvert Jamishness and the expansion of Julianspromos’ own event coverage.
2012: The Elite Paint Fete Experience at Volume II
On Saturday, August 25, 2012, Ago Solvo brought J’Ouvert Jamishness to Volume II Mas Camp in Brooklyn.
The flyer called it “The Elite Paint Fete Experience,” with the party advertised from 6 AM to 12 PM and admission set at $40.
Music was promoted from Natural Freaks, Sounds 4 Life, Freeze International, GBM, DJ Kellz, Intense Entertainment and surprises, while the relatively compact mas-camp setting gave the event the kind of up-close energy that defined its early years.
At this stage, J’Ouvert Jamishness was still intimate enough that a few hundred people could completely transform the space once the paint, powder, water and Soca started flying.
Contemporary coverage also records an appearance by Fay-Ann Lyons, adding another major Soca moment to the 2012 edition.
For Julianspromos, this was part of a period when our own event coverage was still growing. Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson was part of the coverage, while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.
![2012 August - Jouvert Jamishness [New York] 2.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6a89f3b0f9f71727bd5f91ae/1789103957114-BJ36U58C8CRT6COTYJVU/2012+August+-+Jouvert+Jamishness+%5BNew+York%5D+2.jpg)
What happened inside Volume II that summer established the foundation: loud Soca, paint everywhere, a crowd willing to get completely messy and a brand beginning to find its identity.
A year later, J’Ouvert Jamishness returned with an even clearer personality.
2013: “I Love JJ” and “Fun Is Inevitable”
By Saturday, August 24, 2013, J’Ouvert Jamishness was becoming easier to recognize before patrons even reached the fete.
Ago Solvo’s 2013 artwork stripped the campaign down to a simple message: “I ♥ JJ.”
Underneath it was an even simpler promise:
“Fun Is Inevitable.”
That branding reflected an event that no longer needed much explanation. J’Ouvert Jamishness had begun developing its own following, and patrons understood what they were signing up for — paint, water, powder, Soca and a few hours where staying clean was practically impossible.
The crowd was growing, and so was the visual identity around the event.
Julianspromos returned for another year. Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson and Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs were part of the 2013 coverage, while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.
The difference from the previous summer was already noticeable. Jamishness was becoming more than another J’Ouvert-themed fete. It was becoming a recognizable event brand.
By the end of 2013, the formula was established.
But instead of simply repeating it the following year, Ago Solvo pushed the event into its next stage.
2014: Retro J’Ouvert Jamishness Moves to Pulse 48
On Saturday, August 23, 2014, J’Ouvert Jamishness returned with a new theme, a larger venue and a noticeably bigger footprint.
Ago Solvo, powered by Team SII, presented Retro J’Ouvert Jamishness — “The Fun Factory” at Pulse 48.
The event ran from 10 AM to 4 PM, with tickets advertised at $50.
Moving to Pulse 48 represented more than a venue change.
Just two summers earlier, Julianspromos had documented J’Ouvert Jamishness inside the relatively small Volume II Mas Camp with a few hundred revelers. By 2014, the event had grown into a production capable of filling a much larger venue with thousands of paint-covered patrons.
The hot-pink Retro artwork also showed how much more sophisticated the branding had become. Each edition could now have its own theme while still sitting clearly under the J’Ouvert Jamishness identity.
Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson returned again for Julianspromos, giving her three consecutive documented years with the event, while Julian C. Hackett once again shot and edited the footage
From the size of the crowd to the scale of the venue, 2014 made the growth impossible to miss.
J’Ouvert Jamishness had moved well beyond its early mas-camp stage.
Three Summers, One Growing Tradition
Viewed individually, each year captures a great New York paint fete.
Viewed together, they document a transformation.
2012 was the intimate Volume II era: a few hundred people packed into a mas-camp environment for the Elite Paint Fete Experience.
2013 showed the brand becoming more recognizable, with “I ♥ JJ” and “Fun Is Inevitable” giving J’Ouvert Jamishness a personality people could immediately identify.
By 2014, Retro J’Ouvert Jamishness had moved into Pulse 48, attracted a crowd numbering in the thousands and developed the scale of a major New York Caribbean event.
Ago Solvo had taken the same basic ingredients — paint, powder, water and Soca — and steadily built something much larger around them.
And Julianspromos had been there through that growth.
From the Julianspromos Archives
The J’Ouvert Jamishness archive means more to Julianspromos than three sets of party photos and videos.
It also captures a period when we were growing alongside the event.
In 2012, our cameras were inside Volume II Mas Camp, documenting a comparatively small paint fete with a few hundred people.
We returned in 2013 as the crowd and J’Ouvert Jamishness brand continued expanding.
Then, in 2014, those same Julianspromos cameras were inside Pulse 48, surrounded by thousands of revelers at a much larger production.
The evolution happened on both sides of the lens.
As Ago Solvo built J’Ouvert Jamishness from an intimate Brooklyn paint fete into a major New York Caribbean event, Julianspromos was also expanding from a young media platform covering individual parties into a growing archive of Caribbean culture, artists, fetes and Carnival experiences.
Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson appears across all three documented years. Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs joined the 2013 coverage. Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the surviving footage across the three-year run.
More than a decade later, the value of that consistency is easier to see.
We did not simply capture three J’Ouvert Jamishness parties.
We captured an event growing from hundreds to thousands, moving from Volume II Mas Camp to Pulse 48, strengthening its identity year after year — while Julianspromos was growing right there with it.
