04th February, 2022: In a symbolic handover, the First Citizens Foundation (FCF) awarded the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Museum (TTCM), a non-profit company, the use of its building located at 81 Charlotte Street, Port of Spain, as the epicenter for all things Carnival.
The Charlotte Street property is the original headquarters of the former Trinidad Cooperative Bank Limited (fondly and popularly known as the Penny Bank) which commenced its operations in 1914. In 2019, as part of the strategy to create a state-of-the-art shared services campus, the Group relocated its operations from within the building to a new facility. First Citizens chose to divest itself of the building and gifted it to the FCF to further its promotion of local culture, arts and other related charitable purposes.
In light of the importance of the Property to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, the First Citizens Foundation publicly invited proposals from interested parties for use of the Property. This invitation for proposal was eventually won by the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Bands Association and subsequently, this saw the creation of the TTCM.
As longstanding partners in the development of culture and the arts, First Citizens has proudly contributed to many success stories such as the First Citizens Supernovas, the First Citizens Dragon Boys, the First Citizens Original Jab Jab, the First Citizens/TUCO Junior Calypso competition, Kings and Queens of Carnival and the First Citizens Junior Parade of the Bands. It is therefore with a tremendous amount of excitement and pride that we aptly equip the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Museum to write a new story in Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural legacy.
