FEATURED Author
Kim Johnson
Trinidadian researcher, author, journalist, and filmmaker, widely recognized as one of the foremost historians of the steelpan movement and Caribbean cultural history.
"Pan... is among the great hopes of T&T in ways not easily recognisable to the recently introduced, uninitiated, or wholly ignorant."
Location: Trinidad & Tobago
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Biography
Dr. Kim Johnson studied law at university but worked as a journalist until 2003. After that he was a research fellow at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and the Director of the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago until 2020. He has published several books and articles on the history and culture of Trinidad and Tobago, including The Illustrated Story of Pan, and is considered one of the world’s foremost historians of pan. In recent years Johnson turned to filmmaking and wrote or directed the prize-winning films PAN! Our Music Odyssey; Re-Percussions; March of the Mokos and; Wishing For Wings.
In recognition of his deep contributions to Caribbean literature and historical preservation, he was named an Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Laureate for Arts & Letters in 2011.
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Career Highlights
Kim Johnson is a Trinidadian researcher, author, journalist, and filmmaker.
Photo Source: TEDxPortof Spain
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Cultural Historian & Author
He has written extensively on Trinidadian culture, social history, and music. His landmark publications on steelband history include The Illustrated Story of Pan, If Yuh Iron Good You Is King: The Pan Pioneers, Tin Pan to TASPO, and Renegades: A History of the Renegades Steel Orchestra. His other major historical works include Descendants of the Dragon (a history of the Chinese in Trinidad and Tobago) and The Fragrance of Gold: Trinidad in the Age of Discovery.
Institutional Leadership
He has served as the Director of the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago and as a Senior Research Fellow at The Academy for Arts, Letters, Culture and Public Affairs at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).
Filmmaker & Curator
Johnson has written, produced, and directed several cultural documentaries and multimedia projects, most notably the international feature documentary PAN! Our Music Odyssey (2014) and the National Museum exhibition The Audacity of the Creole Imagination.
Journalism & Academics
Early in his career, he worked as a senior journalist for major national newspapers (including the Trinidad Express and Trinidad Guardian) and holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of the West Indies (UWI).
Terri Lyons
The Jazz Voyager
A MUSICAL ODYSSEY THROUGH TIME
A comprehensive photographic history detailing the evolution, social impact, and cultural significance of the steelpan movement.
Genre: Non-Fiction / History
Published: 2011
Published Works
An insightful exploration of grassroots community development and resilience within Caribbean social structures.
Genre: Short Stories
Published: 2026
A thematic analysis of cultural identity and liberation through the lens of West Indian musical traditions.
Genre: Non-Fiction / History
Published: 2011
Focuses on the pioneers of the steelpan, their innovative techniques, and the competitive mastery of the instrument.
Genre: Non-Fiction / History
Published: 2006
This work investigates and documents the different technical, musical and organizational steps by which the steelband movement was born and grew to maturity.
Genre: Non-Fiction / Academic History
Published: 2011
Exploring the vibrant energy and rebellious spirit of Caribbean art forms and their global resonance.
Genre: Short Stories
Published: 2025
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Trailers & Videos
PAN! Our Music Odyssey
It intertwines re-enacted vignettes of pivotal moments in the pre-history and history of pan from 1820 to 1963, from the banning of slave drum dances, to the first Panorama, with today's "reality" narrative of the competition, in which various pan players from T&T and abroad join the bands to prepare for the big stage.
Re-Percussions: Our African Odessey (Film Trailer)
Re-Percussions: Our African Odyssey is the return of the Trinidad & Tobago steelpan to its African roots. Nigerian panman Bowie Sonnie Bowei plans to nurture a steelband movement in Africa. But can he introduce a new hybrid drum to the motherland from which all Caribbean drums came? Bowei's visit to Trinidad to learn about the instrument, and his attempts to introduce it to Nigeria traces the journey made by the drum, which African slaves brought to the New World, where it became something different, and is now returning to its ancestral home as a stranger.
PAN - the beating heart of music | Kim Johnson | TEDxPortofSpain
A deep dive into the rhythmic heart and global impact of pan music pioneer Caspar Variation.
The History Of Steel Pan - Kim Johnson
In this clip, Kim Johnson talks about the history of the steel pan, from its inception, to the first panorama.
Why Study Pan's Roots?
March of the Mokos
This is the story of how an old African ritual, which found expression in Trinidad's traditional Carnival masquerade became a dynamic form of social intervention, a fun hobby and created some of our most spectacular mas kings and queens. Through the efforts of Mr. Glen DeSouza, better known as Dragon, the dying moko jumbie stilt dancing practice received a revival as it spread throughout the country and abroad.
Wishing For Wings (Trailer)
A shy, middle-class teacher is scarred by a home invasion. Working in a posh Trinidadian school she naively allows herself to be inveigled into teaching teenage boys in prison. They come from a world of poverty and crime, a universe away from their new teacher and her literature syllabus. Now she and her students must communicate with, and learn from, each other if the boys are to prepare for examinations.
As their relationship deepens, the teacher transcends her traumas. Her idea of education is transformed and she finds a new purpose in life. For the students, more important than any exams they must pass is the respect they develop for themselves and for others. Only by changing how they think can they face life’s challenges outside of prison.
T&T Carnival: Our Gift to the World
A lecture on the spread of Carnival and Pan on the global scale.
Our Soul Turned Inside Out (Official Trailer 2015)
A gripping documentary, which uncovers the violent origins of our Carnival traditions and presents never-before seen images of the brutal fights that took place with whips and sticks.
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Kim Johnson