When Caribbean carnival started up in the UK, word of mouth was good enough if you wanted to find a designer, singer, steelband or soca DJ. But what worked well in the close-knit communities of the past no longer applies now that carnival has spread to every corner of Britain. You are hardly likely to find a carnival artist in Yellow Pages, for example. Equally, a calypsonian or steelpan player has had no way of advertising their skills to the wider world.

That’s all set to change in February with the launch of a free online Carnival Artists Directory. It is being put together by the UK Centre for Carnival Arts and is supported by the Arts Council of England. For the first time, UK carnival artists will be able to promote their carnival-related expertise, business or service in a national directory for free.

To get listed, all you need to do is fill in an online form – according to UKCCA, this should take only 10 minutes. The deadline is Sunday 16 December.

The form can be found at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/artist_directory_survey_oct_2012 – call 01582 437116 or email sam@carnivalarts.org.uk if you need any assistance.