Group works to save Haiti's art
Mission to salvage, secure and develop rich legacy
Maura Curley
They met at the Haitian Embassy in Washington D.C. the final days of January to discuss the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake. Unlike most meetings those past few weeks, this one didn’t focus on medical care for survivors. Its chief concern was culture and the future of Haitian arts.
But arguably this was also about survival.
Among the earthquake’s destruction were museums, galleries and places that contained Haiti's artistic treasures.
Haiti’s art has been referred to as “ a troubled nation's legacy, a key source of economic trade with the rest of the world - and undeniable symbols of hope.”
Without it, how can a culture forge a future?
Gathering at the embassy were a group of stakeholders, some of the Haitian by birth; others with its art in their hearts.
Marcel Wah, a third generation Haitian artist and publisher of Caribbean Art World Magazine, was in attendance along with Stéphane Rosenberg, cultural attaché at the Embassy of Haiti in Washington DC, Fritz Racine, President of the DC Chapter of Haitian Art Society, and several others, including filmmaker Yasmine Abellard, Nadine Duplessy Kearns, an education consultant and Michael Crawford, CEO, MRC Leverage Group.
The prognosis was not good.
The Musee d'Art Nader, which housed more than 12,000 pieces from the largest private collection in Haiti has collapsed.
An unknown number of works at the National Palace have been ruined.
Haiti’s Trinity Cathedral was demolished and most of its murals are destroyed
The Centre d'Art, which launched the Haitian arts movement in the 1940s, is severely damaged.
The losses are profound. Salvaging and securing what remains is an immediate concern, and long-term solution must be found.
The stakeholders, now known as Haiti’s Cultural Development Group, shared ideas, and after two hours devised an initial plan to secure exposed art to safe zones and arrange for conservation and storing; develop a traveling exhibit of some remaining art as a fundraising tool, which will help with restoration and establishing a method for helping artists recoup and regroup.
In the weeks to come, Haiti's Cultural Development Group will be devising strategies for immediate and short-term fundraising efforts to take care of the individuals and groups affected by the earthquake; transport and conservation of art objects rescued from damaged buildings; and begin a long-term plan for development of Haiti’s cultural institutions and cultural programs.
Photo: Bosou Twa Kon Mezuzah by artist Barbara Nesin
Mixed media on paper fromstudiowah
Maura Curley is publisher of virginvoices.com
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