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TRAJE (Journey): To A Renaissance Period for Haiti

A virtual exhibition based on the Haitian Art Collection at the Waterloo Center for the Arts

The great creative forces of the Haitian people have never paused or wavered despite social, political, or environmental disturbances. That said, the past eight decades of Haitian artistic expression, roughly since the opening of Le Centre d’Art, has seen a flourishing of expressive endeavor, the refreshing development of a vibrant teacher/apprentice system, and a marked resourcefulness in the embrace of idiosyncratic materials and techniques.

This exhibition speaks to the trajectory of Haitian artmaking since that time as well as to the many physical and metaphysical journeys taken by the Haitian people. We at the Waterloo Center for the Arts hope that you will see in this presentation the artists and their antecedents, the movements and their branches, the rituals, ceremonies, and symbols of spiritual expression as well as the happy rhythms and inevitable judders in life’s journey.

Here we have Centre d’Art-trained artist Wilson Biguad and second-generation artist Salnave Philipe-Auguste as well as a founding Croix des Bouquets metal artist Serge Jolimeau and a founding member of Atis Rezistans André Eugène. Also in juxtaposition, and continuity, is Saint Soleil artist Ciceron Prophete and Cinq Soleil artist Richard Antilhomme. In addition, represented here is a who’s who of Haitian art collectors and scholars, such as Ute Stebich, Janet Feldman, Ted Frankel and Bill Gilmore, Dr. and Mrs. Harold Reuling, and Ed and Anne Gessen, all of whom cherished and promoted this art.

The Haitian collection at the Waterloo Center for the Arts is singular, retaining almost 2,000 Haitian art objects. Established in 1977, the collection is recognized as the largest publicly held collection of Haitian art in the United States. The Center strives to share its collection locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally to further appreciation and understanding of Haitian culture. Find out more at www.waterloocenterforthearts.org.    

Darrell Taylor, Curator/Assistant Director, Waterloo Center for the Arts