P-au-P, 14 from 2024 [AlterPresse] — This Tuesday, May 14, 2024 marks 80 years of existence of the cultural institution “Le Center d’Art”, working to promote Haitian artistic creation, according to information gathered by the online agency AlterPress.
Considered a true melting pot of visual arts in Haiti, the Art Center has contributed to the emergence and development of a myriad of generations of artists.
“May 14, 1944-May 14, 2024: 80 years have passed since we took the challenge of supporting Haitian art. Eight decades of accomplishment, eight decades of resistance “to the wear and tear of time and the recurring turbulence of socio-political life in this ephemeral country”, writes Le Center d’Art, on this occasion.
“We have undertaken this crossing with you, who accompany us on each initiative; our patrons, who from the beginning, made this cause theirs; the artists who, through their trust in us, have made our institution a home for their creative expression; the media who witness our history,” he adds.
The cultural institution says it is convinced that with the support of these partners and artists it will approach the future “with confidence and resolution”.
“This month of May, we celebrate Haitian heritage as well as the people who are at the heart of the preservation and reinvention of our culture: artists. Local institutions, such as Le Center d’Art, play a vital role in supporting these Haitian talents,” we read on the website of the Foundation, Connaissance et Liberté (Fokal).
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Art Center, considered a cradle of Haitian art, the non-profit organization Haiti Tomorrow/Haiti Tomorrow launches an online appeal to support Haitian artists.
“The goal is to raise $25,000 for this institution. Donations are tax deductible, according to Haitian law, and a donation certificate will be given to each donor for their final tax declaration.
Haiti Tomorrow works to improve the quality of life in Haiti, by empowering local communities through philanthropy.
The Art Center was created under the leadership of the American watercolorist DeWitt Peters and Haitian intellectuals, including Maurice Borno, Albert Mangonès, Geo Remponeau, Jean Chenet and Gerald Bloncourt, in a context where it did not exist still no art galleries or public art school in Haiti, traces, through a history, the cultural institution on its site consulted by AlterPresse.
Several generations of renowned visual artists, painters or sculptors, such as Hector Hyppolite, Georges Liautaud, Édouard Duval Carrié or the visual artist Geneviève Lahens Esper, known as Iris [[1] were able to emerge thanks to the Art Center, which has become a reference for the dissemination of Haitian art.
The Art Center also contributed to the birth of the Museum of Haitian Art at Collège Saint-Pierre, which opened its doors in 1972 on the Champ de Mars, the main public square in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
It was forced to close its doors for four years, after the collapse of its building and the death of its director, Francine Murat, following the deadly and devastating earthquake of Tuesday January 12, 2010.
The Art Center, which was reborn in November 2014, on the occasion of its 70th anniversary, has a collection of 5,580 works of art and 3,000 archival documents. [emb rc apr 14/05/2024 10:35]
[[1] Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1959, Geneviève Lahens Esper, known as Iris, is a Haitian modernist who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
1991. The verdict is in. Geneviève is diagnosed with an eye disease. She suffers from iritis. According to the doctor’s opinion, it is caused by stress. The context of the country – political instability, insecurity – cast a shadow over the architect. The first democratic election in 1990 did not deliver on its promises. Haiti had fallen back into its old ways.
Geneviève took many steps to combat her anxiety. And that’s where the art came. Under the advice of an architect friend, she began to paint. “Then after two, three days I was completely healed,” reveals Iris, a name kept in recognition of this swollen membrane in her eye, which propelled her into the arms of a new passion. “It was my therapy,” she adds.
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