The Crealdé School of Art is kicking off its new season with an exhibition exploring Haitian heritage and culture. Titled "Keeping Haiti In Our Hearts: Interpreting Heritage in the Diaspora", the exhibition will feature over 60 traditional and contemporary artworks from Haiti as well as photography by local Haitian-American teens. It will run from September 14th to December 29th at both Crealdé's main campus and the Hannibal Square Heritage Center. The exhibition aims to showcase Haitian culture and spark intergenerational dialogue about what it means to Haitian and Haitian-American identities.

1. Crealdé School of Art kicks off its new
season with a comprehensive exhibi-
tion that explores Haitian heritage and
culture. Co-curated by University of
Florida Museum Studies graduate student
Natalia Marques da Silva and Henry Sinn,
director of Painting & Drawing and
gallery director at Crealdé, Keeping Haiti
In Our Hearts: Interpreting Heritage In the
Diaspora will run from September 14 to
December 29.
Housed at both Crealdé’s main campus
and the Hannibal Square Heritage Center,
the 62-piece exhibition will include tradi-
tional artworks, such as sequin flags,
sculptures and folk paintings, from the
University of Central Florida’s Bryant
West Indies Collection and the collection
of Butler H. Smith, Jr. and Betty Ford-
Smith. It will also showcase work by
world-renowned contemporary artists—
including Edouard Duval Carrié, Frantz
Charlemagne, Jude Papaloko Thegenius
and Jerome Soimaud—as well as tradi-
tional paintings by Louverture Poisson,
Jerome Polycarpe and Nesly-Exumé.
As an additional component, photog-
raphy by Haitian and Haitian-American
teens who live in Orlando’s historic
Parramore neighborhood will be on dis-
play. These works were created through
Crealdé’s Storytellers XV, an outreach pro-
gram hosted in partnership with the New
Image Youth Center and funded by the
Orlando Magic Youth Foundation. The
goal of the program is to use documentary
photography to teach students to explore
and express their cultural heritage.
To both Sinn and da Silva, one of the
most exciting aspects of the show, which
has been more than two years in the mak-
ing, is the family focus groups. Ten local,
multigenerational families will engage in
dialogues about what it means to be
Haitian, including everything from elders’
memories of the nation to how living in
the U.S. changes their identities. Dis-
cussions will address intergenerational
gaps in the cultural experience which have
occurred between Haitians and Haitian-
Americans, and will include the universal
themes of hope, love, despair, fear, myth,
continuity and change as they focus on
Haitian culture. Quotes from the families
will be incorporated into the exhibition in
both Haitian Creole and English.
The week before the opening, a Haitian
“Tap Tap” bus will be driven from Miami
to Winter Park to become part of the exhi-
bition. A local Haitian artist will outline a
design on the bus, which will be painted
by members of the community.
On September 14, opening receptions
for Keeping Haiti In Our Hearts will
take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Crealdé;
and from 8:30 to 10 p.m. at the Heritage
Center, where there will be a Haitian
musical performance. Special program-
ming, including interactive forums and
panel discussions, were being planned at
press time.
The exhibition is funded through a
tourist development grant from Orange
County and presented with support from
the Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance, Epple
Seed Arts, Lobey Art & Travel, the Haitian
Consulate of Orlando and the Haitian
American Chamber of Commerce.
Art & IdentityA dual-venue exhibition explores Haitian culture through traditional and contemporary works.
Premonition, 2009, Frantz Charlemagne, acrylic on canvas, 40" x 30"
Orlando ARts MAGAZINE September/October 2012
26
The Triumph of the Baron, 2010, Myrlande Consant,
sequins and beads on cloth, 65" x 97"
26-27 Photo Essay - crealde.indd 26 8/10/12 11:33 AM

2. Keeping Haiti In our Hearts: Interpreting Heritage in the Diaspora
September 14 to December 29
Crealdé School of Art • 407.671.1886 • crealde.org
Hannibal Square Heritage Center
407.539.2680 • hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org
Agowe Rising, 2011, Edouard Duval Carrié, tinted resin, 36" x 36"
Zoe & Zo, 2010, Jerome Soimaud, diptych, 77" x 55.5"
Orlando ARts MAGAZINE September/October 2012
27
Banner 7, 2011, Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph,
sequins, beads on cloth, 11" x 48.5"
26-27 Photo Essay - crealde.indd 27 8/10/12 11:34 AM