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03.12.12
Ti Atis e anpil travay (Little Artists and a lot of work)
By Kassandra Khalil
The Ti Atis Arts Room Renovation was an interesting lesson in planning and group work. On two consecutive Saturdays in February at the dewy morning call time of 9am, a team of eager volunteers trickled in to P.S.189, The Bilingual Center in East New York, Brooklyn. Their first task: carrying construction and renovation supplies to the arts room on the 4thfloor. To most people, giving up their Saturday morning for semi-hard labor is sort of a no go. Not for the HCX volunteer. The eagerness and positive congenial mood of our team of volunteers got the HCX staff’s energy going more than the coffee did!
The renovation started with the cathartic gutting of a closet and speed sorting seemingly endless boxes of arts supplies that had been donated by members of the HCX community and Materials for the Arts. The “handy-er” volunteers took on the task of constructing the shelving for the closet as the rest of us began painting and beautifying the classroom. The creative students of P.S.189 took to making really psychedelic star decorations for the banner board while others gave the room a thorough scrub down.
By the end of the first week, we all thought that the next Saturday would be more of a light-weight finishing touches sort of deal. We were definitely wrong. After painting the closet, we moved on to the construction of the sliding door panels. Overcoming the hurdles of size, shape and the lack of clear instruction manuals, we got the doors to slide. While the rest of the team worked on filling the closet with the sorted bins of supplies, P.S.189 student volunteers began mounting their stars around the room. By the time both teams turned around, we were startled by the change we had made on the room. It looked great! The myriad of melon shades on the closets against the calming purple of the banner board pooled well with the finishing touch of a brand new blue and yellow floor rug.
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the room took place the following Friday morning. Students of P.S.189 thanked volunteers in the three teaching languages of th school: English, Kreyòl, and Spanish. Engy Lamour, one of the volunteers for the room renovation was actually an old student of P.S.189! He explained to the students the importance of the arts and the opportunity that going to a school like P.S.189 afforded him later in life. Afterwards, the students and Principal Berthe Faustin invited us for refreshments. The coffee, orange juice, and milk boxes tasted like nostalgia and a refreshing job well done.
Over the course of 2 weekends, our team of HCX volunteers succeeded in revitalizing an ironically drab arts room and made it into a positive and engaging arts space for the children of P.S.189. Thanks again for all you do! We can’t wait for the continuation of this project, the Ti Atis Collaborative Mural that begins in April! Click here for more information about HCX | Ti Atis Collaborative Mural Project.
A special thank you to Jeanne Heifetz and Brooklyn for Barack volunteers, without whom this project would have never been possible.
Click here for more photos from HCX | Ti Atis Room Renovation Project
This project was completed through funding from Citizens Committee for New York City and donations from Materials for the Arts as well as HCX friends like you!
Posted in Archive, Arts, Classes, Crafts, HCX Programs, Music, Youth Programs | No Comments »
02.16.12
Photo Credit: Es Sully
“I have to admit – it was more curiosity than interest that led me to Central Park West on a freezing Friday evening, the night before our first snow storm…” (Excerpt from Es Sully Roundtable, Jan. 23, 2012)
Click here to check out more fantastic coverage of our January 20th Heart of Haiti collaboration at the New York Historical Society written by Es Sully!
Check out her blog at essullysroundtable.wordpress.com and read her post on Heart of Haiti here!
New-York Historical Society is grateful to Bank of America for underwriting the Friday Free Performance Series.Posted in Archive, Arts, Events, Exhibitions, HCX Collaborations, Music, Poetry | No Comments »
12.22.11
Thank you to all who attended the AQ/Art Quake Exhibit Opening Reception at Five Myles Gallery last Friday! AQ/Art Quake is a group of 10 internationally known artists who have contributed to a portfolio of original contemporary prints available for collection. All proceeds from the portfolio sales benefit artists of KOLAJ.
In attendance from KOLAJ that evening, was Co-Director Anderson Ambroise, who spoke to guests about this current project. Other participating artists such as Vladimir Cybil Charlier and Rejin Leys were in attendance that evening. Guests enjoyed delicious Haitian treats, an intimate ambiance, and a special performance by poet and performance artist Gabrielle Civil. Gabrielle’s piece was absolutely captivating and opened up room for discussion. You can watch her performance here on Youtube.
Even though the Opening Reception was Haiti Cultural Exchange’s last event of the year, it was just the beginning of a one-month art installation and event series. The installation will be on display until January 15th at Five Myles! Please visit the AQ/ Art Quake Program page to get more information about the AQ/ Art Quake events taking place in January 2012!
Posted in Archive, Arts, Exhibitions, HCX Collaborations, HCX Programs | No Comments »
12.01.11
The highly anticipated HCX | Haiti Film Fest came to a close last weekend (November 18-20) and we would like to thank everyone who attended for making it such a great success! The film festival allowed Haiti Cultural Exchange to present a wide breadth of films about Haiti and the Diaspora to the community. The weekend was international in nature, as it included filmmakers from the U.S, Haiti, Canada, France and beyond. Overall, more than 500 people were able to experience the HCX | Haiti Film Fest over the course of the weekend. Additionally, the film festival marked a milestone for our community because it allowed us to bring our most extensive grassroots event to the public.
The Brooklyn Museum’s third floor Atrium was the ideal venue for the HCX | Haiti Film Fest Opening Reception. Attendees enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and drinks, mingled, danced and enjoyed a special performance by Orchestre Septentrional. The band set the mood for the night, playing new music as well as familiar classics. Following the performance, attendees enjoyed a screening of Whitney Dow’s film When the Drum is Beating.
On Saturday and Sunday, The HCX | Haiti Film Fest screenings took place at the Spike Lee Screening Room at Long Island University in Brooklyn. Over a dozen films were screened and explored a variety of topics from personal experiences of the 2010 earthquake, to the orphan situation in Haiti. Arnold Antonin, one of Haiti’s most prominent filmmakers was present on Saturday for the screening of his film Amours de Zombie, which was our feature film for the evening. On Sunday, amidst many films, we screened young filmmaker Kervans Barthelemy’s powerful first feature film Kaleb. This film was very special and was widely received by the audience, leading to a standing ovation for Kervans and his cast.
Our event would not be possible without the diligence, dedication, and support from our members, staff, and volunteers. Special thanks to the HCX | Haiti Film Fest Advisory committee, our sponsors, and of course the filmmakers! It took a great team to make the event such a success.
We can’t wait to do it all again next year! Be on the look out next Summer for more films and fun in anticipation for the 2nd Annual HCX | Haiti Film Fest coming in Fall 2012!
Many of you who attended were interested in purchasing copies of the films we screened. Unfortunately, many of the films we screened are yet to be released to the public via the big screen or on DVD.
Here is a list of items that are available for sale to the public:
Manno Charlemagne/Konviksyon (2010, 59 Minutes, Kreyol Not Subtitled) by Frantz Voltaire
A documentary about the life and musical influences of Haitian musician and song writer, Emmanuel Charlemagne.
Available at our HCX events for $20 or online (plus s+h).
Moloch Tropical (2009, 107 Minutes, Kreyol and French with English Subtitles) by Raoul Peck
In a fortress perched on the top of a mountain, a democratically elected « President » and his closest collaborators are getting ready for a state celebration.
Available online (plus s+h).
Children of Haiti (2010, 54 Minutes, Kreyol/French with English Subtitles) by Alexandria Hammond, co-produced and translated by Regine Zamor.
Following the day-to-day lives of three teenage street boys in the northern city of Cap-Haitien, CHILDREN OF HAITI provides an intimate view of the country-wide orphan epidemic.
Available at our HCX events for $20 or online (plus s+h).
Black in Latin America (2011, 55 Minutes) – Haiti & the Dominican Republic: An Island Divided by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
In Haiti, Professor Gates tells the story of the birth of the first-ever black republic, and finds out how the slaves’ hard fought liberation over Napoleon Bonaparte’s French Empire became a double-edged sword.
Available for free online with the rest of Skip Gates’ Black in Latin America series. Watch it here!
Amours d’un Zombie (2011, 90 Minutes, Kreyol and French with English Subtitles) by Arnold Antonin
A zombie who has just escaped tells the press about the love that he feels for a woman. A female reporter follows closely the story. We discover through her reporting how a group of politicians has decided to exploit the zombie’s popularity.
Available at our HCX events for $20 or online (plus s+h).
Mario Benjamin (2008, 53 Minutes, Kreyol/French with English Subtitles) by Irene Lichtenstein
Around an exhibition which took place in Port-au-Prince in June 2008, Mario Benjamin, this charismatic man shares his thoughts with us, on his work, the art and the difficulty in being an artist in a Third World country.
Available online ( plus s+h).
Below are the other films we screened that are not yet on sale to the public:
Une Etrange Cathédrale dans la Graisse des Ténèbres (2011, 78 Minutes, French with English Subtitles) by Charles Najman
The film evokes the devastating effects of the earthquake that struck the Haitian capital on January 12, 2010, through the words of Haiti’s greatest poet Frankétienne and his premonitory play Le Piège (The Trap).
Haiti One Day: One Destiny (2011, 21 Minutes, Kreyol and French with English Subtitles) by Michèle Stephenson
In the aftermath of Port-au-Prince’s January 12, 2010 earthquake, Haitian-American documentary filmmaker, Michèle Stephenson, traveled to Haiti for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting National Black Programming Consortium to document stories not yet heard.
Gospel of the Creole Pig (2004, 18 Minutes, Kreyol/French with English Subtitles) by Michelange Quay
Haiti has been exposed to the menace of invaders since the Era of Exploration. The pig poetically speaks about historical and present Haiti, the first republic of black people that still suffers extreme poverty.
Jean Gentil (2010, 84 Minutes, Spanish/Kreyol with English Subtitles) by Laura A. Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas
This poignant tale follows an educated Haitian immigrant as he travels through the Dominican Republic in search of work and a meaning to his life.
Kaleb (2011, 76 Minutes, English); Presenting a Sneak Peek of this new film! by Kervans Barthelemy
One day Jacques sees his son Kaleb in a local newspaper accused of raping a young girl. The police search for Kaleb and his friends while the incident sparks friction within the family, demanding Jacque to respond to his wife’s ultimatum: Find Kaleb or lose the rest of his family.
We also still have several non-film items for sale:
Dis-moi des Chansons d’Haïti (with CD) Children’s Book by Mimi Barthelemy
Available at our HCX events for $40 or online (plus s+h).
Pi Douvan by Orchestre Septentrional
Available at our HCX events for $15 or online (plus s+h).
The Daughter of Anacaona Writing Project Anthology
Available exclusively through HCX for $10.
Thanks again to all of you who participated in our first film festival. Haiti Cultural Exchange appreciates your continuous support in making our programs successful. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!
Posted in Archive | No Comments »