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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 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.
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).
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 »
10.30.11
Photo Credit: Jocelyn McCalla
To begin, the space was lovely. Soho Photo Gallery on 15 White Street in Manhattan had the standard gray-painted floor and white-washed wall loft-feel of the famous Soho gallery area but when you looked at the walls, you saw some incredible digital print photography that told of the keen artistic eye of both the curator and featured artists. Our featured guest, Tequila Minsky’s photo exhibit was located upstairs in a precarious catwalk of a show space that created a fantastic progression through her images. My favorite photo in Minsky’s exhibit titled Haiti = Survival (No Questions But) was that of a little boy laying across an elevated box as a young mother holds his head. Entitled “Injured Boy, Day After,” both young person’s aura in the photo evoke a sense of solemness and a painful darkness that emanates from lost innocence. The perspective of the photo is from below and the aggrandizing shot as well as the shroud-like medium of canvas for the print gives the impression of a modern photographic Pietà.
When asked why she chose the medium of canvas as her print surface Tequila asserted her dislike of frames for her work, and I must agree, to attempt to compartmentalize the powerful images of Post-Earthquake Haiti would only serve to detract from the intense reality and depth her photographs portrayed.
Tequila also showed a video of Fort Royale, a small rural town in Haiti that was damaged during the earthquake and where Two Little Flowers, a community school where Tequila is actively raising funds for, is located. She discussed the damage done to the town as well as its only school. The temperament of the room shifted, as it became very clear to everyone in the room that the impact of the earthquake on life in Haiti has not been resolved and for many, not yet diminished. As a small donation basket was passed around, the clear dedication and emotional attachment to Haiti of all of us in the room, regardless of origin or experience, was understood.
Following the discussion with Minsky, Ibi Zoboi, writer and coordinator of The Daughters of Anacaona Writing Project, graced us with readings of poetry from Haitian girls who participated in the 3-day intensive workshop in Port-au-Prince. The powerful works are published in an anthology that is being sold by HCX for $10 (Pick one up at our next event!).
After the readings we broke out into conversation with the artists and mingled to the rhythm of Buyu Ambroise and his band’s fantastic Haitian jazz beats. We listened and chatted late into the evening, and I’m sure it would have run longer if not for our sound curfew.
Thanks to all our fantastic attendees and partners, and welcome to all our new members! Special thanks to Tequila Minsky,Prestige Beer, and Bubby’s, Boom, Krik Krak and Le Pescadeux for the delicious food! And infinite gratitude to Soho Photo Gallery for lending us their home for a memorable evening.Posted in Archive, Arts, Exhibitions, HCX Programs, Photography, Public Forums, Uncategorized | No Comments »
08.31.11
On Saturday August 20th, several artists and friends gathered at Five Myles Gallery for “Pwezi Anba Tonèl: An Evening of Haitian Poetry and Music”. The space in which the event took place was alternative, innovative, and decidedly intimate. The audience sat outside while the captivating artists performed in an open garage-like space. Throughout the evening, POEMobile projected texts from the poems on the wall of the gallery. La Troupe Makandal and Master Drummer Frisner Austin began the transformation of the space with the mystical sounds of percussion. Their lengthy performance certainly set the tone of the evening, leaving the audience wanting more. At any point during the evening, attendees were free to enter the indoor space of Five Myles Gallery to enjoy refreshments and peruse the newest exhibitions. After La Troupe Makandal, amazing poets Michele Voltaire Marcelin, Denize Lauture, Jennifer Celestin and Robert Josaphat-Large shared poems and stories on themes ranging from life and death, to love and identity. Though each performer was unique and intriguing in her or his own right, the common theme was undoubtedly about the complexity of their Haitian/Haitian-American identities and the interplay of their identities with their lives. It was clear that the audience wanted much more after the scheduled performances ended and they were satisfied when each of the performers returned for encore performances. After the encore, all attendees mingled. It was at the close of the event where I heard the most incredible responses calling the event “absolutely enthralling”, “magical” and “amazing”. I could not agree more. ”Pwezi Anba Tonél” was a stellar experience.
This event was brought to you by Haiti Cultural Exchange in collaboration with City Lore and Bowery Arts + Science.
-Written by Naika Apeakorang
Naika will soon be joining the HCX team as Communications Intern.
Posted in Archive, Arts, HCX Collaborations, Music, Night Life, Poetry, Uncategorized | No Comments »