Recorded on April 26, 2025 at the Des Moines Art Center—Symposium: Light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art and Culture
“The History of Haitian Art at the Waterloo Center for the Arts” by Chawne Paige, Executive Director Waterloo Center for the Arts
This talk features the rich holdings of Haitian art at the Waterloo Center for the Art—the largest publicly held collection of Haitian Art in Iowa and the United States. The lecture explores the storied history of the founding of the WCA’s Haitian Art collection and Paige’s role as its steward during a period when the collection has grown to include over 2000 works.
“Haitian Art from Prairie to World: Caribbean and Global Art Histories” presented by Fredo Rivera Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Art History, Grinnell College
This presentation considers the role Haiti has placed in the discourse of Caribbean, Black, and Global art history. In their presentation, Rivera refers to their own engagement with art collections in Waterloo, Grinnell, Davenport, and Des Moines, Iowa. This presentation emphasizes the significant role Haiti, as the first Black republic of the Americas, has played in the history of the Americas and in art history.
PETROUCHKA MOÏSE LECTURE VIDEO
“The Kreyol in the Corn – the Formation of the Haitian Arts Digital Crossroads Digital Lakou” presented by Petrouchka Moïse Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Cultural & Community-based Digital Curator in the Grinnell College Libraries
Haitian Arts: A Digital Crossroads (HADC) has brought together over 30 scholars, museum leaders, artists, and cultural leaders to generate interdisciplinary discussion and analysis of Haitian art and visual culture. Through the creation of a digital “lakou”—a Haitian Kreyol term for a communal space within a village— the project considers Haitian cultural identity, Indigenous values, and community sustainability through the establishment of a virtual community composed of regional, national, and international partners. Dr. Moïse shares the Lakou’s contribution and HADC’s success in the development of the first digital platform focused on sharing the richness of Haitian art and culture.
“Haitians in the Heartland: Insights on Migration and Maternal Health” presented by Inbal Mazar Ph.D., Associate Professor of Spanish, Drake University
Dr. Inbal Mazar, Associate Professor at Drake University and volunteer for the nonprofit Des Moines Refugee Support (DMRS) shares insights from her involvement assisting Haitian migrants through DMRS since 2021 and from the Art Center projects surrounding the Light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art in Iowa exhibition. She discusses her current research project in which she interviewed local Haitian mothers about their maternal care experiences in Haiti, Latin America, Florida, and Iowa.
