Language is central to how Haitian art is understood and interpreted. Critical cataloging recognizes that classification systems—and the metadata that supports them—often preserve long-standing biases through word choice and omission. A cornerstone of our project is the creation of a Kreyòl arts thesaurus, developed in close collaboration with our partner institutions, Kreyòl-speaking artists and museum professionals, and scholars in Haitian Studies. By building a shared vocabulary that distinguishes artistic practices and materials, we aim to expand how Haitian art is understood and to establish inclusive standards for describing the wide range of art forms emerging from Haiti.
We view the thesaurus as an essential guide grounded in Kreyòl, honoring the language’s flexibility and richness as it is used in artistic communities. The Kreyòl thesaurus will be fully integrated with our metadata system and made freely available on our website. Its terms will also be added to a multilingual database. At its core, this linguistic work reflects our commitment to creating a resource that is accessible to Haitians across the diaspora and open-source by design, while remaining mindful of the limited internet access and data bandwidth available in Haiti.