Joseph Augustin (b. 1970 – present) / Unknown, date unknown / Oil on canvas / WCA Collection
HAITIAN ARTS DIGITAL CROSSROADS “DIGITAL LAKOU”™️ WORKSHOP
Grinnell College and Waterloo Center for the Arts, Thursday, September 21st to Saturday, 23rd, 2023
During the third weekend of September 2023, experts in Haitian art and culture met in Iowa for a three-day workshop focused on how Haitian art collections are presented and interpreted in digital spaces. We welcomed participants from across the United States, Canada, and Haiti, along with several Grinnell faculty members, to examine the role of digital promotion, curation, and preservation in shaping Haitian art history.
Through collaborative discussions, we asked attendees to help identify the elements needed to build a digital lakou—a shared space for developing best practices, refining historiography, and addressing issues of access, sustainability, and equity. These conversations will guide the blueprint for a more rigorous and comprehensive metadata schema for Haitian art, drawing on digital tools and interdisciplinary methods to expand knowledge and address gaps in the field.
This workshop marks the beginning of an ongoing series of dialogues aimed at imagining new possibilities for the study and presentation of Haitian art and at advancing innovative approaches to its preservation and promotion.
HADC WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Thursday, September 21, 2023 – Grinnell, IA
[HSSC A1231] – 4 pm – 6 pm (open to the public) / Join via WebEx Link
3:30 pm – HADC Workshop Registration / Sign In
4:00 pm – Welcome by President Anne Harris (Grinnell)
4:15 pm – Introduction by Fredo Rivera (Grinnell)
4:30 pm – “The Lakou System in Haiti: A Reading of Lwa Civilization” by Sabine Malebranche (SODADE)
6:15 pm – Visualizing Abolition & Freedom Viewing (https://vaf.grinnell.edu) [HSSC 1st floor]
6:30 pm – Dinner with invited Grinnell administration and faculty [Harris Center Concert Hall]
8:45 pm – Solera’s Wine Bar (optional activity)
Friday, September 22, 2023 – Grinnell, IA
[HSSC S1325] – 9:15 am – 10:45 am (open to the public) / Join via Webex Link
7:30 am – HADC Networking Breakfast [Hotel Grinnell] (optional activity)
8:45 am – HADC Progress Report & NEH 3-Year Plan by Petrouchka Moise & Fredo Rivera (Grinnell)
9:15 am – “Praxis: Social Thought, Religion, and Social Organization; the Lakou” by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
10:45 am – Break
[Burling Library]
11 am – Special Collections Tour: Haitian colonial and presidential letters
11:30 am – Drawing Room: Jacob Lawrence’s The Life of Toussaint L’Overture print collection
12:00 pm – Break
[Bucksbaum Center for the Arts – Rotunda]
12:15 pm – Working Lunch
12:30 pm – Lightning Round Student Presentations
1:30 pm – Workshop I & Group Discussion (Rotunda)
2:30 pm – Workshop II & Group Discussion (Gallery)
3:00 pm – Break
3:15 pm – Workshop III & Breakout Session (Gallery)
4:15 pm – Debrief
4:30 pm – Shuttle leaves to Waterloo
6:00 pm – Check into hotel – Best Western Hotel
6:30 pm – Dinner [Singlespeed]
Saturday, September 23, 2023 – Waterloo, IA
8:00 am – Breakfast [Best Western]
9:15 am – shuttle/walk to the Waterloo Center for the Arts
[WCA] 9:30 am – 4 pm (workshop participants & invited guests only)
9:30 am – Welcoming remarks by Chawne Paige (WCA) [Law Court Theatre]
10:00 am – Tour of Haitian art collection on display with LeGrace Benson [Rueling Feldman Gallery]
12:00 pm – Catered lunch [Town Hall]
1:00 pm – Exploration of the WCA vaults
3:30 pm – Group discussion [Town Hall]
6:00 pm – Catered dinner and workshop closing [Town Hall]
Sunday, September 24, 2023 – Waterloo, IA
Breakfast [Best Western]
Shuttle Departure
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