‘Spirit World’ Connecticut College Hosts Exhibit on Haitian Art and Religion

NEW YORK — Trinity College in Hartford CT is home to a Haitian art exhibit featuring some of the most renowned artists. The show, which opened on Sept. 17, is running until Nov. 2 at the school’s Widener Gallery.
More than 150 people including students attended The Spirit World: Art and Religion in Haiti which brings together images that express the cultural traditions, historic references and religious ceremonial practices of Haiti. The artworks also make up an essential part of Haitian culture students can be more familiar with.
“The exhibit is seen as a leaning tool for students who are exposed to a wide range of subjects about Haiti and other Caribbean countries,” said Dr. Leslie Gérald Desmangles, Professor of Religion and International Studies at Trinity.
Curated by Felice Caivano, Widener Gallery Curator, Pablo Delano, Associate Professor of Fine Arts at Trinity, and Dr. Desmangles, the inaugural exhibition features paintings that focus on the religious traditions of Haiti.
“Haitian culture, like that of many other Caribbean countries, is a blend of African and European religious traditions, and nowhere else is this amalgamation more evident than in Haiti’s religious art,” Dr. Desmangles said.
The idea of the exhibit came along after Trinity receives a 300-piece collection of various Haitian art donated to the College by the late Edith Graham, a Haitian art lover.
Featured artists in the collection that will be displayed in the inaugural exhibit are Jacques Frédéric, Camy Rocher, M. Mompremier, Jacque Dorce, J.R. Chéry, Seymour Bottex, Jean-Baptiste Jean, Saincilus Ismael.
A second exhibit, to be scheduled in fall 2009, will focus on scenes of Haitian life.