Overview:
A brand new artist residency in Brooklyn highlights Haitian tradition by way of performances, group gatherings and accessible inventive area throughout Haitian Heritage Month.
A brand new artist residency in Brooklyn is putting Haitian tradition, spirituality and group on the middle of Haitian Heritage Month celebrations this Might.
Atelier Artist, a BIPOC-owned inventive co-working studio in Central Brooklyn, launched its first monthlong residency on Might 1, that includes Haitian American interdisciplinary artist Riva Nyri Précil. This system consists of free public occasions, stay performances and group gatherings all through the month.
The residency, hosted at 495 Flatbush Ave., displays the studio’s broader mission to assist immigrant and community-rooted artists by way of accessible inventive area and cultural programming.
“Atelier Artist was created to be greater than a venue — it’s a dwelling ecosystem the place artists can create, collect, and be supported by the group,” co-founder Jonathan Pierre Lafleur mentioned in a press launch. “Welcoming Riva for our Spring Residency displays precisely what we imagine in: making area for artists whose work carries tradition, reminiscence, and therapeutic.”
Centering Haitian heritage and spirituality
Précil’s residency attracts inspiration from Kouzen Zaka, a spirit in Haitian Vodou related to agriculture, labor and abundance. Her work blends music, ritual, storytelling and visible artwork to discover themes of land, therapeutic and cultural reminiscence.
“My work is about creating areas the place folks can return to themselves, to spirit and to the knowledge carried by way of tradition,” Précil mentioned within the launch.
The programming displays these themes, providing a mixture of performances and participatory experiences rooted in Haitian traditions.
Occasions embrace an artist discuss, an intimate live performance, a sound tub impressed by Vodou practices and a standard natural tea gathering highlighting Haitian therapeutic information. The residency will conclude with a Fèt Kouzen celebration on Might 24.
Increasing entry for Diaspora artists
The launch of the residency additionally marks a milestone for Atelier Artist’s Haitian-American founders, who say they intention to increase visibility for Haitian tradition whereas addressing gaps in New York’s inventive ecosystem.
The studio affords 24/7 entry to reasonably priced workspaces alongside exhibitions and programming designed for multidisciplinary artists, together with painters, filmmakers and designers.
By centering Haitian Heritage Month in its inaugural residency, the group underscores the position of the Haitian Diaspora in shaping cultural areas in Brooklyn and past.
Organizers say the purpose will not be solely to showcase Haitian artistry however to create an area the place group members can collect, replicate and have fun collectively.
Further occasions will proceed all through Might, with organizers encouraging the general public to attend and interact with the programming.