Fresh Milk shares the third blog post by Haitian resident artist Pascale Faublas, who is joining us as part of an artist exchange programme with Le Centre d’Art, Haiti, to create opportunities for women arts practitioners. Pascale focuses this week on interactions with fellow creatives, cultural practitioners and spiritual women, who have inspired the creation of new pieces during her time in the studio. This programme is supported by UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFDC) and the Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty (FOKAL). Read more below:

En français

Semaine 3

Partager le  Fresh Milk studio avec Aliyah Hasinah , une écrivaine trentenaire, commissaire d’art contemporain , de parents de la Barbades et de la Jamaique , qui vit et travaille à Londres ; a été l’occasion  pour nous de nombreuses discussions , notamment sur les sujets se rapportant à la condition féminine. Avec elle, j’ai pu donc découvrir le concept de Pop féminisme . Un féminisme  contemporain, subversif, qui campe une femme confiante, assumant son corps et sa sexualité, une femme sujet de son destin.

Ainsi est née Fanm se Poto Mitan #1.

Fanm se Poto Mitan #1 by Pascale Faublas

Grace à la mise en contact  par Annalee Davis ,  j’ai pu , au courant de cette troisième semaine de résidence à FreshMilk , rencontrer trois Fanm Poto Mitan , d’age mur, d’origine caribéenne ( St. Vincent et Jamaïque) , qui résident et travaillent en Barbade.  Toutes les trois des êtres spirituels ( Manbo ou initiée, diplômée dans des domaines créatifs et de développement culturels ou social.

1. Dr. Yanique Hume: Manbo, danseuse chorégraphe , chercheuse en anthropologie culturelle, études et performances avec un focus sur la Caraïbes, l’Amérique latine et la diaspora africaine.
2. Ireka Jelani: Manbo, médecin traditionnel, entrepreneure et directrice de sa compagnie de vannerie Roots and Grasses, une plasticienne et  étudiante doctorante a l’université des West Indies.
3. Taitu Heron: écrivaine et Directrice de la faculté  Women and Development  de l’université des West Indies.

Avec elles j’ai pu découvrir  non seulement la Barbade mais aussi  l’existence d’une  Caraïbe anglophone et l’étroite connexion (économique, sociale, culturelle) entre les différentes iles qui la composent. Nous avons pu discuter de la condition des femmes et des filles, discuter des  différences et ressemblances culturelles entre Haïti et cette caraïbe anglophone et de la nécessite de construire des liens pouvant unifier la grande Caraïbes.

Fanm se Kajou est née de ces passionnantes rencontres.

Fanm se Kajou by Pascale Faublas

In English

Week 3

Sharing the Fresh Milk studio with Aliyah Hasinah, a 30-something writer and curator of contemporary art living and working in London and whose parents are from Barbados and Jamaica, was the occasion for many discussions; especially on matters relating to the status of women. With her, I was able to discover the concept of Pop Feminism – a contemporary, subversive feminism, which encapsulates a confident woman, assuming her body and her sexuality, a woman subject to her destiny.

Thus was born Fanm se Poto Mitan # 1.

Fanm se Poto Mitan #1 by Pascale Faublas

Thanks to the contacts made by Annalee Davis, I was able during this third week of residency at Fresh Milk, to meet three Fanm Poto Mitans, middle aged and of Caribbean origin (St. Vincent and Jamaica), who reside and work in Barbados. All three are spiritual beings (Manbo or initiate, graduate in creative fields and cultural or social development).

1. Dr. Yanique Hume: Manbo, dancer, choreographer, researcher in cultural anthropology, studies and performances with a focus on the Caribbean, Latin America and the African diaspora.
2. Ireka Jelani: Manbo, traditional doctor, entrepreneur and director of her basketry company Roots and Grasses, plastic artist and doctoral student at the University of the West Indies.
3. Taitu Heron: Writer and Director of the Women and Development Faculty of the University of the West Indies.

With them I was able to discover not only Barbados, but also the existence of an English-speaking Caribbean and the close connection (economic, social, cultural) between the different islands that make it up. We were able to discuss the condition of women and girls, discuss the differences and cultural similarities between Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean, and the need to build links that can unify the greater Caribbean.

Fanm se Kajou was born from these fascinating encounters.

Fanm se Kajou by Pascale Faublas

About Le Centre d’Art:

Le Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince is an institution that works towards promoting artistic creations by Haitian practitioners on the basis of preserved heritage values. Since its creation in 1944, this atypical space with multiple missions has been at the heart of societal and artistic evolutions. As the major protagonist in the reconfiguration of the fine arts realm in Haiti, Le Centre d’Art has been paving the way for several schools and artistic movements.

Despite the destruction of the infrastructure during the earthquake of 2010, Le Centre d’Art managed to save more than 5000 works and 3000 archive files, which are today preserved and valued. Since the reopening in 2014, Le Centre d’Art has once again become an essential part of Haitian culture.

Its mission is to support artists and their creations, and to conserve and disseminate Haitian visual arts. It is a resource space for artists, art students, art lovers, collectors and researchers alike.