Above: Donna Karan and Former President Bill Clinton (Photo: IDB)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Haiti’s art is on full display at a new exhibition at the Inter-Ameriacn Development Bank’s Cultural Center in Washington, DC.
The Discover Haiti exhibition, which launched this week, is the product of a partnership with the Clinton Foundation, Nomad Two Worlds and designer Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation.
Karan first traveled to Haiti on a relief mission after the earthquake in 2010, soon beginning to work with a group of Haitian artisans.
That has expanded into an initiative, along with the IDB Group and the Clinton Foundation, to expand business opportunities for Haiti’s handicrafts sector.
Discover Haiti showcases metal, wood, cardboard and papier mache artifacts made by Haitian craftsmen working in Urban Zen’s Haiti Artisan project in the cities of Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Leogane.
It also features exhibitions of large art pieces created by Russell James and Haitian painter and sculptor Philippe Dodard.
The IDB has disbursed almost $380 million in grants to help Haiti’s government in areas of need.
The bank’s Cultural Center, which assists projects in Haiti, was founded in 1992.
Discover Haiti lasts through June 27 at the Cultural Center’s art gallery.
Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe delivered remarks Wednesday to officially open the exhibit.
Former US President Bill Clinton was also on hand at the exhibition.