The Archive Collection of Le Centre d’art in Haiti

Abstract

The Centre d'art: the reference point for Haitian visual arts since 1944The Centre d'art is recognised by the Haitian Government as of Utilite Publique (public utility) since 1947 and operates as a not-for-profit institution. It was established in 1944 at the instigation of the American watercolourist, DeWitt Peters, and a group of Haitian intellectuals,1 at a time when there were not yet any art galleries or a public art school in Haiti.The Centre has operated at one and the same time as a space for training, a body offering support for production, and a channel to spread awareness about Haitian visual arts. It was the catalyst for the emergence of a new movement whose avant-garde was as much social as artistic.2 In the seventy years of its history, the Centre d'art has brought to prominence many talented artists, including Philome Obin, Hector Hyppolite, Antonio Joseph, Georges Liautaud, Jasmin Joseph, Wilson Bigaud, Prefete Duffaut, Lionel St Eloi, Edouard Duval-Carrie.Visits from artists and well-known personalities such as Andre Breton, Wifredo Lam, Alfred Metraux and Jean-Paul Sartre,3 the development of a strong Caribbean and international network, the launch of great artistic endeavours, such as the murals for the Church of St Trinity (1949-5 z) or the establishment of the College of St Pierre's Haitian Art Museum (1972), have made the Centre d'art a reference point for Haitian artists, professionals and art-lovers up to the present day.The Centre d'art was also responsible for the launch of the first journal on visual arts in Haiti, STUDIO No 3. The first article on Haiti's art history by a Haitian writer, A Panorama of Haitian Art, was published by one of the Centre d'art's founders, Philippe Thoby Marcelin, in 1956.Preserving the Centre d'art's heritage after the January 2010 earthquakeAfter several years of financial difficulties, stemming mainly from the political context in Haiti, the Centre d'art lost its building in the 12 January 2010 earthquake. Its director of more than forty years, Francine Murat, died a few weeks later. Despite this unprecedented crisis, the Centre's employees and the board of directors managed to save the archives and art collections that are testimony to a major part of Haitian art history. In the context of the post-earthquake emergency, the Smithsonian Institution set up the Haiti Cultural Recovery Project in partnership with the Haitian Ministry for Culture and Communications. The Centre d'art was identified as a priority site.4 Collections and archives were sent to the place where the team assembled by the Smithsonian inventoried the collections and restored seventy-nine works of art.5 The archives, preserved in cardboard boxes, all mixed up and sometimes damaged, were not included in the project.The Centre d'art's collections and archives were given back by the Smithsonian in 2012 and returned to their historical location. Although the Centre was closed to the public, it built space to house and secure them.The archives: the heart of the plans for the Centre d'art's revivalIn 2012, the Centre d'art, which already had the support of the Fondation Connaissance et Liberte (Fokal),6 met with the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation.7 These two partners enabled the Centre d'art's board of directors to set up a project for its revival, including rehabilitation of the work space and public visiting areas, as well as re-establishing the Centre's organisational structure.One of the priorities identified by this huge programme was dealing with the Centre's archives. After the shock suffered by the Centre d'art and the loss of part of its team, it seemed indispensable to rebuild the organisation's memory through its archives. The Centre's archives and collection of works of art, built up since 1944, are a testimony to the importance of the place and are the material link between past and future artistic creation.Making an archive service sustainableThe major challenge with regard to dealing with the archives was that of identifying and mobilising skilled human resources, since the main problem in Haiti is the lack of archivist skills. …