I've always hated the fact that when non-Haitians ask me questions about Haiti, their questions usually have to do with poverty and political upheaval. There is so much more to Haiti. For one thing, art is everywhere in Haiti. Yes, there are plenty of galleries and museums but you also find it on the sidewalks, on buses, on the walls of barbershops and restaurants and businesses of all kinds. There's music, there's dancing However, it wasn't until I took a trip to
Jacmel in 2001 that I had the idea of importing this Haitian art to the United States.
My decision to visit Jacmel was made a the last second and I did not have time to reserver a hotel, which means that I when I got to the town, I had to go from one hotel to the next checking for vacancies. One of the nicer hotels (by Haitian standards), had a gift stand. It was, by far, the most beautiful collection of folk art I had seen in Haiti, or anywhere else for that matter. I was really impressed by the quality of the craftsmanship but also the wide variety of the items. There were masks, baskets, paintings, almost everything Haitian artists had to offer. I also liked the idea that so much art came from one place. I thought, mode people need to know about this place and started thinking of ways to make it happen.
