The Centre d’Art welcomes visual artist Michelle Ricardo for an artist residency

As part of its mission to support the creation and dissemination of Haitian artistic production, the Centre d’Art has established a collaboration with UNESCO, specifically with the Secretariat of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

In this context, the UN agency has provided the Centre d’Art with funding to implement a project entitled Establishment of a Network for the Creation and Dissemination of Caribbean Art.

This project supports the development and promotion of contemporary Caribbean art through:

• the creation of a Caribbean network for artistic production;
• support for the artistic creation of Caribbean women artists;
• the exchange of best practices among cultural institutions to strengthen the visibility and dissemination of Caribbean artists

The first phase of the project, entitled Caribbean Cross Residency, involved sending a total of ten (10) artists in residence to six (6) countries in the region: Haiti, Cuba, Barbados, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad & Tobago.

The first residency took place in Cuba, where the Centre d’Art sent Haitian artist Mafalda Nicolas Mondestin. For the second residency, the Centre d’Art welcomed Barbadian artist Kia Redman. Haitian artist Pascale Faublas, who works around the concept of Potomitan, stayed in Barbados as part of the third residency. Finally, Michelle Ricardo, from the Dominican Republic, was hosted in Haiti for the fourth residency, from June 29 to July 15, 2021.

This residency offered Michelle Ricardo an opportunity to deepen her performance techniques and collaborate with the local community, particularly with Haitian women, to explore the concept of Potomitan in relation to the overall theme: the role of women in building the Caribbean.

Potomitan refers both to the central column of Afro-religious churches — the link between the spiritual and physical worlds — and, symbolically, to women in Caribbean societies.
Michelle Ricardo’s artistic project will take the form of a participatory process culminating in a final performance inspired by traditional and popular celebrations, created with and within the community.

Based on the theme of the residency, Michelle Ricardo will identify women from the community recognized for their commitment to development, progress, or collective well-being. Their selection will be based not on their profession, but on fundamental human values such as empathy, honor, integrity, respect, and honesty.

The creation of the work will unfold in two phases: the creative process and the final performance or celebration.

In this way, Potomitan will pay tribute to the lives and dedication of these women to their community and their people.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Michelle Ricardo is a visual artist, poet, social activist, educator, and cultural manager. She graduated from the Altos de Chavón School of Art and Design and the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico City.