This Saturday, March 14, I'll be joining fellow artists Steven Baboun, Bacheler Jean-Pierre, Christina Rateau, and Kedler St-Hilaire for a virtual conversation about JAKMÈL: The Unveiling of Kanaval, on view at Haiti Cultural Exchange through March 29. I'd love for you to tune in.

My contribution to the exhibition is Gadyen, nine cemented horns invoking the Haitian Lwa Bossou Twa Kon and the carnival figures Lanset Kod. The chains and whip in the work are held at rest, no longer instruments of force or violence but markers of a shift from domination to remembrance. Gadyen holds reclaimed power in balance, an inheritance shaped by collective resistance and survival.

This work comes from a place I know intimately: the long-distance nationalism that many Haitians in the diaspora carry. I've experienced Kanaval in Chicago, Brooklyn, and Toronto, always in relation to Haiti, but always across distance. Kanaval and other cultural celebrations fill that absence, but it's of course not the same. That is the condition from which I make work. The hybrid forms that emerge from my practice are born through syncretism and invention, drawing from Haitian, African, and Indigenous traditions to build something that carries ancestral truth forward.

JAKMÈL | The Unveiling of Kanaval is a living archive of survival stories, memory, and self-expression. I'm honored to be part of it.

Join us Saturday, March 14 | 3–5pm

📍 Virtual Register here

Tomorrow The Logan Center for the Arts and Blacknuss.tv will co-host a special screening of feature film Fanon (2025) by Jean-Claude Flamand-Barn. It will be followed by a public panel discussion with Peter Hudis author of the book Frantz Fanon: Philosopher of the Barricadesand my father independent Haitian scholar/activist Dr William Balan-Gaubert.

The film + discussion is SOLD OUT, but I’m going to see if I can slip in via my dad.

Learn more >>

I’m home in Chicago this week! While I’m here I’m excited to catch Khidr Joseph’s thesis show at SAIC. This show features the work he’s focused on the last two years and is a follow up to his solo show In Loving Memory at NYU The Gallatin Galleries and his All About Love: Community Narratives Create Change AIR 2024 residency with The Laundromat Project in Bedstuy, Brooklyn. Khidr is like a hood hero back in Brooklyn. His gorilla murals inspire, uplift, and spread love not just the Brooklyn way, but Khidr’s way.

Excited to catch up with him and see his new works in-person.

Peep the recaps for In Loving Memory and All About Love: Community Narratives »

JAKMÈL | The Unveiling of Kanaval tells the story of a people who have always used art as a language of survival and freedom. Migration, displacement, and generational distance have often disrupted the transmission of traditions like Carnival. This exhibition is about honoring that legacy and ensuring it remains visible, especially for those in the diaspora who may feel disconnected from Haiti’s cultural history.

Through paintings, sculptural works, archival materials, and contemporary interpretations, this exhibition bridges past and present, showing how Jacmel’s Carnival continues to influence global art, and political expression while remaining deeply grounded in local community traditions. For the Haitian diaspora, the exhibition emphasizes the urgency of cultural preservation and reclamation. By engaging with Jacmel’s artistic practices and historical narratives, the exhibition encourages diasporic audiences to reconnect with their roots and recognize Carnival as a powerful symbol of identity, and continuity of Haitian culture.

Opening Reception:

Thursday, February 12, 6-9pm

Haiti Cultural Exchange

35 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn NY 11217

Featured Artists:

Steven Baboun @stevenbaboun

Tania L. Balan-Gaubert @tanialaure

Bacheler Jean-Pierre @bachbid5

Charles Jean-Pierre @cjpgallery

Lori Martineau @lo_ayiti

Christina Rateau @blue_spiritu

Kedler St-Hilaire @kedlerskyve

+ sculpture from the Tequila Minsky Private Collection

Curated by HCX Curatorial Fellow Yvena Despagne (@yvenadespagneart) and Executive Director Régine M. Roumain

Learn more about the artists »

With deep gratitude, I have to thank Amy Andrieuxfor inviting me to show two of my chairs (my first time attending Art Week / Art Basel as an artist) in Dual Currency: Defiance by Design at the 2nd annual REVOLT Art Fair.

Amy is the Executive Director + Chief Curator of MoCADA, a Professor at Parsons School of Design, and one of the most powerful curatorial voices shaping how Black art enters the global conversation. Her work is rooted in cultural memory, radical imagination, and community as a technology — and being included in a space she intentionally built means the world to me. A true Trailblazer in every sense of the word. Shoutout to Amy!

Listen to the episode >

𝖢𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝖧𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗂’𝗌 𝗉𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖿𝗎𝗅 𝗌𝗉𝗂𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗅 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘥𝘦 — 𝖺 𝗆𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗂𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖼𝗂𝗉𝗅𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗋𝗒 𝖾𝗑𝗁𝗂𝖻𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝗈𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖦𝖾𝖽𝖾 𝗌𝗉𝗂𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖧𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗂𝖺𝗇 𝖵𝗈𝖽𝗈𝗎. 𝖢𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝖸𝗏𝖾𝗇𝖺 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗉𝖺𝗀𝗇𝖾 @𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗑𝖺𝗒𝗂𝗍𝗂 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈-𝖼𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝖩𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗂𝖼𝖺 𝖥𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖼𝗈𝗂𝗌𝖾 @𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗆𝗓𝖾𝗅𝗇𝗂𝖼𝖺, 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝖿𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾𝗌 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌, 𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌, 𝗌𝖼𝗎𝗅𝗉𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾𝗌, 𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗎𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌, + 𝗉𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗉𝗁𝗒 𝖻𝗒 𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗅𝗅𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗌 𝖽𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗅𝗒 𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗇 𝖧𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗂𝖺𝗇 𝖼𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗒.

𝖨𝗇𝗌𝗉𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖽 by Fèt Gede, 𝖧𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗂’𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝗇𝗎𝖺𝗅 𝖼𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝖽 — 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾, 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗁, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗃𝗈𝗒 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗍𝗐𝗂𝗇𝖾. 𝖣𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗏𝗂𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗍, 𝗂𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾.

Featuring works by:

𝖳𝖺𝗇𝗂𝖺 𝖫. 𝖡𝖺𝗅𝖺𝗇-𝖦𝖺𝗎𝖻𝖾𝗋𝗍 @𝗍𝖺𝗇𝗂𝖺𝗅𝖺𝗎𝗋𝖾
𝖲𝗍𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝖡𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗇 @𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇𝖻𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗇
𝖱𝗈𝗒 𝖢𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 @𝗄𝗈𝗎𝗍_𝗄𝗋𝖾𝗒𝗈𝗇_𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗋
𝖯𝗒𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗅𝖺 @𝗉𝗒𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗅𝖺
𝖲𝖠𝖬𝖣𝖨 @𝗌𝖺𝗆𝖽𝗂.𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗌𝗅𝖺
𝖯𝗂𝖾𝗋𝗋𝖾 𝖬𝗂𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗅 𝖩𝖾𝖺𝗇 @𝗉𝗆𝖿𝗈𝗍𝗈𝗀𝗋𝖺𝖿𝗂

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 𝟲:𝟬𝟬𝗽𝗺 - 𝟴:𝟬𝟬𝗽𝗺

📍𝖫𝖺𝗄𝖺𝗒 𝖲𝖺𝗄𝗋𝖾 | 𝟩𝟫𝟥 𝖱𝗈𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖠𝗏𝖾, 𝖡𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗅𝗒𝗇, 𝖭𝖸 𝟣𝟣𝟤𝟤𝟨