Jacmel: An oasis of music and culture in Haiti
JACMEL, Haiti — When travelers flock to this sun-washed bay in southern Haiti, it’s often to celebrate at one of its cultural or music festivals.
I am here, by the blue waters and under the endless sky, in the off-season — October. It is warm, tranquil and so quiet that, as I walk along, in Haiti’s fourth largest city, the only music I hear is the undulation of the waves tapping at the black-sand shore.
Sure, rocking to a jazz festival could be an exciting time to wander here, but even without the crowds, it’s possible to enjoy the rhythm of life in this breezy, coastal pinpoint of paradise.
Almost as if on the yellow-brick road, I follow a colorful-mosaic walkway and after a short stroll, arrive at the magical Jacmel Arts Center.
The center, also known as the Fondation Sant D’a Jakmel, Haiti, is 14 years old. It is housed in a centuries-worn, airy French colonial structure that is near the public plaza on the south edge of Jacmel.
Although heavily damaged by the massive earthquake that shook Haiti in 2010, it remains a vibrant, charming artists’ colony.
Ernst Payen, a local artist who goes by the name Papouche, was working, chipping away on a sculpture, but stops to show me around. He nods his dreadlocks and smiles, pointing to his driftwood creations enlivened with found objects. Papouche and I negotiate a clunky conversation trading my limited Creole and French for what he knew in English.
“Wait,” he says. He has called the director of the center and says he would soon come to tell me more.
After 20 minutes, Lee Rainboth, the director, shows up. Mr. Rainboth, 33, is an American from farm country Marcus, Iowa. He has lived in the mountains outside of Jacmel for about 10 years, building a home and immersing himself into local culture.
Growing up, Mr. Rainboth was introduced to the island nation through a great uncle who showed off his collection of Haiti art when he visited for dinner. The paintings helped to introduce Mr. Rainboth to a world beyond the cows and prairie.
He completed a degree in Studio Arts at Iowa State University, minoring in French, and then lived for one year in Mali, West Africa, before coming to Haiti.
It’s an adventure. Mr. Rainboth settled in. He built a house, learned the “mountain Creole,” the local language, and absorbed the customs. He says being a painter has helped to ease his flow into life in Jacmel and many of the artists are his friends.
The center is an Eden of creativity. Large wood and metal sculptures bloom in the gardens. Drummers practice on the second floor. Dancers follow their beat. Papier-
mache pieces brighten every corner. Stunning paintings and drawings flower every inch of every wall.
There are more than 100 pieces at the center and each one is a story, says Mr. Rainboth, which reflects both the artists’ distinct voices and the shared experiences and daily life of all Haitians.
What you see here, says Mr. Rainboth, “comes from a spiritual place. It communicates the secret spiritual power that can only be translated in art: strength, resilience, independence.”
It was founded by Patrick Boucard, a Jacmel painter, and Kate Tarratt Cross, a printmaker and photographer from South Africa. They purchased the old building and turned it into a place to support local culture and artists, exposing their creations to a larger audience. To do that, they thought the artists should work collaboratively, supporting each other. And, they do.
What the artists create here, says Mr. Rainboth, flows out of their spiritual traditions founded on liberty and self-expression.
The artists who gather here are taught by local masters and visiting professionals. They guide the next-generation of artists, from teens to adults, in lessons on painting, drumming, dance and other arts. But the center is also comprehensive. Students learn the business of art and take classes in the English language.
There are about 40 fulltime students and they come for six days a week. Even when class is out, the center is a gathering space to relax, share ideas, and while away time.
Because of the Haitian economy — many people earn less than $2 a day — the center offers three sessions a year for about $40. Mr. Rainboth says for those who can’t afford it, there is the opportunity to volunteer, to help organize performances, to teach children as an exchange for the classes.
All the artists live off their art. Whatever is sold, the artist gets 70 percent and 30 percent goes to the center.
It’s an exceptional value. The center is the only arts school in the region. It gets a burst of American and Dominican tourists during the Jacmel festival season. And, for eight years, a Sister Cities International partnership with Gainesville, Fla., has enabled the Jacmel center to link programming, and economic and cultural exchange with the city’s churches, local businesses and other institutions, including University of Florida and Santa Fe College. Furthermore, emerging partnerships with museums andgalleries in New Orleans and Austin, Texas, and around the globe, have given the center an international appeal, drawing in more interest from the Haitian diaspora.
In addition, the art is striking. Noted artists such as Jean Garibaldi, who has shown in Paris, New York and across the Caribbean, and Joseph Sevenson, are attached to the center.
The art, Mr. Rainboth, explains, provides an opportunity to open up the conversation about Haiti’s history, Vodou culture, class distinctions and other issues.
The whole country is not like parts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, says Mr. Rainboth. It’s not all protest and violence.
“People still cling to stereotypes, and often misinterpret the art, but at least the center helps them to engage the culture and to see Haiti on different levels.”
“We are part of the identity of Jacmel,” says Mr. Rainboth. “Art tells stories. When the earthquake happened, people were driven to the center. They were looking to the artists to help interpret what was going on. Our sculptors and painters turned the rubble into art.” Ervin Dyer, a former PostGazette staff writer, is a sociologist and an editor and writer for the University of Pittsburgh’s Pitt Magazine. You can reach him at edyer@pitt.edu.