Town & Gown Forum: The Spirit of Haiti: Art, Life and Culture

Join KU faculty members Gitti Salami, art history, Bryant Freeman, founder and Director of KU’s Institute of Haitian Studies, and Chancellor Robert Hemenway for a series of informal presentations about art, life and culture in Haiti. This forum will be moderated by Amanda Martin-Hamon, Spencer Museum of Art, and is offered in conjunction with the Spencer exhibition Haitian Art from the Hughes Collection. Haitian Art from the Hughes Collection While in Haiti working for the United States International Communications Agency between 1972 and 1976, Mary Lou and Harry Hughes developed a deep admiration for the arts and artists of Haiti, building a collection of nearly 100 works. Prior to their assignment in Haiti, the Hughes were assigned to Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin), where Mary Lou acquired a knowledge of and sensitivity to the African aesthetic that permeates Haitian art. Organized by Amanda Martin-Hamon, the Spencer’s Public Outreach and Special Events Coordinator, and Sean Barker, Education Intern, Haitian Art from the Hughes Collection covers the range of Haiti’s leading painters and sculptors, including Rigaud Benoît, Wilson Bigaud, Murat Brierre, Célestin Faustin, Jasmin Joseph, Philomé Obin, Salnave Philippe-Auguste, André Pierre, and Robert St. Brice. The Hughes Collection includes a variety of styles, depicting historical and religious subjects and scenes of nature and everyday life.