Art can inform us of our humanity. When it’s done right, it can even change our world.
Ian Swanson, executive director of the newly formed
West Michigan Center for Peacebuilding (WMCP), a nonprofit based on the mission of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, sought to create dialogue around diverse cultures when he brought the documentary
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye to Grand Rapids in 2012.
Now in partnership with Ice Cream Gallery and Toys, a new gallery/toy shop in the Avenue for the Arts, WMCP will host their first event, Ancesteral Art, with a heavy emphasis on the tribal origins of the Haitian people.
This event will build with a showcase including art, music, spiritual guidance, poetry, an international radio show, pageantry, record spinning parties, and other community-building moments through April 7.
Friday's opening night festivities include an art exhibition with the works of Jose Noe Castro (Native Americans, pre-Haitian), Picardo (human forms, abstractions), Ted Jauw (seven-piece altar to Haitian children), Joel Howell (protest art created with found objects), and Ian Swanson (collage and painting focused on Haitian women and children).
Bands Black Cat Bone, Invisible Mansion, and Cangue League Orchestra will perform with Josh Villaire on the 1s & 2s.
On Saturday, March 16 at 5 p.m., there will be a special listening party with Grand Rapids Soul Club’s DJs Mike Saunders and Andrew Christopoulos who will be spinning a selection of music inspired by women, a reoccurring theme in this month’s programming.
This unique focus on the Haitian people, the goddess Lwa Erzulie Dantor, and the stark realities of the people's present struggles makes for a rich month of exploration.
“Within each individual moment, all events are spoken within dedication to the Lwa, Erzulie Dantor, who in Vodoun cosmology represents both the spiritual protection of women, children, single mothers, and lesbians, and is associated with the Black Creole Pig of Haiti and the Haitian Revolution,” says Swanson. “Most Haitian women serve Erzulie Dantor, and many men serve Dantor as well, especially those enlightened men who honor, love, and respect women.”
Be sure to visit WMPC Facebook site for updates on the month's programming, produced with partners The Caribbean Coalition for the Arts and Culture West Michigan and Holland Friends of Art. Look for a new film every Thursday, a Parliament Funkadelic costume party, and a closing night ceremony.
They will even welcome Radio Free Amsterdam’s John Sinclair to their "A Pig Thing" Benefit for the Haitian Creole Pig. It is a two-part celebration including a live taping as well as a night of retelling of the struggles of the Haitian native in Pre-Columbus Haiti.
Admission: Varies, see the web site.