For 18 months, artists and professionals from these two Caribbean countries will work together on various cultural activities, a way to get to know each other better.
After making the headlines for controversial issues, the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic have decided to collaborate together in the cultural field. Indeed, the two Caribbean countries that share the island of Hispaniola or Quisqueya with a 376 kilometers border will start a “binational cultural dialogue”.
With the financial support of the European Union, the Fondation Haïti Jazz and the association Caracoli – two organizations based in Port-au-Prince that work in the music industry – will offer a cultural season that will last until January 2023, in which some 100 cultural professionals and 20 artists from both countries will participate in cultural activities in various disciplines.
Eleven major cultural events – some of which have already taken place – are scheduled in different cities in both countries. Indeed, from January 5 to 9, 2022, was organized in San Cristóbal (DR) an artists’ residency with Dominican Luis Rivas and Haitian Louveson Saint-Juste during which five puppets were made (with the help of ten emerging creators), two of which paraded at the carnival of Jacmel (south of Haiti).
On March 24 in Santo Domingo, the public was able to visit an exhibition entitled “Carnival and Tradition” and dedicated to the puppets as well as a photographic report on the workshops.
On February 15, 2022, a “binational digital media forum”, the first of its kind, was held via videoconference. Next June, a Dominican jazz band will perform at the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival (PAPJAZZ), which this year will last only four days.
It is also planned that Haitian artists will also participate in Santo Domingo jazz festival. In addition, several other events are involved in this large-scale project such as the “Rencontres des musiques du monde” (Meetings of World Music), the “Festi Graffiti”, exchanges between Rara-Gagá bands of both countries, gastronomy etc.
