Ti Atis (Little Artists) is an in-school arts education program engaging youth of Haitian descent and their peers with Haitian history and heritage via the arts. The program gives young people, ages 6-14, the tools to build an inclusive and culturally informed future as they learn about diverse art forms from professional Haitian artists. The goal is to increase appreciation of Haiti and its culture, promote positive cultural identity and self-image, facilitate cross-cultural dialogue, and cultivate an inclusive sense of community amongst young people.
This year, HCX launches Ti Atis at P.S. 189 with Jean-Patrick Icart Pierre for a 7-week arts residency! Icart-Pierre collaborated with HCX on our very first community mural project at P.S. 189, The Bilingual Center in the spring of 2012, and has been a recurring teaching artist with HCX.
Born in Haiti, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1974, Icart-Pierre’s paintings have been exhibited at The Bronx Museum, the Jamaica Arts Center, Kenkeleba Gallery, the Skylight Gallery, and the Brooklyn Museum. Publications such as The New York Times, New York Newsday, The Standard and The Nation in Kenya have reviewed his work among many others. Icart-Pierre is an alumnus of The Cooper Union for The Advancement of Science and Art, and holds a Master’s degree in Arts Education and an MFA from Brooklyn College.
In 1987 he traveled to Kenya and served as artist-in-residence at the Paa-Ya-Paa Arts Center. He was awarded the “Artist-in-Marketplace” honor from The Bronx Museum, and in 1994 he served as artist-in-residence at The Jamaica Arts Center in Queens, New York. He has worked as an art teacher at the Harlem School of The Arts and currently works at M.S. 246 in Brooklyn New York, instilling his appreciation for art in the public school system. Students who experience his teaching learn and understand that creating art is a way to give voice and presence to those communities and historical events often excluded in our society. Art provides a way to go beyond the textbook and encourage everyone to get out into the community!
We are pleased to welcome Icart-Pierre to the HCX team once again!
If you would like these types of programs in your school or community, please contact regine@haiticulturalx.org. If you would like to be included in our roster of teaching artists, please contact veroneque@haiticulturalx.org