13608: Hermantin: Haitian museum to open at school (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Sunsentinel

Haitian museum to open at school

By Hillary Wasch
and Rhonda J. Miller Staff Writers
Posted November 8 2002

Toussaint L'Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice in Delray
Beach will be the initial home of the International Museum of Haitian Art,
History and Culture, with exhibits expected to be on display this month.

"I believe that Delray Beach will be the first town in the United States to
have an exhibit space specifically dedicated to honor the Haitian culture
and arts," said Joseph Bernadel, co-principal and chief operating officer of
the school.


Although there are commercial galleries and other exhibits of Haitian arts
and culture across the United States, the Delray Beach collection is the
only one Bernadel knows of dedicated to educate the public.

"It will help us learn more about the Haitian background and culture," said
sophomore Michele Soine, 15, of Boynton Beach. "I hope to get a better
understanding about what they went through, because I have never experienced
it or learned about it."

Delray Beach is a natural place for the museum. Of the city's population of
60,000, about 6,300 are Haitian, according to the 2000 census. Leaders in
the Haitian community say the official count is low because many Haitians
are reluctant to register for the census because of immigration concerns.

Daniella Henry, executive director of the Haitian American Community Council
in Delray Beach, estimates that 13,000 Haitians live in Delray Beach and
west of the city.

Bernadel puts the figures even higher. He estimates that 25 percent of the
city's population, or about 15,000, are Haitians. That figure came from
calculating the enrollment of children in the Palm Beach County School
District who claim Haitian ancestry, he said. Of the Palm Beach County
population of 1.1 million, the 2000 census puts the Haitian population at
30,640 or 2.8 percent.

One of the functions of the museum will be to come up with specific
population figures of Haitians, as well as lifestyle details, such as where
they live, shop and work and their economic and cultural contribution to the
community.

Bernadel has been struggling to find a home for the museum since October
1999, when he had planned to install it in a Spanish mission-style home at
101 SE First St. in downtown Delray Beach. He was then executive director of
the Milagro Center, which promised $500,000 to repair the building and use
it for the museum. The deal fell through when he left the center.

"They were supporting the endeavor, but then I told them I was leaving to
start a school," Bernadel said. "I didn't realize that by my leaving, they
would stop supporting the museum."

Meanwhile, he has collected, borrowed and purchased art for the museum
collection for 10 years in anticipation of the museum opening.

Bernadel will put the works, such as paintings and Haitian artifacts, in
display cases in classrooms and hallways on specially designed platforms.
There will also be a 500- to 600-square-foot room dedicated to artworks. The
display will be open to the public. There will be no entrance fee, but
donations will be accepted.

Toussaint L'Ouverture, a charter school at 95 NE First Ave. that opened in
August 2001, has 150 ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders, only 30 of whom are
Haitian. But the students are receptive to having a Haitian museum in-house.

"Our art program is about learning about all different cultures spread
around the world, and this museum will expand our knowledge about the
Haitian culture," said junior Drew Sneed, 16, of Delray Beach.

Diane Allerdyce, co-principal and academic officer, said she hopes to
incorporate the Haitian artworks into the students' lesson plans.

"This is a way to give students the experience to learn about the art and
culture and also about what a museum is and how it represents society,"
Allerdyce said.

Bernadel doesn't plan to keep the artworks in the school for long. He still
hopes to hire a curator, have a separate structure to house four exhibits,
and raise $400,000 to maintain the building. The charter high school, under
its nonprofit status, plans to apply for funding from the National Endowment
for the Humanities, the state, Palm Beach County, foundations and
individuals, with the funds earmarked for the museum.

One exhibit will focus on the pre-Colombian era, before the Spanish
discovered Haiti. Another will have artwork from Haiti's revolutionary era
in the early 1800s. A third exhibit will celebrate the drum, a ritual symbol
representing Haiti's religious and spiritual values. The fourth exhibit will
focus on the immigration years, not only to the United States, but all over
the world.

Bernadel also wants to have a room dedicated to oral histories of Haitian
immigrants talking about their lives now and the lives they left behind.

He is hoping to get a piece of the $50 million Palm Beach County bond issue
for parks and cultural projects, which is on the Nov. 5 election ballot.

"I have sent a proposal to a number of people, and no one has said yes or no
yet," Bernadel said.

Bernadel said the entire project would cost close to $2 million.

Despite all the setbacks, Bernadel hopes to have the museum fully
operational by November 2004, the bicentennial of Haiti's independence from
France.

Hillary Wasch can be reached at hwasch@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6631.







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