17609: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Art transplanted to Gables (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, Dec. 28, 2003

HAITIAN GALLERY
Art transplanted to Gables
Myriam Nader, 39, helps operate a family-owned art gallery that features the
works of Haitians -- and she has a longing for home, imperfect as it is.




SHOWCASE: Myriam Nader, amid Haitian works in her Coral Gables gallery, says
she wanted to 'show people what Haitian art is all about.' BARBARA P.
HERNANDEZ/FOR THE HERALD


After graduating from New York University in 1988 with a degree in
information systems, Myriam Nader returned to Haiti, thinking she would stay
permanently.

But after her infant son was diagnosed with a chronic illness, Nader found
herself packing her belongings in 1999 and moving herself and two young
children to South Florida, where her son could get the medical care he
needs.

Nader notes that her family was doing well in Haiti. Her father, Georges S.
Nader, is the founder of Nader's Art Galleries and Nader's Art Museum in
Petionville and Port-au-Prince. The gallery has an inventory of more than
20,000 pieces of Haitian art.

The 37-year-old family-owned business represents most of the major artists
in Haiti.

Earlier this year, Myriam Nader decided to expand the business and open a
South Florida branch in Coral Gables, Galerie d'Art Nader at 1911 Ponce de
Leon Blvd. She runs it along with her brothers John and Georges Jr.

''I always wanted an art gallery here to show people what Haitian art is all
about,'' said Nader, 39, whose exhibits include $30,000 primitive pieces by
long dead Haitian masters to more contemporary works in the more affordable
$2,500 range.

But opening a business and moving to Miami haven't come without major
sacrifices.

Raised in Haiti's elite class, Nader admits having to adjust to a much more
middle-class lifestyle here.

''It would cost me too much here to live the way I lived in Haiti,'' said
Nader, who has a commuter marriage with her husband, a Port-au-Prince
resident.

Like many Haitians in South Florida, Nader finds herself longing for home,
despite its problems and tensions.

''We have a rich culture,'' said Nader, whose grandparents on both sides
immigrated to Haiti from Lebanon. ``We are mixed.

``We are not only black, white, mulatto. We are not only boat people, but we
are also professionals.''

In fact, four of the seven Nader children are involved in the family art
business, two are electrical engineers, and the oldest, Ralph Nader, is a
cardiologist at Miami Heart Institute.

''My father believes in education,'' said Nader, noting that her father made
sure that she and her siblings had the best schooling in Haiti and the
United States, even though he had to leave school early to help support his
family.

'He always said to us, `No matter how much money I leave to you, you could
spend it in a day. But what I leave to you in the brain will stay with you
forever.' ''

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