17603: Lemieux: Miami Herald: HAITIAN GALLERY Transplanted to Gables (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

Posted on Sun, Dec. 28, 2003


HAITIAN GALLERY
Art transplanted to Gables

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.' ''

© 2003 The Miami Herald and wire service sources.

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