Arts & Entertainment
Hope in Haiti Springs Eternal at Westport Arts Center
Curated by Helen Klisser During, "Hope in Haiti" is an exhibition of photographs by 50 Hatian children, bringing awareness to the resilience of the islands people in the wake of the devastating 2010 Earthquake.
When Helen Klisser During visited Haiti months after the earthquake devasted the country, she saw a country on the brink of ruin. Still, hope remained for the Haitians.
The Westport Arts Center's director of visual arts was a guest of Melky Jean, sister of musician Wyclef Jean. Jean's Carma Foundation saw its orphanage flattened due to the quake and all the children were living in a tent city.
Just before her flight, Klisser During bought 50 disposable cameras from Wal-Mart. When she arrived in Haiti, she gave a quick photography lesson to the orphaned children.
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"I told the children how sorry I was about what had happened to them and that I thought maybe today we have some fun with these cameras," she said in press release.
None of them had ever used a camera before.
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“I said, for example, look at this rock. It may look pretty boring but maybe if we look at it from the ground up, it becomes much more interesting. We were learning to look at the world a little bit differently, hopefully capturing precious moments on that journey.”
For two days the children were told to take photos of their live, their friends and anything else. Now, those images are on display at the on Riverside Avenue. "Hope in Haiti" opened this Friday and will be on display until May 8. Regular Gallery hours are: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. ; Sat 10 a.m. - 5pm; Sun 12 - 4 p.m.
“Their images are very honest and unfiltered, and allow us a first-hand view into the lives of these children that have overcome extreme adversity with hope,” said Klisser During.
