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A picture paints a thousand words. Thus goes a phrase first used sometime in 1911 and which is clearly understandable to those who may be visiting the Katara Cultural Village Doha to see the first-ever Haitian paintings exhibition at the venue.
Paintings by Jean-Claude Legagneur, a renowned Haitian artist and director general of National Pantheon Museum of Haiti, were inaugurated recently in Building 47 Art Gallery at Katara Cultural Village.
Those present on the occasion included Ambassador of Haiti to Qatar HE Francois Guillaume, artist Jean-Claude Legagneur, officials from Katara Cultural Village Foundation, ambassadors and other dignitaries.
The Haitian paintings exhibition is open for the public until November 26.
These paintings express the unfortunate tales of around 800,000 slaves brought from Africa to Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean Sea. The enslaved people in Saint-Domingue revolted against the French colonial power between 1791and 1804 and were successful in winning independence, after which they renamed Saint-Domingue to Haiti, the only nation in history to have emerged due to successful slave rebellion on 1st of January 1804.
Ambassador Francois Guillaume, paid his gratitude to Director General of Katara Cultural Village Foundation Dr. Khalid Bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, and his team for making the exhibition possible.
He said that appreciation and enhancement of art and culture reflects the identity of a peace-loving people dedicated to human development and thereby contribute to economic and social development, as is the case in Haiti.
“Our Haitian culture thus remains one of our most important levers, which will transport the nation to its full expansion coupled with tourism and investment,” he noted. “I believe that Haiti’s greatest wealth is in its culture, which is why I was honoured to launch this extraordinary exhibit with
works of the great Jean-Claude Leganeur.”
The envoy said that as he looks into the eyes of each one of these depictions, he had no doubt that the transformational development of this nation will undoubtedly involve its culture and bring together all its daughters and sons wherever they may be in this world.
“Culture is the best conduit to an effective public diplomacy strategy, as it mends people’s apprehensions and misunderstandings about each other,” he continued.
“Which is why the Embassy of Haiti in Qatar found it fundamentally important to also participate in the recent trade shows, where the dynamic and cosmopolitan nature of the State of Qatar presented the perfect landscape for its rich diversity and special appreciation for arts and culture is just a perfect landscape that brings people together for a rich cultural exchange.”
He concluded his remarks by narrating a quote from Haitian writer Frankétienne, the country’s first Minister of Culture in 1988: “Me, I believe that Haiti will have its salvation, not with the outpouring of aid from donor countries. Haiti will have its salvation only through plural creativity -- painting, sculpture, dance, music, literature, storytelling -- and Haiti could become the Republic of the Arts.”
Artist Jean-Claude Legagneur said he was very impressed with the fast development of Qatar and its amazing architecture.
Paintings by Jean-Claude Legagneur, a renowned Haitian artist and director general of National Pantheon Museum of Haiti, were inaugurated recently in Building 47 Art Gallery at Katara Cultural Village.
Those present on the occasion included Ambassador of Haiti to Qatar HE Francois Guillaume, artist Jean-Claude Legagneur, officials from Katara Cultural Village Foundation, ambassadors and other dignitaries.
The Haitian paintings exhibition is open for the public until November 26.
These paintings express the unfortunate tales of around 800,000 slaves brought from Africa to Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean Sea. The enslaved people in Saint-Domingue revolted against the French colonial power between 1791and 1804 and were successful in winning independence, after which they renamed Saint-Domingue to Haiti, the only nation in history to have emerged due to successful slave rebellion on 1st of January 1804.
Ambassador Francois Guillaume, paid his gratitude to Director General of Katara Cultural Village Foundation Dr. Khalid Bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, and his team for making the exhibition possible.
He said that appreciation and enhancement of art and culture reflects the identity of a peace-loving people dedicated to human development and thereby contribute to economic and social development, as is the case in Haiti.
“Our Haitian culture thus remains one of our most important levers, which will transport the nation to its full expansion coupled with tourism and investment,” he noted. “I believe that Haiti’s greatest wealth is in its culture, which is why I was honoured to launch this extraordinary exhibit with
works of the great Jean-Claude Leganeur.”
The envoy said that as he looks into the eyes of each one of these depictions, he had no doubt that the transformational development of this nation will undoubtedly involve its culture and bring together all its daughters and sons wherever they may be in this world.
“Culture is the best conduit to an effective public diplomacy strategy, as it mends people’s apprehensions and misunderstandings about each other,” he continued.
“Which is why the Embassy of Haiti in Qatar found it fundamentally important to also participate in the recent trade shows, where the dynamic and cosmopolitan nature of the State of Qatar presented the perfect landscape for its rich diversity and special appreciation for arts and culture is just a perfect landscape that brings people together for a rich cultural exchange.”
He concluded his remarks by narrating a quote from Haitian writer Frankétienne, the country’s first Minister of Culture in 1988: “Me, I believe that Haiti will have its salvation, not with the outpouring of aid from donor countries. Haiti will have its salvation only through plural creativity -- painting, sculpture, dance, music, literature, storytelling -- and Haiti could become the Republic of the Arts.”
Artist Jean-Claude Legagneur said he was very impressed with the fast development of Qatar and its amazing architecture.
