January 31, 2011
We'd like to wish a happy birthday to "the man who recorded the world" -- Alan Lomax.

Lomax's decades of pioneering work in the field of ethnomusicology helped preserve traditional music throughout the world. His daughter Anna Lomax Wood, Executive Director of the Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), is now spearheading the movement to "explore and preserve the world's expressive traditions with humanistic commitment and scientific engagement."

The Green Family Foundation proudly partnered with ACE in 2009 to help release Alan Lomax in Haiti: Recordings for the Library of Congress, 1936-1937 which has been nominated for two Grammys: Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes. For more information on this amazing man visit The Association for Cultural Equity - Alan Lomax in Haiti: http://www.culturalequity.org/features/haiti/ce_features_lomaxinhaiti.php

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January 29, 2011
Ruth Goldman and Ira Lowenthal, owners of Men Nou Gallery in Petionville Haiti, have curated an exhibit at MiMo Art Gallery and Custom Framing on NE 79th St that highlights post-earthquake art by select Haitian painters, sculptors and flag makers. The show, which runs through February 14, also features large-scale canvases by the renowned muralist Jerry Rosembert Mose. Among the prominent contemporary painters represented are Maxan Jean-Louis, Magda and Ramphis Magloire – all well-known acolytes of the St. Soleil school of Haitian art. A group of younger artists from Jacmel present their immediate response to the earthquake in the form of “rubble art” – a new medium of therapeutic and artistic expression that has already been featured in the New Yorker on-line and as a featured segment on Public Radio International (PRI).

Large-scale post-quake beaded flags depicting not only the horrors of the disaster but also the divine interventions of Haiti’s ancestral spirits to save lives during the event are a prominent part of the exhibit. Featured contemporary beaded textile artists will include Mireille Dlism, Evelyne Alcide, Roudy Azor and Nadine Fortilus. Classic works by Wilson Bigaudv (Petit-Gove) and Louisiane St. Fleurant (Port-au-Prince/St. Soleil) round out the collection of two-dimensional plastic arts. The next generation of Haitian artists are also represented, through the works of Timoun Rezistans (“Children of Resistance”) – a collective of young artists from 8 to 18 years of age hailing from the slums of the destroyed capital, whose phantasmagoric cut-out appliqus from recycled tires are a fresh, new development on the Haitian art scene. Finally, fine handcrafts produced since the quake by artisans struggling to survive amidst the rubble and under torn tents, including works in bone, horn, wood, cut metal and recycled packaging materials, are available. Go see the artwork at 738 NE 79th Street. For questions or inquiries, contact Ruth Goldman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

CLICK ON ANY THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE

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January 29, 2011
Last year's earthquake left many residents of Haiti without any power whatsoever. Solar energy advocates believe that cultivating renewable energy in Haiti could help solve many of the country's long-term challenges, from generating jobs to reducing its reliance on expensive imported fuels. The Green Family Foundation helped fund the opening of EarthSpark International's first Clean Energy Store (Magazen Enèji Pwòp) in Les Anglais, Haiti in July, 2010. An article published in Mother Jones features EarthSpark founder Dan Schnitzer and others involved in Haiti's solar energy industry. Click here.

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January 27, 2011
The latest installation in Akashic Books' Noir Series is Haiti Noir, edited by Haiti-born author Edwidge Danticat. During a book tour stop in Miami, NBC NiteTalk columnist John Hood caught up with the author and talked about how she selected contributing authors, her inspiration for editing Haiti Noir, how  Haiti is portrayed in the stories, and a little politics as well. Read it here.

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