Exhibitions

The Healing Power of Art: Works of art by Haitian children after the earthquake

June 17, 2010 – February 27, 2011

National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC

Ripley Center, Concourse, Sublevel 3

See on Map Floor Plan

Soon after the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake, First Lady of Haiti Elisabeth D. Preval called on Haitian artist Philippe Dodard and his fellow artists, as well as psychologists, educators, and politicians, to create a safe place for children to express their feelings through art. Featured are nearly 100 paintings and drawings created by Haiti's young people at Plas Timoun (The Children's Place), arts centers housed in converted buses at two locations in Port-au-Prince. In addition, the exhibition includes the film Thirty Five Long Seconds: Haiti's Deadly Earthquake (18 min) and two short videos—one is about Plas Timoun and the other is about a visit to Haiti by First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden and a professor at Northern Virginia Community College.

Videos (run continuously)