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Photo credit: Courtesy of Vassar Haiti Project |
Vassar’s Eighth Annual Haitian Art Sale
On Parents Weekend, April 3–5, the Vassar Haiti Project will sponsor its eighth annual Haitian Art Sale and Auction in Main Building’s multipurpose room. Over 300 paintings, sculptures, handcrafts, and hand-painted silk scarves will be on view and for sale. The Vassar Haiti Project, founded in 2001, is a collaborative, all-volunteer organization with over 100 members, including 60 students. Since its founding, the project has raised over $400,000 and has built a seven-room school in Chermaitre, a small village in rural northwest Haiti.
“Our goal is to create sustainability in our adopted Haitian community,” says Andrew Meade, Vassar’s director of international services and co-chair with his wife, Lila, of the Vassar Haiti Project. “Now that the school is completed, we consulted the village leaders and we have four new initiatives for the Haiti Project — planting trees, water purification, regular medical visits, and emergency relief funds.”
The Vassar Haiti Project isn’t just the art sale — it also coordinates donations to Haitian artists of art supplies from local Hudson Valley community members and businesses. Visitors to this year’s art sale will be able to purchase Haitian art created with materials from supplies donated by Catskill Art and Office Supply. “This is the best of our global village,” says project co-chair Lila Meade.