The 2nd Ghetto Biennale 2011 in Haiti

Andre Eugene Badgi Pom Louko(Altar for Louko) (2011)

Sebuah negeri miskin luluh lantak, dua tahun silam terkena gempa. Penduduknya tidak menyerah, melihat takdir dengan rasa optimis dan tetap menyelenggarakan festival seni yang dianggap parodi kemapanan biennale dunia.

Jamak dikritik publik seni dengan ungkapan a Salon des Refusés for the 21st century, sebuah pameran oposisi pada abad ini. Konon, awalnya event Ghetto Biennale ke-1 pada 2009 diselenggarakan gara-gara banyak seniman Haiti tidak terseleksi di Biennale mapan dunia.

Kurator Leah Gordon menyebut bahwa penggagas awal acara, kelompok seniman di Grand Rue menggunakan sistem magang untuk menyebarkan keterampilan pada komunitasnya. 

Perbedaan dalam memproduksi seni yang aneh dan kurangnya pengetahuan seni serta  sejarah konvensional seni barat sering memaksa mereka dimasukkan di kategori “outsider art” atau “ naive art”. Dengan acara Biennale Ghetto mereka mengundang seniman kontemporer, ingin mengabarkan pada dunia, menolak posisi yang demikian.

Benarkah begitu? Yang jelas, dibalik kontroversi yang ada,  dukungan makin bertambah banyak dari seluruh pelosok jagad. Seniman-seniman seperti arsitek, desainer, pematung, seniman konseptual, seniman kostum, performance artist, perupa instalasi dll dari berbagai “kelas” hadir dan berpartisipasi. Bahkan membiayai sendiri seluruh kunjungan ke Haiti dan produksi karyanya.

Maka, acara yang berlangsung di Grand Rue, distrik miskin sebuah “kampung kumuh” di Port-au-Prince di Haiti berlangsung sampai dua kali. Gempa bumi pun tidak menyurutkan langkah mereka, apalagi kendala infrastruktur fisik, absennya fasilitas semacam galeri nasional atau museum representatif tentu saja tidak membuat ciut nyali.

A country that has been devastated by the earthquake on 2010 did not give up.  The people still held arts festival which is considered a parody for the world Biennale.

They used to be criticized as an expression of the Salon des refuses for the 21st Century, an exhibition of the opposition.
Many people say that the Ghetto Biennale was held because there are a lot of Haitian artists denied their presence by the arena of world Biennale.

Curator Leah Gordon said that the initiators of Ghetto Biennale, the Grand Rue group of artists using the apprenticeship system to deploy the skills in their communities.

With the difference in the way of producing art and lack of knowledge about the history of Western art that compels them have been placed in a category of "outsider art" or "naive art".

The existence of the Ghetto Biennale and contemporary artists who have been invited to Haiti is an attempt to refuse those position. Behind the controversy, the clear support even increased a lot from all over the world.

Painter, architect, sculptor, performance artist, costume making artists, coceptual artist, installation artist have come from different "classes" to work and participate. They have self-financed the entire visit to Haiti and producing work by participating directly in the local community.

In the end, the event was already held two times in the Grand Rue, poor areas or "slum kampoong" in Port-au-Prince in Haiti. As we know, even a natural disaster did not discourage them to continue moving forward.

Charlotte Hammond 1

Charlotte Hammond 2

Fungus Collective 1

Fungus Collective 2




Fungus Collective 3




Fungus Collective 4

Maccha Kasparian 1



Maccha Kasparian 2



Maccha Kasparian 3

Pascal Giacomini 1

                                                                                           Pascal Giacomini 2
                                     
                                                                                         

Peter Anderson 1

                                                                               Peter Anderson 2

Schallum Pierre1

Schallum Pierre 2

                                                                              

Allison Rowe 1

Allison Rowe 2

source: www.ghettobiennale.com
www.yoonsoo.com

www.frieze.com

                                           

The 1st Ghetto Biennale was held in December 2009, hosted by Atis Rezistans and co-curated by Myron Beasley and Leah Gordon.

The 2nd Ghetto Biennale was held in December 2011, hosted by Atis Rezistans, co-curated by Andre Eugene, Leah Gordon and Celeur Jean Herard with curatorial assistance from Marg Duston and David Frohnapfel.