The St. Landry Parish Visitor Center, I-49 exit 23, in Opelousas is hosting a new art exhibit open to the public. Throughout July and August, visitors can see selections from the Haitian Art Collection of Glenn and Yvonne Stokes, the largest known collection of Haitian art in America.
“There is no written history of Haiti, but there is a wonderful visual art history,” said Glenn Stokes.
Stokes first started going to Haiti in the early 1970s for business involving his pest control company. He and his wife fell in love with Haiti and its people. They would travel to the country collecting paintings over the course of 30 years. His collection has been exhibited across the Southern U.S. and even Venice, Italy.
Stokes’ pieces at the center depict agricultural scenes of sugar cane and cotton all too familiar to Louisiana. Paintings of traditions unique to Haiti include voodoo ceremonies.
Saint Domingue, which would become Haiti in 1804, was the money-making powerhouse for the French in the Americas. West African slaves powered their sugar cane, indigo, and cotton trades. Rebellions on the island would inform policies and treatment of slaves and free people of color in Louisiana, increasing tensions. After the revolution in 1791, a mass exodus of people including free people of color from Saint Domingue made their way into Louisiana.
While only a few Haitian families would make it out of New Orleans into the rest of Louisiana, in St. Martin and St. Landry Parish, the De Léry-Chéniers, Dubreüils, Jardoins, Journées, Martels, Pécots, Pinta/Ménials, Sigur/Sigues, and Vitals can claim Haitian origins.
For future events involving the exhibit at the visitor center, check in at cajuntravel.com/events.
