Haitian Heritage Month Heroes: Annick Duvivier
Artist paints the town green in honor of nature and her native Haiti
Last September, MIA lent its support to Miami-Dade County’s arts community struggling from the pandemic-driven economic downturn by purchasing works from 14 local visual artists, one being Haitian-born, Miami-based artist Annick Duvivier. The 14 contemporary artworks, including Duvivier’s mixed-media piece Outside Influences, were selected by a six-person panel of jurors that reviewed 253 submissions by 157 artists. The works will be exhibited beginning this October in MIA’s recently rebranded Gate D31 Gallery.
I want to thank MIA so much for this opportunity to have my artwork displayed at the airport. You brought a ray of sunshine and encouragement into my life in a time of doubt and uncertainty.
According to Duvivier, Outside Influences is a representation of everything we consume daily - from food to news and commercials - that influences our choices, and we must constantly filter those influences to grow and thrive.
Growing up in Haiti, I have seen first-hand how nature has been abused and disrespected. My work is a blend of my memories, my culture, and the modern-day bombardment of materialistic pleasures seen on social media. I draw strength from being in green spaces because nature herself is what brings me happiness. My most precious childhood memories of a simpler time in Haiti are in the garden. I leave the viewer to their interpretations, where they can choose to celebrate the materialistic items intertwined in the artwork or focus on the beauty of the natural world.
Duvivier is known for her mixed media collage paintings. Early in her career, she took painting classes with the renowned Haitian artist Ralph Allen. She studied Fine Arts at Altos de Chavon 2008 in the Dominican Republic, which is affiliated with the Parsons School of Design in New York. Soon after, she became an artist in residence at Festival Arts Gallery in in Port-au-Prince, and organized exhibits for more than 25 prominent Haitian artists alongside Art Historian Dr. Marie-Alice Théard.
She then returned to Altos de Chavon in 2011 and followed various drawing and paintings courses, which led to her rapid evolution. She has exhibited her work extensively in Haiti, including two exhibitions at Festival Arts Gallery. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Miami International University of Art & Design in 2019.
Her work has been featured in selected group exhibitions such as: Dispersed, Miami Urban Contemporary Experience MUCE, Miami, Florida, (2020); Local Global, Global/Borderless Caribbean XII: Focus Miami, Little Haiti Cultural center, Miami, Florida, (2020); Haitian Museum of Art, woman artist exhibit; “L’Art Haitian vue par nos Femmes” Musée du Pantheon National Haitien Mupanah, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (2012); and “Advanced Placement Studio Art Exhibit,” NSU Museum, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (2005).
Her collections include: Hillary Clinton (U.S. politician) private collection, USA; Jon Landau (American film producer/co-producer) private collection, USA; Lionel Duvalsaint (Civil and Environmental Engineer, art collector) private collection, Haiti; French Consulate private collection, Haiti; Azra Pecanin (United Nations) private collection, Lebanon; and Stephen Kaplan (Rector of Altos de Chavon) private collection, Dominican Republic.