EXPOSITIONS | ART VIVANT ET ATELIERS | CONFÉRENCES... | ESPACE WEB
A SPACE FOR BUILDING AWARENESS OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH IN HAITI
Curated by ATSA, When art takes action, for the Jules and Paul-Émile Léger Foundation
INSIDE SHELTER # 11
The Jules and Paul-Émile Léger Foundation supports, in Quebec as around the world, innovative and mobilizing community initiatives for the well-being of vulnerable or marginalized people. In Quebec, the Léger Foundation finances community organizations in 14 regions of the province. Internationally, it funds partners whose interventions are deployed in 11 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. One of their projects aims to reduce the mortality rate among pregnant women, newborns and children under 5 years of age in Haiti, by ensuring quality, accessible services in obstetrics, neonatology and pediatrics, chiefly in the healthcare centres in Léogäne, Gressier and Darbonne.
EXHIBITIONS
"PASAJ"
A multifaceted collaborative installation by artists Stanlé Février, Sophie Cabot and Michaelle Sergile, partially drawing on elements from the Matènite website.
The situation of low-income Haitian women undergoing labour in precarious conditions is examined from a documentary and experiential standpoint. Statistics on these sometimes risky conditions serve as the starting point in this sculptural installation.
The accompanying soundtrack contains numerous testimonials, and statistical tables are integrated into the installation and provide visitors with a steady stream of data gathered by Haiti’s health professionals. To give the public a better appreciation, portable sculptures serve as wearable prosthetics to provide a sense of the true weight of a child of three, six and nine months.
The exhibition space features several medical props reminiscent of Haiti’s hospitals. This sets up an almost instant dialogue between the public’s living habits here and those in Haiti.
The trio of artists—Michaëlle Sergile, Sophie Cabot and Stanley Février—are participating in the collaborative project because of their vision of art that is socially engaged. By creating this space, they hope to not only inform and sensitize the public, but also nudge it into taking action.
"ENSEMBLE POUR LA SANTÉ DES MÈRES ET DES ENFANTS D’HAÏTI"
In December 2017, the USI and CECI mandated two professional photographers to visit communities receiving support from their project for maternal and child health in northern Haiti.
Kiran Ambwani met the island’s inhabitants for the first time, while Caroline Hayeur was on her third visit to the country and her first to the community in 15 years. In the north, the two women’s reporting centered around the project.
They documented a series of clinics located around Cap-Haïtien, providing an intimate and respectful look at their subjects. For Cuisine ta ville, the photographers share a selection of images from the original exhibition.
"Ta valise es-tu prête ?" ATSA
What does a woman leaving for the hospital to give birth put in her suitcase if she lives in Quebec? And if she were in Haiti? For starters, Haitian mothers are expected to bring their own bedsheets. Discovering this led us to explore other differences we were totally unaware of. These comparative suitcases make quite an impression and get us thinking.
WHORKSHOP & PERFORMANCES
STELLA ADJOKÊ
SAturday 8:30pm - on the stage
In the Yoruba language, ADJOKÊ means the one we must cherish. ADJOKÊ is the name she was given by a Griot, who came interrupting her first performance in Bénin, with a spectacular baptism ceremonial; her name given by her ancestors! Stella is a Montreal-based artist who bears her roots from her Polish-Quebecer mother, her Jamican father, whom she knew barely, and also from her Haitian father-in-law. Raised in a small village of Gaspésie, she is now an engaged woman, having worked for ten years as a social worker for young people and marginalized families in the greater Montreal. Stella Adjokê is more than a singer-songwriter or an actress, she is a healer; beacuse if her art exists, it is to better heal the soul of those who open their minds to her works.
LA VALISE DES MÉMOIRES
Jacqueline van de Geer
Saturday 11:00PM
In this performance, Jacqueline van de Geer introduces the memory of objects. She presents a vintage suitcase containing various items. She shares two stories related to the objects, one being a true story, the other a fantastic and imaginary tale. Finally, she invites participants to come up and contribute their own "expertise" regarding the objects. Jacqueline van de Geer is Dutch, and she settled in Montreal in August 2005. Intimacy and reconnection are the key themes of her work, and their aim is to get audiences to open up their collective experience.
JAH_ZAKA, EN PERCUSSION
MAXO LAUTURE
Sunday 11:00PM
Maxo Lauture, aka JAH ZAKA, hosts a lively percussion workshop for the whole family! Through the language of percussion, he communicates the story of his country, his leaving, and his life experiences. Fun for all!
CONFERENCES | PANELS | speeches
Ariane K. Météllus
Ms. Météllus is a perinatal consultant and midwife, and she invites us to a series of panels and lectures to better understand the issues surrounding maternal and child health in Haiti.
SATURDAY 11:30PM
HAITIAN MOTHERS SPEAK
Giving birth here and giving birth in Haiti – testimonials and reflections on lived experiences.
SATURDAY 14:30PM
MATERNITY RELATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
A panel followed by a discussion, from a feminist and activist perspective.
SUNDAY 3PM
MATERNAL AND CHIL HEALTH IN HAITI
A panel followed by a discussion, with three public health experts working in the field.
SPEAKERS :
Guerda Amazan
Guerda Amazan a un Baccalauréat en administration option Gestion des Affaires. Elle a eu plusieurs formations et séminaires sur la problématique de genre. Elle est formatrice en genre et développement et maitrise très bien les approches :Intégration Femmes au Développement /Égalité des Sexes (IFD/ÉS) et Analyse Différencier selon le Sexe (ADS).
Elle a travaillé durant 15 ans dans la fonction publique haïtienne où elle a occupé plusieurs postes de responsabilités, parmi lesquels: être membre du cabinet de la Ministre à la Condition Féminine et aux Droits de la Femme. Pour Haïti, elle a également participé à titre de déléguée et de cheffe de délégation à plusieurs conférences internationales sur le dossier des Femmes telles que : OEA, la francophonie et l’ONU. Présentement, elle occupe le poste de coordonnatrice du Dossier Femmes à la Maison d’Haiti. Elle coordonne 10 programmes et projets exclusivement pour les femmes.
Son intérêt est la défense des droits de la femme.
Dr Katia Démésier
Katia Démésier est un médecin généraliste diplômée de la faculté de Médecine, de Pharmacie et École de technologie médicale de l’Université d’État d’Haïti (FMP/UEH). Elle a occupé de nombreuses fonctions de coordination des soins de santé en Haïti particulièrement en santé maternelle, néonatale et infantile avec les organisations non gouvernementales. Elle détient également un DESS en gestion et management des services de santé de l’Universitéd’État d’Haïti et une maitrise en Santé publique de l’École de Santé publique de l’Université de Montréal (ESPUM). Ses principaux domaines d’intérêts sont : l’intersectorialité en santé, la gestion des services de santé et le renforcement organisationnel.
André Paul Vénor
Dr. Vénor is a physician with a Master’s in Health Administration from Université de Montréal. He has worked for a number of years in Haiti as a physician and hospital director in several regions of the country, and also as an expert public health consultant for numerous national and international organizations, including Global Affairs Canada.His expertise and interests in the field of public health include the organization and management of health services, as well as their quality and their financing. Dr. Vénor is currently involved in the PROSAMI project and chiefly oversees the construction of the surgical ward and the neonatology unit at the Mother and Child Centre in Léogane. Dr. Vénor will address the difficult access that pregnant women and children have to quality basic healthcare, and will explain how this leads to a rise in avoidable mortality for children, pregnant women and women during childbirth, especially among the poorest of them.
WEB documentary
MATÈNITE
In Haiti, 1 out of 12 children dies before his or her 5thbirthday. Two computers will be available for consulting this wonderful Web site, designed by Approprimage. The designers will introduce and explain the site and provide insight into its creation. Matènite is a Web documentary project initiated by the Jules and Paul-Émile Léger Foundation. Its aim is to shed light on the issues surrounding maternal and child health in Haiti.
The Léger Foundation has been present in Haiti since 1986. It is currently spearheading a major project, PROSAMI, which seeks to reduce the mortality rate among the country’s mothers and young childen. In concrete terms, its objectives are to improve services in obstetrics, pediatrics and neonatology in the health establishments of the Léogâne-Gressier region; to build a new pavilion for maternal and child health in Haiti; and to improve the services offered in five community health centres.
The Foundation is also working to raise the population’s awareness and to promote new services, through the creation of a network of 50 community health officers. In Canada, the Léger Foundation is engaged in building awareness of issues related to the health of mothers, newborns and children in Haiti.Matènite shines a light on numerous realities through portraits of men and especially women overcoming challenges and obstacles to maternity in their country. Each of them is part of a broader, national narrative that displays tremendous resilience and much more work yet to be done.