Art and painting is practiced by professional artists and amateurs alike as a form of expression and healing. Some of Haiti’s most famous native artists have made an impact on the international art scene. Rigaud Benoit, Préfète Duffaut, and Gesner Abelard are widely regarded as a few of Haiti’s most famous painters, and in 2010, Haitian painter and playwright Frankétienne was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
Haitian culture developed out of centuries of slavery and colonialism followed by the victory of newly self-freed slaves over the armies of Napoleon and the establishment of an independent country. Removed from their African roots and having little contact with French culture, Haitians created a distinctive new culture with innovative art, music, dance, and literature. Other influences, in addition to the initial ones from Africa and France, include those from Spanish- and English-speaking areas of the Caribbean and North America. These have been combined and molded by shared experience and hardships of generations of Haitians into contemporary Haitian culture.
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