Haiti Cultural Exchange Opens Applications for Its 10th Artist Cohort
NYC artists can now apply for a residency that connects contemporary creative work with Brooklyn’s Haitian communities.
Haiti Cultural Exchange is preparing a new season of programming that will support Haitian artists, preserve cultural history and create opportunities for Brooklyn communities to engage with Haitian art and traditions.
During the nine-month Lakou NOU artist residency, artists will collaborate with community members on projects addressing issues including traditional practices, forced migration, foreign occupations and revolution. Applications for the 2026 residency cycle are open through Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.
Now entering its 10th year, the residency supports Crown Heights, Canarsie, East Flatbush and Flatbush — neighborhoods home to generations of Haitians and Haitian Americans.
HCX will also present “Rasin San Bout | Roots Without End,” an exhibition connecting contemporary artwork with recordings of Haiti made by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax in 1936 and 1937. Created in collaboration with the Alan Lomax Archive, the exhibition will be on view Sept. 19-Oct. 18, 2026, at HCX, 35 Lafayette Ave. in Brooklyn.
The exhibition will pair selected archival recordings with artwork, exploring how different forms of artistic expression can communicate across generations and geographic boundaries. Lomax traveled to Haiti at the urging of anthropologist and author Zora Neale Hurston and recorded Haitian music and rituals for the Library of Congress.
Together, the programs highlight Brooklyn’s longstanding Haitian community while creating opportunities to explore the connections between cultural heritage, contemporary art and community life. The residency also allows artists to develop work collaboratively with residents rather than creating projects independently.
HCX’s viewing hours are Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m., with Wednesday visits available by appointment. Community members can apply for the Lakou NOU residency, visit the upcoming exhibition and attend the opening reception.
Brooklyn Org is matching donations to HCX dollar for dollar through Aug. 30, providing another opportunity for Brooklyn residents to support the organization and the artists whose work helps sustain Haitian culture.