Haitian-Inspired Exhibit at Art Museum Through April 23
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale presents “Kathia St. Hilaire: Immaterial Being,” the first solo museum exhibition of South Florida artist Kathia St. Hilaire (b.1995, West Palm Beach, FL). The art exhibit will be on display through April 23, 2023.
St. Hilaire’s work – appropriately on display through Black History Month – portrays tender images of family gatherings, children at play, celestial bodies, scenes of death, and distinct Haitian iconography. Her visual language is enhanced by the ornate, textured surfaces on which these images appear. The distinct constructions are composed through a lattice framework of linoleum panels, sewn together to form quilt-like formations resembling ceremonial Haitian Vodun flags. St. Hilaire refers to her signature surface making technique as reduction relief printing. This laborious crafting method combines an array of materials such as cosmetics, textiles, detritus, jewelry, enamels and metals, which together form a haptic, abstract collage. These intricate and ethereal backgrounds become the stage for the artist’s figurative imagery.
This exhibition addresses the artist’s personal transcultural experience and material experimentation. Her interest in matter and process goes beyond a formal, visual concern, as it simultaneously creates a space in which to address the concept of the painting’s surface as it connects to the understanding of skin, color and race. These critical notions are at the center of the artist’s practice and the broader Haitian narrative she seeks to tell.
The artist’s work is largely informed by the African spiritual belief system known as Vodun. This religion is considered the source of a psychological liberation that enabled the Haitian Revolution, though it has been widely misunderstood by the outside world, which has ignored its rich history and complexities. As the child of Haitian parents in South Florida, St. Hilaire’s experienced the divisions in different parts of Caribbean and American culture. Within each community, identities are insulated and protected. However, in presenting to others, efforts are made for appearances to assimilate into American culture. St. Hilaire interprets these experiences of race and transformation as primarily existing on a surface level, leading physical materials to play a key part in the formation of Black American societies. In the artist’s practice, the consumption of beauty products, such as skin lightening creams and artificial hair, come to represent the Caribbean diasporic experience.
Posted 01/31/23
NSU University School, has launched the Mako Prize YA (young adult) for Middle School students who share a deep connection with literature. The Mako Prize is a reading tournament co-founded by Director of Student Academic Services Ann Sellers that aims to help readers discover new books and foster a community of and for readers.
Donald Michael Remy, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, visited Nova Southeastern University on Wednesday, Jan. 18, and held a roundtable discussion with several student veterans. Joining the deputy secretary was Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz; NSU President and CEO George L. Hanbury II; and Jane Che, the Senior Adviser to Remy. Matthew Chenworth, NSU’s Senior Director of Military Affairs organized the event at NSU’s Alan B. Levan Broward Center of Innovation at the Alvin Sherman Library on the Davie campus.
The Halmos College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology presents “The Dynamics of Scientific Publication Ethics and the Challenge and Future for Women in Science,” a distinguished speaker seminar.
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NSU’s Learning and Educational Center (LEC), under the direction LEC’s executive director, Diane Lippe, Ed.S., hosted a two-day virtual conference that showcased a variety of NSU educators presenting on a wide array of topics. The theme for the conference was, “Connect, Engage, Inspire,” and it gave NSU faculty and staff an opportunity to share their knowledge and practices with other educators at the university. Presentations covered teaching strategies, technology tools, BEDI (belonging, equity, diversity, and inclusion) practices, student engagement, and more. Some sample presentation titles were: “That’s Debatable: How to Create Better Writers Using Micro-Debates,” “Developing and Using Vision Statements to Enhance Course Design and Improve Student Outcomes,” and, “Connecting Faculty and Student (Re)Engagement with Relationship-Rich Education.”
On Friday, December 2, 2022, NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library hosted its inaugural Donor Recognition Breakfast. The event was part of the library’s continuing celebration of its 20th year of service to the NSU and the local community.
