United Nations Radio

NARRATION: In Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the northern hemisphere, art and culture have always been seen as a symbol of hope - joyful, vibrant artworks have also been the country's greatest source of foreign currency. But the massive earthquake that devastated the island in January 2010, leaving Haiti and its people in tatters, also had a huge impact on Haitian artists. Many found their lives changed beyond all recognition. Painter Prince Luc was one of them.

PRINCE LUC(Creole): After the earthquake, I didn't really know who I was anymore.

NARRATION: Prince Luc and his daughter, 2-year-old Samara survived the earthquake but lost most of their home. Prince Luc's paintings were also destroyed. But he considers himself one of the lucky ones.

An estimated 300,000 people were killed across Haiti in those fateful moments, and millions were left homeless. It was one of the largest humanitarian disasters the world has ever seen. Prince Luc and Samara were indeed lucky.

But while their lives were saved, the future of Haitian art lies in the balance. Much of Haiti's precious art work - symbols of Haitian culture and the people's identity - was lost in those 35 seconds.
Patrick Vilaire, himself a well-known sculptor, together with art dealer, Axelle Liautaud, sift through the wreckage of the Musee College du Saint Pierre.

PATRICK VILAIRE(Creole): This collection here is where you find all the works of the masters of Haitian Naive painting, the great artistic movement that was born in 1945.

NARRATION: The museum once housed one of the most important collections of Haitian art in the country. Most of the culturally-important buildings themselves are also irreparably damaged, taking unique artworks and murals with them. Some of the most significant are the churches.

TEELUCK BHUWANEE: They have very important symbolic and cultural value for the people. This is the way people meet and get together and sing and that is the basic identity of the country.

NARRATION: Teeluck Bhuwanee is Haiti's Representative for UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency.

TEELUCK BHUWANEE: Economically, culture can save this country because it has an enormous amount of talent in all ways.

NARRATION: And Prince Luc believes that nurturing young Haitian talent is vital for the future and an important part of the country's healing process. Several days a week, he volunteers at the Art Creation Foundation for Children, in the southern city of Jacmel, where he lives. The centre provides both a refuge and a diversion for poor children traumatized by the earthquake.

PRINCE LUC(Creole): We should demonstrate what we have experienced, and that's why they're working on the walls with their impressions, their feelings, with their fear. When you go inside the building, you see that they're beginning to be inspired.

NARRATION: Prince Luc, too, is struggling to comprehend the catastrophe through his art and he's finding a new style.

PRINCE LUC (Creole): Before, I preferred the colors that spoke of life; that have more elements; that are more joyful - because I love gaiety. But there's too much death, too much havoc, too many things have happened in front of me. I have gone back more deeply into that darkness. There is a tiny bit of color that remains - because I think that if there is life, there is hope.

This report was prepared by Gill Fickling for the United Nations.

Duration:  4'29"