About the Study Guide

 

Galerie Lakaye, a Los Angeles-based art gallery specializing in Haitian art and promoting Black culture, is powerfully defining its commitment to social justice by championing arts education in the university setting.

Haiti has been called a nation where “art is life” (Los Angeles Times). People want to know why—and how—this is possible in such a poverty-stricken place. To help answer that question, Galerie Lakaye has produced an award-winning 67-minute feature documentary film titled Out of Chaos: An Artist’s Journey in Haiti, which serves as the foundation of the Lakaye arts education curriculum. It allows instructors to explore and discuss the following issues:

  • the differences and similarities in artistic and aesthetic values of different cultures

  • privilege

  • sustainable art creation

  • lack of resources and resourcefulness

  • the Black experience

  • racism and opportunity

  • community, and more

The curriculum comes with a Study Guide with curated discussions by topic and activities designed to safely process and explore content, concepts, and career opportunities. Learn more about the Guide below.

Educational and cultural institutions that purchase the film for screening will be provided with a copy of the Study Guide upon request.

 
 
 

Study Guide Discussion Topics

Below is a quick look at the subjects covered in the academic Study Guide (written by Dieter Bruhn, and based on the film). This list is intended to help teachers engage students through small groups discussions and facilitate learning through guided questions, fun activities, Jeopardy-like game categories, and presentations.

  • Art as Societal and Cultural Expression

  • Art, Religion and Vodou Culture

  • Art and Resistance

  • History of Haiti and the Arts

  • Recycling and Sustainable Art Creation

  • Art and Poverty

  • Slavery and Empowerment

  • Racism and Opportunity

  • The Black Experience 

  • Immigration

  • Entrepreneurship 

  • Creative Journalism and Filmmaking 

 

Excerpt from the Introduction to the Study Guide

Haiti is a study in contrasts and controversy. It is a source of pride for Black people everywhere, having abolished slavery through the only successful slave revolt in history. Today it is one of the biggest sources for Black art in the world in spite of being the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. Artists living in ultra-poor conditions create an unparalleled amount of art using whatever they can find in their environment. Many of these works now reside in museum collections worldwide.

A positive, if unvarnished, look at Haiti’s culture and its indestructible spirit, Out of Chaos brings these little-known aspects of Haiti to the forefront, in the process creating an avenue for in-depth discussion of many issues relevant to the world we live in today. Out of Chaos: An Artist’s Journey in Haiti, is directed and shot by Pascal Giacomini, a French-American multidisciplinary artist, and written and produced by his wife Carine Fabius, a Haitian-American writer, gallerist, and museum curator.

This study guide provides engaging topics and activities that can be used in a variety of classes, including:

  • art

  • art history

  • social studies

  • ethnic studies

  • sociology

  • political science

  • journalism

  • business

  • and much more!

Depending on the class, professors and teachers can select topics that most closely align with their learning objectives. For example, students can be led on an exploration of:

  • diversity in the arts

  • sustainable art creation

  • the value of art to a community

  • the effect of poverty on art creation

  • the impact of a nation’s history on its artists and culture

  • the impact of religion on art

  • political repercussions of Haiti on United States history

  • race relations

  • the Black experience

  • the politicization of immigration

  • class empowerment

  • poverty

  • recycling

  • sustainability

  • entrepreneurship.

Professors and teachers can choose from seven engaging activities that aim to put the learning into the hands of their students and thereby create a more learner-centered environment. This allows students to immerse themselves in the topics highlighted in the film and to make deeper connections to important issues that are prevalent in their own communities and around the world.