An Update on our Fund-Raising

The news coming in of the earthquake in Haiti has been almost incomprehensibly dreadful. We are responding to this disaster in several ways.

The first is directed at the current catastrophe. We are supporting, and urge our friends and customers to support one or more of the relief and development groups working in Haiti: Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health, Unicef, Catholic Relief Services, Konbit Pou Ayiti, Fonkoze, the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, are some that come to mind. There is also an excellent list of small organizations which are doing good work in Haiti on Bill Bollendorf's Galerie Macondo website. Please send them Money! We are also encouraging you to contribute to an excellent organization in Jacmel, Haiti, the Art Creation Foundation for Children. You can learn more about them below. Indigo Arts is continuing in its efforts at raising money for relief and reconstruction in Haiti.  Thanks to all of you for your generous contributions!

The second is directed to Haiti's future, through the creation of a Haitian Artists' Relief Fund. The people that we know the best are the artists and craftspeople of Haiti. As a first step to helping the artists and their families we established a Haitian Artists' Relief Fund in cooperation with artist and musician Nancy Josephson, author of the book Spirits in Sequins: Vodou Flags of Haiti, and founder of The Angel Band. We were joined by Ted Frankel owner of SIDESHOW, the store at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. We put a number of Haitian vodou flags and other artworks for sale on our site and in the gallery. 100% of the proceeds are going to the artists, to help in their recovery from this disaster. The works we are offering for sale are shown here and on the Haitian Artists' Relief Fund page. We are proud to report that this effort has raised over $30,000!  The proceeds are being distributed directly to artists in Haiti who have lost their homes, their artwork and supplies and many of their family members.  Nancy is directing the delivery and distribution of 1200 pounds of beads and sequins directly to the vodou flag artists, so that they may begin to produce their artwork and feed their families once again.

During January and February we also donated 20% of the sales of all other Haitian art - paintings, vodou flags and sculpture to the Haitian relief funds above.

We are also selling wonderful papier maché bird and fish ornaments made by (and for the benefit of) the children of the Art Creation Foundation for Children, in Jacmel, Haiti.

Our March 5th exhibit and silent auction of photographs of Haiti by Phyllis Galembo and other prominent photographers, raised about $1500 for a Partners in Health fund to provide tents for earthquake survivors.

Upcoming projects include the loan of works to Haiti: A Tribute in Art an exhibit at the Delaware Art Museum, May 8th to July 11th, 2010, and a June fund-raiser for the self-help projects of the Peasant Association of Fondwa, Haiti at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown.

You can read an article about our Haitian fundraising efforts here.

We are also selling wonderful papier maché bird and fish ornaments made by (and for the benefit of) the children of the Art Creation Foundation for Children, in Jacmel, Haiti - see below. The good news is that amidst all the destruction in Jacmel, the ACFFC house is still standing, and the staff and children have survived. The center has become for relief efforts in Jacmel, and will certainly play a key part in its recovery. Please help them! Send checks to them directly (go to the Art Creation Foundation for Children website) or help them by buying some of the papier maché items below. There is also a very nice article on the Unicef website about Bruno René and some of the other young artists, who are now homeless.