Kathia St. Hilaire , Our Only Guide to Justice (2021). Oil based relief, canvas, paper, enamel, tire skins, leaves, pigment, fabric, metal . 57 x 83 in.
Informed by my experience growing up in Caribbean and African American neighborhoods in South Florida, I memorialize the communities that have been a part of through innovative printmaking techniques. Drawing inspiration from Haitian Vodun flags, which are used to tell the country’s history and honor anscental spirits. Using nontraditional materials such as beauty products, industrial metal, fabric or tires, creates ornate tapestries that seek to preserve the Haitian history and Vodun religion that lives around us.
I have received an M.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking at the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut and B.F.A. in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island
About Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program
The Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program awards rent-free non-living studio space to 17 visual artists for year-long residencies in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Its mission is to provide working studio space and community for artists. Artists are selected annually based on merit from a competitive pool of applicants by a professional jury comprised of artists and members of the SWSP Artists Advisory Committee.
The Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program is the new face of the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program, developed for artists, by artists in 1991. In 2014 the program was renamed the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program to honor the legacy of Marie Walsh Sharpe and reflect the new sponsorship and commitment of the Walentas Family Foundation.