Haiti Cultural Exchange opens applications for 10th Lakou NOU artist residency cohort
The Brooklyn programme, inspired by Haiti’s communal Lakou living system, supports artists of Haitian descent working on themes from migration to revolution.
NEW YORK, United States. Brooklyn-based non-profit Haiti Cultural Exchange (HCX) has opened applications for a new cohort of its Lakou NOU artists-in-residence programme, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
HCX was established to develop, present and promote the cultural expressions of the Haitian people. It runs exhibitions, residencies for Haitian artists, community events and youth arts education.
The residency serves the Brooklyn neighbourhoods of Crown Heights, Canarsie, East Flatbush and Flatbush, working with Haitian artists interested in issues such as cultural identity, intergenerational connection, traditional practices, forced migration and revolution.
Rooted in tradition
HCX said that “in rural Haiti, the Lakou communal living system embodies the intersection of land, family, and spirituality”.
“Former enslaved people created the Lakou in resistance to the racial and class divides perpetuated by colonial plantations,” it said. “Lakou NOU (‘Our Yard’ in Haitian Creole) is a creative adaptation of this traditional model.”
The programme aims to invest in artists of Haitian descent as a community resource and to support emerging artists interested in place-based creativity and community-led activism.
Past participants
Stephanie Pierre, a 2024 participant, said the professional development workshops “helped to define and ground my project”.
Georgie Exinord, from the 2025 cohort, said: “Being a Lakou NOU artist has been the single greatest thing to happen to my career so far.”
The residency is supported by the Jerome Foundation.
