By: Maria-Paula
The Institute for Contemporary Art , ICA, at Virginia Commonwealth University unveiled a new group named “ Ayida” this summer that opened on June 27 and will remain on display until early 2026. Curated by guest curator Serubiri Moses with support by ICA Assistant Curator Egbert Vongmalaithong, the exhibition will be celebrating the Caribbean and its diaspora through the works of five early- to midcareer artists.
“The ICA is a forum for global dialogue, and ‘Ayida’ is a shining example of the rich conversations that can flourish when artists and curators are given space to collaborate,” said ICA Executive Director Jessica Bell Brown. “We are excited to work with Serubiri Moses and five artists whose unique practices have converged to create an exhibition that invites reflection and curiosity, and inspires diasporic exchange.”
Curated to explore the merging of cultures, “Ayida” is inspired by the life of Assotto Saint (1957-1994), a Haitian poet and important figure in New York’s Black and gay writers movement of the 1980s. The movement that focuses more on Saint’s complex relationship with Haitian Vodou, a religion with African and Catholic roots is widely practiced in Haiti but faces prejudice and censorship in Western societies. This prompts the exhibition’s focus on the merging of different religions and cultures as the artists explore the spiritual, material and intellectual cultures of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries through archives, photography, sculpture, installation and printmaking.
“The focus on place or diaspora in this exhibition is a way of showing how the Dominican Republic and Haiti have a profound impact on the work of Black artists working today,” Moses said.
Moses, the guest curator and New York based artist became interested in Saint while researching Black LGBTQ+ writers who were active in the city during the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2017 Moses was invited to view the “In the Life Archive” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is part of the New York Public Library. There, he encountered Saint’s efforts to archive the lives of his community through his work in writing, editing, publishing and theatre.
“I started to reflect on the idea of who Saint was prior to his migration to New York. From the manuscripts of his plays and poetry, I could tell that Haiti and especially African diaspora religions, including Vodou, took up a significant part of his thinking and writing, in which he often evoked – literally or metaphorically – deities such as Ayida-Wedo,” a Haitian Vodou god for the earth and of the origins, said Moses.
”Ayida” includes contributions from artists Lizania Cruz, Oletha DeVane, Thomas Allen Harris, mujero, and Didier William. These five artists’ multidisciplinary practices are rooted in ideas and themes similar to those found in Saint’s work, including migration and belonging; spirituality and Afro-diaspora religions; and Black, queer and Caribbean identity, among others.
Harris, whose practice encompasses documentary photography and film, knew Saint and filmed him during a Kwanzaa celebration in New York in the early 1990s, a clip of which is included in the exhibition. In addition, “Ayida” builds on the late Dominican sociologist Fradique Lizardo’s dance and folklore research into the movement-based Vodou known as el Gagá.
The “Ayida” organizers are hopeful that after the exhibition, their audiences will become aware of how ritual takes place on a day-to-day basis quite outside and far beyond organized religion. This they say is not limited to the different intellectual traditions that shape the Caribbean and how they impact the American art.
With support from the VCU Foundation, “Ayida” is a free to attend exhibition.
The Institute for Contemporary Art, a constituent of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Arts is a no collecting institution that showcases a changing slate of exhibitions, performances and programs. The ICA gives room for new ideas by providing an open forum for dialogue and collaboration across the region and the world.
