Petrouchka Moïse

Dr. Petrouchka Moïse is Assistant Professor / Cultural & Community-based Digital Curator at Grinnell College Libraries. As an artist/scholar, she teaches classes on visual and material culture and curatorial studies, focusing on the Caribbean. In her role as Cultural and Community-Based Digital Curator, Dr. Moïse is responsible for developing interdisciplinary initiatives to enhance the learning experience of the academic and cultural community. Dr. Petrouchka Moïse is also a 2020-24 CLIR/Mellon post-doctoral fellow working with Dr. Fredo Rivera as co-leads of the Haitian Arts Digital Crossroad (HADC) project. HADC is a joint initiative between the Grinnell College Library and the Waterloo Center for the Arts. Dr. Moïse manages the day-to-day operations of the Haitian Art Digital Crossroads project. The HADC aims to make the Haitian art collection of the Waterloo Center for the Arts, the largest publicly held collection of Haitian art in the world, as well as other institutions with Haitian collections, digitally accessible as a preparatory study for the creation of a digital hub for a network of online resources in Haitian and Caribbean studies. In addition to managing this project, she will collaborate with cultural and academic institutes within Haiti and the Diaspora to build awareness of this collection and assist academics and artistic institutions in positioning the Haitian narrative in the arts.

Dr. Moïse also focuses on the use of digital technology in the areas of archiving and public memory. With augmented reality, her research bridges the reclaimed narrative of the contemporary Haitian artist’s diverse cultural production, artistic protest, religious heritage, and mythologies to create a compelling portrait of a historically significant and intensely complex identity in flux. By analyzing their art production processes, Dr. Moïse looks to identify the Haitian signature that reshapes the artistic narrative from traumatic to triumphant.

Her post-doctoral work brings attention to the art collection of Temple Na-Ri-VéH, a Vodou peristil located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Voudoo temples have stood for decades as a community center and informal sanctuary for artists. Her research focuses on the use of contemporary art in consecrated Voudoo spaces. The #VodouReboot initiative looks to develop the praxis of the contemporary narrative of Haitian art in an organic process connecting directly to the source of Haitian and Kreyol inspiration. This research considers the complex role of Haitian art, from the museum and marketplace to places of worship and devotion. This reboot will build context through designing exhibition and ceremonial spaces for a network of new and emerging Voudou artists. By developing the descriptive metadata required to describe the cultural works, such as religious significance, logistical placement, artistic provenance, etc., temples, such as Na-Ri-VéH, will be able to continue to serve as a historical and cultural presence beyond its walls.

To follow Dr. Moïse’s work visit http://www.vivrestudios.com.

Consulting Areas

African Diaspora Studies, Art History, Art Studio