Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±

Junkyard sculpture on Grand Rue.

Getty Images/Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½± Images

Grand Rue Artists

Top choice in Port-au-Prince & Around


While most of Haiti’s artists are represented in the rarefied air of Pétionville’s galleries, a collective of sculptors and installation artists produces spectacular work in an unlikely setting, squeezed into the cinder-block houses among mechanics and body workshops on Grand Rue. In this Caribbean junkyard gone cyberpunk, the artists turn scrap and found objects into startling Vodou sculpture, exploring a heady mix of spirit, sex and politics, all grounded in the preoccupations of daily Haitian life.

André Eugène is the founder and elder member, sculpting in wood, plastic and car parts to produce his vision of the lwa (Vodou spirits). Dolls’ heads and human skulls abound, alongside the earthy humor of highly phallic Gédé pieces. Jean Hérard Celeur, another of the artists, trained as a sculptor, and has done many of the largest pieces: life-sized statues of twisted wood and parts of car chassis, hubcaps, old shoes and a liberal application of twisted nails.

Local children are also involved in making art, through the spin-off organization Ti Moun Rezistans.

This hub of creativity is near Ciné Lido, set slightly back from the road. Look for the giant Gédé statue made from car parts and with a giant spring-loaded penis guarding the way. Just beyond this, Eugène’s house-museum is surrounded by statues, with the motto ‘E Pluribus Unum’ (‘from many, one’) hung over the door.


Contact

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions

Nearby Port-au-Prince & Around attractions

1. Champs de Mars

0.63 MILES

A series of parks split by wide boulevards that collectively make up the Place des Héros de l'Indépendence, with the former site of the demolished Palais…

2. Musée du Panthéon National

0.69 MILES

This modern, mostly subterranean history museum, set below gardens, hosts a permanent exhibition chronicling Haiti’s history, from the Taínos and slavery…

3. Marché de Fer

0.85 MILES

Several of Haiti’s cities have iron markets, but Port-au-Prince’s is the original and the best. Constructed in 1889, the exuberant red-metal structure…

4. Maison Dufort

1.13 MILES

This recently restored gingerbread home is the first of its kind to be not only preserved by a nonprofit, but also opened to the public. The creamy-yellow…

5. Barbancourt Rum Distillery

5.04 MILES

North of the airport and tucked among sugarcane fields, this famous rum distillery welcomes visitors occasionally and seemingly at random – don't make the…

6. Museum of the People

5.87 MILES

This small jumble of a museum attached to the mission is worth a stop on your way up to Kenscoff. There are taxidermied specimens of Haitian fauna …

7. Parc Historique de la Canne à Sucre

6.41 MILES

At the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution, the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac was one of the richest parts of St-Domingue. Little remains of this period, but one…

8. Fort Jacques

6.68 MILES

Fort Jacques was erected during the burst of fort-building following independence in 1804. It was built by Alexandre Pétion and named after Jean-Jacques…