Monday, March 21, the House Dufort first training site of Gingerbread restoration project of the Knowledge and Freedom Foundation (FOKAL), will be inaugurated.

This restoration began in 2012, falls within the scope of the overall project of the FOKAL in collaboration the National Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN) and other partner organizations, helped to better document the Gingerbread heritage and develop expertise helpful to the rehabilitation of homes by creating a training workshop for young masons and carpenters.

As part of the inauguration, the House Dufort located at #9, 2e avenue du Travail, ill host an exhibition (21 March to 21 April 2016) of works of Burton Chenet, famous Haitian painter murdered March 20, 2012.

Moreover, a series of activities will take place at the House Dufort and other places around the exhibition. Guided tours, every working day between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. will allow to better appreciate the works.

At the library of the University Quisqueya in Haut Turgeau, Sterlin Ulysses, PhD in Art History (Univ. Toulouse) will tell Burton Chenet to students through a guided projection from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. on 30 March. April 8, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00, he will resume the exercise for students in the multipurpose room of FOKAL.

On April 21, for the closing exhibition, between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., a roundtable hosted by the artists Ronald Mevs (plastic), Lori Manuel (graphic), Emilcar Similien aka Simil (plastic) and Pascale Monnin (artist) will presents Burton at the House Dufort.

The restoration of the House Dufort was realized in partnership with the Walloon Heritage Institute (IPW), a Belgian institution dedicated to safeguarding of the architectural heritage and disclosure and old construction techniques training and through funding from Wallonie Bruxelles International.

The completion of this first school training site is an important and significant step in the project. The World Monuments Fund has in particular, provides methodological and technical support to FOKAL to document the process, restore the houses and carry out targeted studies on the area. A second training site, the House Chenet, was launched by FOKAL in December 2015.

IH/ iciHaiti