By Tamurlaine Melby
Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU

This summer, the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University will unveil “Ayida,” a new group art exhibition celebrating the Caribbean and its diaspora through the works of five early- to midcareer artists. Curated by guest curator Serubiri Moses with support by ICA Assistant Curator Egbert Vongmalaithong, the show opens June 27 and will remain on display through early 2026. 

“Ayida” takes inspiration from 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. It is especially interested in Saint’s complex relationship with Haitian Vodou, a religion with African and Catholic roots that 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 sites through archives, photography, sculpture, installation and printmaking. 

A New York-based writer and curator, Moses 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 theater.

In examining the Saint papers, “I started to reflect on the idea of who Saint was prior to his migration to New York,” Moses said. “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.

“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. 

“Ayida” includes contributions from five artists whose multidisciplinary practices are rooted in ideas and themes similar to those found in Saint’s work: migration and belonging; spirituality and Afro-diaspora religions; and Black, queer and Caribbean identity, among others. The artists are Lizania Cruz, Oletha DeVane, Thomas Allen Harris, mujero and Didier William.

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.

Asked what he hopes audiences will take away from “Ayida,” Moses said, “I hope that visitors will become aware of how ritual takes place on a day-to-day basis quite outside and far beyond organized religion. I hope viewers will learn more concretely about the different intellectual traditions that shape the Caribbean and how this impacts American art.” 

“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.”

Like all ICA exhibitions, “Ayida” is free to attend. It is made possible by support from the VCU Foundation.