Van Lévé offers a Caribbean-centered perspective on the histories and contemporary realities of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Haiti, and other territories shaped by French colonialism. Bringing together artists across generations with historical works, the exhibition explores how Creole, Maroon, Caribbean, and Amazonian perspectives have developed in response to histories of slavery and colonial rule, while imagining new forms of cultural and political sovereignty.
Raphaël Barontini is among the featured artists, presenting The Triumph of Toussaint Louverture (2025), one of his renowned tapestries. Drawing on the history of the Haitian Revolution and its leading figures, Barontini’s work revisits narratives of resistance and liberation through a richly layered visual language, connecting historical memory with contemporary ideas of identity and emancipation.
Curated by Claire Tancons for the Alain Locke Gallery at Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, the exhibition includes artists such as Minia Biabiany, Gaëlle Choisne, Fabiola Jean-Louis, Manuel Mathieu, Tessa Mars, Jimmy Robert, and Hervé Télémaque. Together, their practices foreground Caribbean and diasporic voices and consider how art can transform difficult histories into visions for more autonomous and self-determined futures.
