Honorees included a broad selection of leaders and influencers across the country
It was a celebration of individual excellence and community collaboration this past weekend at the inaugural International Women’s Brunch, hosted by the Little Haiti Cultural Center (LHCC). Celebrating March as Women’s History Month, local leaders, activists and tastemakers gathered to honor the accomplishments of both women across the Haitian Diaspora, as well as women who made valuable contributions to the development of the South Florida community.
For LHCC’s, inaugural Visionary awards, the honorees included a broad selection of leaders and influencers across the country. The awardees ranged from U.S. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, to Associate VP of Business and Education Development at the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Graylyn Swilly-Woods. This year’s celebration also took care to note the many innovators in arts and culture, such as founder of Caribbean artisanal curation website CulturestoGo.com, Carole Ann Taylor, President of the locally-based Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance, Mireille Chancy Gonzalez, Curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Joanne Hyppolite. Award-winning Haiti correspondent for The Miami Herald, Jacqueline Charles, was also awarded in recognition of her invaluable coverage of the Haitian presidential elections.
Honoring the event’s celebration of visionary women, the brunch also provided a sneak peek into the LHCC’s latest exhibit, “The More I Let Go, The More I Am Home: A Visual Mémoire, 2000-2016” by Miami-based artist, Vickie Pierre. This exhibition, which runs until April 22nd, features a thoughtful selection of work showing the ongoing and dynamic evolution of the contemporary Haitian-American artist’s practice.
The event also served as the launch of the “Pretty It Forward” initiative, where attendees were asked to bring gently worn dinner, cocktail or evening dresses and accessories that will be later featured in the upcoming Chic Mademoiselle Pop Up store at the LHCC gallery on April 29 to 30. All proceeds collected from the re-sale of the dresses will go toward funding the LHCC’s programming.
