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For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lee Ortega, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Phone: 305.673.7530
Fax: 305.673.7062
E-mail: lortega@bassmuseum.org

MIAMI BEACH, FL - (May 1, 2006) - Jonathan Demme, the Academy Award winning film director of The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia began collecting Haitian art in the mid-1980s. His is currently one of the largest privately held and comprehensive Haitian art collections in the United States. The Bass Museum is proud to be the only venue for this showing of more than 80 paintings and sculptures of this unique and rare collection, including works by Hector Hyppolite, Wilson Bigaud, Andre Pierre, Riguad Benoit and other self-taught masters such as pioneer sculptor Georges Liautaud. Guest curators for the Demme Collection exhibition are Axelle Liautaud and Candice Russell.

Despite the fact these works were produced in a country with such a complex and turbulent history, the collective voice of these artists transcends personal hardships through painting and sculpture that expresses the beauty of every day life on the lush and vibrant island of their homeland. Realistic aspects of Haitian life, such as political struggles and abject poverty are represented in these narrative paintings, as well as the supernatural, such as Vodou and stories from the imagination. Personal rituals and public ceremonies are depicted in an optimistic manner, that celebrate the inner strength of the Haitian spirit.

Exhibition Catalogue
The show is accompanied by a color 88-page catalogue.

General Admission $8 adults, $6 seniors/students. THIS EXHIBITION IS FREE FOR MIAMI BEACH RESIDENTS AND MEMBERS OF PARTICIPATING HAITIAN ORGANIZATIONS. Free, members & children under 6. Group discounts available.

Museum Hours and Docent Tours
Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm, Sunday 11 am-5 pm, closed Mondays and holidays. Docent tours every Saturday (except holidays), 2 pm; free with museum admission.

Bass Museum Shop
An eclectic selection of art, architecture and photography books; folk art from around the world; one-of-a-kind decorative and gift items; jewelry by local and international artisans; postcards; and educational toys. Open during museum hours.

Parking
Metered parking lot on site. Additional metered parking is available on perimeter streets. Discounted parking available at the 20th Street Garage (one block west of Collins) with museum validation. Beyond two hours standard rates apply.

The Bass Museum of Art receives both public and private general operating funding. Major support comes from the City of Miami Beach, with the support of the Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Miami Beach and Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. This project is also supported by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts; and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program and Cultural Arts Council.