Profile

Dr. Petrouchka Moïse

… is a Haitian artist/scholar born in the Diaspora whose parents came to the United States in exile. Her origin story begins in Brooklyn, New York. Learning to overcome language and cultural barriers, "Having been treated as an outsider, I understand how important it is for an individual to have a sense of ownership in their identity and their rights to express their truths."

The feeling of exclusion ended when she came to present at a conference in 2001. She fell in love with the city of New Orleans and relocated to Louisiana a year later. Louisiana's cultural richness perfectly matched her core values of cultural leadership and community service. She served for 20 years as a state leader in government, education, health, and disaster recovery.

As a creative, Petrouchka’s artwork investigates the search for identity through the mediums of resin, wood, word, and water.  She is Louisiana's first graduate with a Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation from Louisiana State University College of Art + Design.  Dr. Petrouchka Moïse is a 2020 CLIR/Mellon Postdoctoral Alum in Data Curation for Haitian Visual Arts.  She works jointly with the Grinnell College Library and the Waterloo Center for the Arts as the co-lead of the Haitian Art Digital Crossroads (HADC) Project. Dr. Petrouchka Moïse is an Assistant Professor / Cultural & Community-based Digital Curator at Grinnell College Libraries.

Dr. Moise is working on an archival collection inspired by her late daughter, Kaiya “Soskii” Smith, a youth slam poet. Petrouchka aims to continue her studies and work with others in art, culture, and education.