Haitianola, a registered L3C, was founded by Lori Martineau, an American-Haitian artist and educator and Linda Reno, an American photographer and educator. The pair share an affinity for artists and cultural bearers in general, but with a special love for Haitians and New Orleanians. The desire to engage with artists and cultural bearers, while exchanging knowledge of the deep historical, spiritual and cultural connections between both places, serves as the foundational ideology of Haitianola.
Lori Martineau
Lori Martineau was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti to an American mother and Haitian father and began living between Haiti and the United States as a young adult. She holds a BA in Education with both an ESL and Montessori Education certificate and a Master’s Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Expressive Arts Therapy. She has taught infants and toddlers, middle schoolers and adults. Lori’s personal history has solidified her belief that artistic expression, no matter the cultural paradigm, can bring about healing and growth both individually and for larger communities. Her personal art revolves around her incessant exploration of her Haitian heritage based in oral tradition.
Linda A. Reno
Linda A. Reno is an American photographer/storyteller/educator residing in Jacmel, Haiti and New Orleans, LA. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where she earned an M.A. in Journalism. Ms. Reno is a visual storyteller in multiple forms including still photography, videography and multimedia production. She has experience working as a youth photography and film educator and is particularly fond of this type of work. Her personal work focuses on documenting subcultures and exploring the manifestation of ancient collective memory within culture.