Cover image: Awning at Haïti Market, 18th arrondissement (detail)
Original image courtesy of Tatiana Balabanis

Entrée to Black Paris has published several blog posts about Haïti in Paris over the years:

We Were Lied to about Haïti

Taste of Haiti: A Glimpse into the Haitian Community in Paris

Haïti at Home: La Cuisine Créole - Part 2

Haïti at Home: La Cuisine Créole - Part 1

Haïtian Art and Artists at Dorothy's Gallery

Today, we're featuring a bold new voice that celebrates Haïti’s heritage — the Institut Ayiti à Paris (Haiti Institute in Paris).

Founded in 2025, the institute's mission is to preserve and promote Haitian cultural heritage in France and Europe and to strengthen the historical ties between France and Haiti since Haiti's independence in 1804.

Intercultural dialogue is a priority - the institute intends to create opportunities for conversation among the Haitian diaspora, French and European citizens by hosting/supporting events that focus on art, literature, innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual exchange. It seeks to combat prejudices through knowledge and sharing of the history of France and Haiti and the richness of Haitian culture.

Flag map of Haïti
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Image in public domain

Institut Ayiti à Paris has four foundational pillars:

Culture and Heritage - Preserving and promoting Haitian cultural heritage

Education and Research - Providing educational resources and encouraging research on Haiti

Entrepreneurship and Economic Development - Supporting entrepreneurship and fostering economic development around Haiti

Cooperation and Civic Engagement - Participating in the development of equitable relationships between France and Haiti while encouraging cooperation and civic engagement for a better future.

To support its emphasis on education and research, the institute has a robust library that contains over 5,000 works on Haitian history, literature, and culture - including rare texts and first editions by classic Haitian authors - and a digital database of historical photographs, archival documents, and oral testimonies that are available for use by researchers and the public.

For teachers, it provides educational kits designed to introduce Haitian culture into French school curricula at all levels.

From June 25 - July 11, 2025, Institut Ayiti à Paris collaborated with the French nonprofit association Culture Pièces Détachées to present the fourth edition of Haïti Monde, a literary festival designed to foster dialogue between Haitian and world literature, while encouraging encounters between diverse perspectives and communities in a spirit of openness and respect. 

The guests of honor were Gaël Octavia (author, playwright and painter, winner of the Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle 2025) and Jean Marie Théodat (geographer and essayist).

Institut d'Ayiti à Paris's headquarters is found at 2 bis, rue Dupont de l'Eure 75020 Paris.

For additional information about the institute (in French), click HERE.