Community Collage: Artists From The Hannibal Square Folk & Urban Art Festival

The long-awaited exhibition, "Community Collage: Artists from the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Folk & Urban Art Festival" is a celebration of over a decade of Hannibal Square Heritage Center Folk & Urban Art Festivals.

Community Collage dives deeper into the creative genius behind the dynamic works by more than 20 artists who have exhibited at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Folk & Urban Art Festival over its 12-year history. These culturally and ethnically diverse artists—many of whom are self-taught—will share their paintings, jewelry, quilts and sculptural works, along with their inspiration and artistic journeys in text panels and video.

The exhibition is co-curated by festival creator and Heritage Center Manager Barbara Chandler—who cultivated relationships with each of the artists as the festival organizer—and by celebrated Orlando-based Haitian American artist and educator Patrick Noze.
The Folk & Urban Art Festival has served as a platform for hundreds of emerging and established visual and performance Artists. The festival originated to empower Artists of all genres, and expose them to a unique market of community members and influencers.
Over the years, the Folk & Urban Art Festival has featured notable Artists such as Folk Artist Missionary Mary Proctor; Florida Original Highwaymen; O.L. Samuels; Nicolas Toth; Jack Beverland; Marilia "Lilly" Carrasquillo; Henry K. Ohumukini Jr.; Jack "Mr. B" Beverland; and Ginger LaVoie.

Hannibal Square Heritage Center Folk Art Festival was birthed out of “Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Art” written by Kristin G. Congdon and Tina Bucuvalas, which highlighted Florida Folk Artists and their artistic contributions to Florida’s history. In an impromptu visit from German Lemus, of the Orlando-based collective The B-Side Artists, we discussed having emerging artists become a part of the The Hannibal Square Heritage “Folk” Art Festival. Lemus' response was “we are Urban Artists.”

As a result of this observation, the festival was then renamed in its 5th year to the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Folk & Urban Art Festival.

In 2020, The 11th Folk & Urban Art Festival took on different shape; despite the global pandemic we quickly pivoted to produce a live virtual show that would maintain a connection between artists and community as source of inspiration and optimism as we were all quarantined in our homes.

Over 300 community members tuned in as we highlighted and interviewed artists both locally and out of state. Artists took us on virtual tours of their studios. Featured artists included Gregory Best; Renato Sago; Iyaba Mandigo; Patrick Noze; Joyce Hayes; Julio Sanchez; Chris Cruz; Belinda Glennon; Weldon Ryan; and McKenzie Wiese. Performance artists included Jeanine Ponder; and Storytelling by Gennia Holder, to name a few.
Community Collage is also on exhibit at the Orlando International Airport Main Terminal.

Barbara Chandler
Born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Barbara is a long-time Central Florida transplant, a mother of 3 sons, and proud grandmother of 4. As the general manager, Barbara has invested 10 years cultivating and promoting the cultural arts and education of The Hannibal Square Heritage Center in Winter Park–which pays tribute to the past, present, and future contributions of Winter Park’s historic African-American community. She is a highly esteemed leader with a long-standing and robust presence in downtown Winter Park and within the Central Florida not-for-profit and arts community.
“As coordinator, producer and host for the annual Hannibal Square Heritage Center Folk & Urban Art Festival, for over a decade, I have benefited greatly working closely with so many different Artists. The Folk & Urban Art Festival is recognized as a local art festival with a global feel.

As the Co-Curator of Community Collage it is fitting that we showcase Artists from the Folk & Urban Art Festival–having their artwork featured in the upstairs gallery of the Heritage Center will be a constant reminder of artists who have been on this journey with us, furthering our mission that Art Is For Everyone!
I am thrilled to work with Patrick Noze, Haitian Artist Painter, Sculptor and Portrait Artist; Noze’s international experience will amplify the exhibition focus."

– Barbara Chandler, Community Collage Co-Curator, Folk & Urban Art Festival Producer and Manager of Hannibal Square Heritage Center

Patrick Noze
Born in Haiti on December 11,1962 in the province of Jeremie 'City of Poets', Patrick Noze was introduced to the world of art years before achieving International success, by way of his father, Robert Noze. Robert had his own art history as a renowned sculptor. He studied under his father, Andre Dimanche, making Patrick Noze a third-generation sculptor and painter.

Patrick Noze specializes in subjects ranging from realism, surrealism, impressionism, abstract, sculpture and portraits. “I am always thinking about the wonders of the world, from its simplest to its most complex shapes. To my eyes, the world is a large canvas. Everything I see, dream or I encounter I use as an inspiration for my work."

Presently he is very involved in the community and serves on a voluntary basis on the Advisory Council for Art in Cultural Affairs in Orange County, Florida.