Charlot Lucien is a Haitian-born storyteller, visual artist, and lecturer on Haitian culture and history based in Foxboro, Massachusetts. He is the founder of the volunteer group Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts. He has coordinated cultural events in New England to promote Haitian culture and bridge cross-cultural gaps, partnering with cultural, academic, and community groups. He has presented lectures and storytelling performances in the US, Canada, France, Guadeloupe, and Haiti. He relies on Haitian storytelling techniques to engage his audiences- call-and-answers, Haitian riddles as icebreakers, miming, and tropical props.
He is the author of 5 storytelling CDs (in Haitian Creole and French), two Haitian art anthologies, a poetry book, a children's story book Joujou and Mitsou the Kite, and two volumes of satirical caricatures.
He received numerous awards for his cultural advocacy and his promotion of Haitian storytelling. In his professional life, he is a former public health administrator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a history instructor for the OLLI Institute at the University of Boston, lecturing on Haitian and US history, the use of storytelling techniques to teach history, and how art captures history, among other topics.
His cultural affiliations include Northeast Storytelling (NEST), New England Poetry Club, the National Council on Public History, and the Toussaint Louverture Cultural Center.
Read more about Charlot's storytelling trajectory in the key article "My Storytelling Journey: From Rural Settings in Haiti to Urban Settings in New England" (Routledge, 2023)
TRADUCTION
Charlot Lucien est un conteur, artiste visuel et conférencier spécialiste de la culture et de l'histoire d'Haïti, originaire d'Haïti et établi à Foxboro, dans le Massachusetts. Il est le fondateur du collectif de bénévoles Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts. Il a coordonné des événements culturels en Nouvelle-Angleterre visant à promouvoir la culture haïtienne et à favoriser le dialogue interculturel, en collaborant avec divers groupes culturels, universitaires et communautaires. Il a donné des conférences et présenté des spectacles de contes aux États-Unis, au Canada, en France, en Guadeloupe et en Haïti. Pour captiver son public, il s'appuie sur des techniques narratives haïtiennes telles que les échanges de type « appel-réponse », les devinettes haïtiennes (utilisées pour briser la glace), la pantomime et l'utilisation d'accessoires évoquant les tropiques.
Il fait sortir cinq CD de contes (en créole haïtien et en français), et il est l'auteur de deux anthologies sur l'art haïtien dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre, d'un recueil de poésie, d'un livre pour enfants intitulé "Joujou and Mitsou the Kite", ainsi que de deux volumes de caricatures satiriques.
Il a reçu de nombreuses distinctions pour son engagement culturel et la promotion de l'art du conte haïtien. Sur le plan professionnel, il est un ancien administrateur de santé publique pour l'État du Massachusetts et enseignant en histoire à l'institut OLLI de l'Université de Boston ; il y donne des cours sur l'histoire d'Haïti et des États-Unis (période abolitionniste), sur l'utilisation des techniques narratives pour l'enseignement de l'histoire et sur la manière dont l'art reflète l'histoire, entre autres sujets.
Il est membre de plusieurs organisations culturelles, notamment *Northeast Storytelling* (NEST), le *New England Poetry Club*, le *National Council on Public History* et le *Toussaint Louverture Cultural Center*.
Pour en savoir plus sur le parcours de conteur de Charlot, consultez l'article clé intitulé « My Storytelling Journey: From Rural Settings in Haiti to Urban Settings in New England » (Routledge, 2023).
Travel: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT, Out of Region
Audience: Elementary, Teens, Families, Adults
Genre:Folktales, Historical Tales, Personal Stories
Performance Fee: $450-$700 (60mn) Varies
Workshop Fee: $700-$2000 (based on duration, planning, logistics; include lectures
Awards:
- 2026 Boston Caribbean Award for Leadership in Promoting Caribbean Culture in Massachusetts
- 2024 City of Providence Ambassador for Haitian Culture Award
- 2023 Artist-in-Residence - Norwood Cultural Council/Mass Cultural Council
- 2017 Featured Storyteller at the NEST's annual Share the Fire Conference
- 2017 Haitian Consulate of Boston Award for Contribution to the Promotion of Haitian Culture
- 2016 Haitian Roundtable 1804 List of Haitian American Changemakers
- 2017 West Africa Research Association Lifetime Member
- 2005 City of Boston Citation for Contributions to Boston Culture
- 2007 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Cultural Awareness Citation
Testimonials:
I could not have imagined the mesmerizing quality of your performance yesterday afternoon. You lifted us out of that hotel ballroom, out of our manufactured chairs and tired conference-weary bodies, into a new country, a new way of thinking about and feeling story, a welcome delight in the word and the tale. I loved the way you presented the riddles (and tossed the mangoes!). Your embodiment of the folktale creatures was vivid and witty. Your personal stories showed us much about Haiti—and the USA... ~ Jo Radner, League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES) March 2017
With this second CD, Lucien reaffirms that he is taking this genre very seriously. As the addition of supporting sound effects can testify, he is also thinking about revamping it... From time to time, in his two CDs, we can feel him, unaltered, naked, risking everything, and without the crutches of his illustrious predecessors. ~ Mario Malivert, Haitian Reporter, April 2004
Lucien’s deep and articulate voice draws the listener in, and his tempo makes each story a joy to listen to. He has a skillful knack for character voices, which only serves to make each story better-rounded. Lucien has so taken the storytelling world that he is being compared these days to the likes of Maurice Sixto, a well-known Haitian storyteller.
~ Charlot Lucien – Artist of all Trades, By Ella Turenne, NetworkHaiti.com