Since 2017, Rasin Okan has been an integral part of the Kriyol Collective community; however, Rasin Okan’s work began 27 years ago.
In 1998, Rasin Okan became committed to sustaining Haiti’s mizik rasin (roots music) movement in Brooklyn, NY. Led by Jean Montina, the group writes and performs original songs to insight the revolutionary spirit of Haiti’s freedom fighters and relay messages of community strength, Haitian fortitude, and ancestral knowledge.
This year, Rasin Okan will be releasing a new album titled Jou Ma Lonje (Until the Day I Die) and it is an ode to our passion for Haitian roots culture, purpose in cultural practices, and pride in Vodou. We hope you will support us in this work!
🇭🇹🙌🏽✨ #rasin #haitianroots #vodounchild #vodou #drumlife #tanbou #kriyoldancecollective #kriyoldance #nousekriyol #ayiti #diaspora #rasinokan #racine
Our performance at the Williams College Museum of Art was a homecoming in many ways. It’s was personal AF and we cannot be more grateful to have had they team we worked with bring this to fruition - Teal, Jordan, just wow. They were on it! They helped keep our vision in tact. Thank you @williamsartmuseum and @williamscollege for capturing these reflections from Founder Véronëque Ignace (@laempress_vero ) in this video.
From Williams College via YouTube:
Kriyol Dance! Collective (KDC) debuts a new, original work titled Rasin San Bout(“Endless Roots” in Haitian Creole) exploring ideas of immigration, migration politics, and acculturation as critical factors influencing the health of Caribbean immigrant communities, in particular Haitian.
#kriyoldancecollective #afrodance #haiti #williamscollege #blackart #blackculture #wcma #community #berkshire #veronequeignace #healthandwellness #danceclass #drums #tanbou #nycartists #performance #eph #afroentertainers #immigration #thisispublichealth
I choreographed this piece out of need. - Fouye Rasin - is for the Haitians born in the diaspora (USA, etc.) who feel connected to their identity but simultaneously are encouraged to reject it. It’s for the ones who grew up being taught that Haiti was nothing to be part of or that Haiti was a place you get sent to for punishment. It’s for the ones who are also pained by the current moment in Haiti but “don’t feel Haitian enough” to say it out-loud. I see you too.
Mwen te fè koregrafi sa pa nesesite. Fouye Rasin se yon pyès m fè pou Ayisyen ki fèt nan dyaspora a (Etazini, elatriye) e ki santi yo konekte ak idantite yo men an menm tan yo ankouraje yo rejte li. Se pou moun ki te grandi ap aprann ke Ayiti pa gen anyen serye pou ofri yo e yo pa fèt pou mele avèl pou oswa ki leve aprann ke Ayiti se te yon kote yo voye w pou pini ou selman. Se pou moun ki santi doulè peyi a tou men ki “pa santi yo ayisyen ase” pou yo exprime yo. Mwen wè ou nou tou.
Kriyol Dance! Collective
Dancer: Shelli Ligondé (@she.ill.2 )
Choreography: Véronëque Ignace (@laempress_vero )
Music: Leglensou by James Germain
Videography: @AllyVisuals
#immigration #peyilòk #ayiticherie #kriyoldancecollective #grounded #digyourroots #fouyerasin #rasinsanbout #wcma #haiti
At @kafougallery , I found something special. It was so special, I wanted to share piece of my home, my heritage, my story, and my fight with the space. In honor of all who came before. In honor of the ideas that shaped me and challenged me. In honor of those children of creatives long forgotten. In honor of my dad, Wilfrid Ignace Sr :.
And in return? @hat5hep5ut got me to shed tears long buried, long settled, and long put to rest in grief reconciled. She got me to resurface and redefine those tears in joy. I needed a tissue and @cjartphotographie captured the moment. @hat5hep5ut surprised me by featuring Papi as an artist-in-residence and suspended his art in space, time, and spirit so beautifully.
Kafou Gallery offers “Space as Place” as their opening exhibit. The group exhibition, whose name alone invokes for me the true meaning of a crossroads, explores how ordinary spaces transform into places of meaning through activation and ritual.
“Space as Place” is currently on view and extended to May 17th. The group exhibition includes the works of:
Bianca Allen
Marie Medjine Antoine
Jordan Dubreuil
Wilfrid Ignace
Richard Louissaint
Claire Saintil
Zarita Zevallos
Kafou Gallery Operating hours are:
Thursday: 6 to 9 PM
Friday: 6 PM to 9 PM
Saturday: 12 PM to 6 PM
Sunday: By appointment
Thank you Claire for sharing these photos and @gmclights for making such a beautiful recap video public. My Papi would be impressed and that’s a BIG emotion for him (Haitian man born in the 40s!).
#WelcometoKafou #kafougallery #NouSeKriyol #KriyolCollective
From @atelierartistbk • A little moment from @riva.nyri intimate performance
Come celebrate Fèt KOUZEN with us through music, food, vendors, live performances by @rasinokan , and community.
May 24 at Atelier Artist.
Tickets through the link in bio (@atelierartistbk )
Legacy | Rasin Okan x A Love Letter to Haïti
by Franck H. Godefroy (2025) III
@frankxter_ on FujiFilm X100V
#RasinOkan #HaitianRoots
Slide 1: Jean Montina (Sanba Mayombe)
Slide 2: Trudy Pierre (Sanba Verite)
Slide 3: Véro Ignace (Awoyo)
Black History Month Spotlight ✨
This week we’re honoring Véronèque Ignace — Founder of Kriyol Collective and Community Manager at NYC FloodNet — a Flatbush native rooted in Haitian lineage and global Black diasporic connection.
For Véronèque, the story of her heritage, Haiti 🇭🇹, transcends space and time. It shapes how she leads, builds, and teaches — merging public health, cultural activism, movement, and community organizing.
From creating programs rooted in Haitian traditional dance, rhythm, and music… to designing engagement strategies that strengthen climate resilience across Brooklyn… Her work reminds us that culture is infrastructure.
Black joy, resilience, and public health are not separate. They are tools for resistance, healing, and collective power.
This is what it looks like when lineage becomes leadership. When diaspora becomes strategy. When Flatbush builds for Flatbush.
Tap in. Support the work. Follow @kriyoldance + learn more about Kriyol Collective & @floodnetnyc .
The future is local. The power is collective. ✊🏾
#BKLVLUP #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackImmigrantVoices #HaitianDiaspora #Flatbush #BrooklynLeaders #CommunityResilience #ClimateJustice #PublicHealth #BlackJoy #KriyolCollective #FloodNetNYC
LAPÈ KANAVAL 2026 VISUAL OUT NOW! 🔥🎉
Videography: @allyvisu_als
Dance/Concept: @kriyoldance@laempress_vero
Music: @rasinokan
Engineering: Megasound Studios
Les Grenadiers Summer 2026 Shirts: @jentilzoe
3 jou gras fini men pawòl Kanaval 2026 yo la pou ou! Ou ko tande sa?! 🙏🏽🎉🔥 #Kanaval2026 #Lapè #RasinOkan #HaitianRoots #MardiGras
Yerrrrr! Grenadye?! ALASO! ✨🇭🇹 My good sis @projectjen just dropped her new brand, Jentil Zoe, a love letter to Haiti 🌺 Get your shirt now at the link in her bio.
Epi tou @rasinokan lage bon chalè pou kanaval 2026 sa, Lapè! Al tande l kounya, fè rapid 🌍🏃🏽♀️💨
Models featured: @laempress_vero@melchisedekleo@its.saskiageneus
#lesgrenadiers #haitiworldcup2026 #payforhaiti #haiticoupedumonde #haitianjersey #rasinokan #haitianroots @le_grenadier_ht@facesofhaiti@besthaitianthings
