Support Nadïne LaFond by following @nadinelafond and @artlives.studio and donating venmo:@artlives
music: www.nadinelafondmusic.com | IG: @nadinelafond
visual arts: www.artlives.net | IG: @artlives.studio
Dem Shoes Nuh Fit We #1, found objects / mixed media, 2023
Here and Now, linocut print, 2023
Nadïne LaFond is a Haïtian American vocalist / songwriter, mixed media artist and educator whose work spans music and visual arts. Combining Caribbean and American roots (Blues, Jazz, Reggae, Haitian folk and racine) with elements of Hip Hop, classical, global rhythms and experimentation, her songs create a unique sound shaped by over 20 years of performance and collaboration. Her debut solo album, Wisdom Child, reflects her journey of turning adversity into light. She creates mixed media works that explore journey, spirituality, and human connection with Nature. Coming from a long line of visual artists, poets and musicians, she began drawing symbols at age four while visiting family in Haïti, where she feels her original creative spark was ignited. At age 19, she started her practice, which she called 'Art Lives Studio' that she officially established in 2000. Over the years, her craft reflected, responded to then later challenged the constructs she witnessed and lived through since childhood. Both practices, deeply inspired by her Haitian heritage, are based on observation, inquiry and dreaming through which she combines abstraction, symbolism, and figurative elements on the visual arts side and African based roots traditions and experimental to address social, cultural, and personal themes.
Recent projects include participation in Monuments To Migration and Labor, Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center, Millville, NJ and Noyes Museum, Glassboro, NJ (2025 - 2026); Paved With Promise (on the impact of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act), Down Jersey Folklife Center and Folklife Center of Northern NJ (2025 - 2026); Community Medicine: The Revolution of Selfcare (solo show) Perkins Center for the Arts, Collingswood, NJ (2023).
Born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in New Jersey, she has developed and led workshops in visual arts, music, and literature. Since 2004, she has worked with educational institutions and arts organizations as well as an independent teaching artist.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Making art for me starts with moments that immediately strike me as lessons. When the underlying tale begins to emerge, I follow that energy.
The Mirage, acrylic on paper, 2012