Photographer Emily Troutman has posted a photo essay from her visit to Haiti in happier times just two weeks ago as it celebrated its Ghetto Biennale. It was a joyous time, which she describes in her essay thus:

The music was intoxicating and everywhere. Musicians played on horns they made by hand. Port-au-Prince itself was a yellow and blue and pink tapestry of taxis, each intricately painted to reflect something about the owner.

There was Croix des Bouquets, a town filled with nothing but artists. There was the Grand Rue, a slum filled with sculptures that spoke a new language. Sculptures made out of trash! By people living in aluminum shacks! It brought an exclamation point to any conversation! The art! The art! It was Haiti’s wildly beating heart.

Her essay, with additional photos, can be found at http://www.sphere.com/world/article/photo-essay-remembering-haiti-just-before-the-quake/19318665

 Watch her video “Horns lead joyous dance in Haiti”