Free First Thursday - March 6, 2025

India Clark is an art-based mindfulness specialist, founder of the Wayfinder InstituteTM and creator of the Wayfinder Deep SeeingTM method, developed to harness the power of art-based mindfulness to spark personal growth and wellbeing. India’s private coaching practice focuses on supporting creatives to find and follow their true path in life and work. She holds a masters degree in Museum Education, two mindfulness certifications from Tara Brach & Jack Kornfield, multiple yoga certifications, and is IFS-informed. She has partnered with arts and wellness organizations include the MFA, ICA, Gardner Museum, MAAM, Smith College Museum of Art, Addison Gallery, Tang Institute, Satiated Artists, and Snow Farm. India lives with her family in Jamaica Plain and is a gardener, poet, and woodworker.
 

Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE) is a Boston-based dance organization that blends Haitian folkloric and contemporary styles. Founded by Jean Appolon, JAE creates a unique artistic vernacular that educates audiences about Haitian culture, traditions, history, and current issues. JAE’s dynamic repertoire is designed to preserve Haitian folkloric culture while continuously revitalizing the art form in a way that is vital, accessible, inspiring, healing, and educational. The company is composed of dancers from diverse backgrounds, each committed to using dance to share and celebrate Haitian culture. Appolon’s dance company has performed at major venues such as Jacob’s Pillow, Boston’s Paramount Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Yard, and the ICA, as well as in site specific community spaces with free public performances. JAE has had the honor of sharing the stage with notable figures such as Danny Glover, Henry Louis Gates, and Edwidge Danticat, and collaborates with community partners throughout the greater Boston area. The company will open The JAE Dance Center, its first studio home, in Nubian Square, Roxbury in spring 2025.
 

Rocky Cotard, born in Mirebalais, Haiti, and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, is an illustrator and fine artist who finds color in everything. His work unveils the seams that bind us, sharing both the difficult and beautiful aspects of his cultural history, paving the way for others to confront their own. He returns to Haiti, his source of inspiration, as often as possible to reconnect with his roots. His body of work depicts the perspective of the Haitian Diaspora, challenging the narrow representation often portrayed in the media.

Cotard earned his BFA in Illustration with a minor in Fine Arts from Lesley University and has worked as a freelance artist, collaborating on books such as The Revolution That Gave Birth to Haiti. In 2022, he won the Mural Masters competition in Cambridge and was invited to showcase a solo exhibition at the Ishibashi Gallery at the Middlesex School. In 2023, Cotard led a community engagement event at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, followed by a panel discussion on his creative background. One of his pieces from the Don’t Call Me Sugar installation is currently displayed in the president’s office at Simmons University. His notable collaborators include Partners In Health, Simmons University, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Cotard continues to work in his Rhode Island home studio, creating art that speaks to his experiences and heritage.