An Ongoing Visual Archive by Christopher Mitchell

For over a decade, Christopher Mitchell has been documenting Kanaval Jacmel, Haiti’s most iconic celebration. But Kanaval is far more than a festive parade—it is a living, breathing expression of history, resistance, and identity. Held in the southern coastal town of Jacmel, the event brings the streets to life with elaborate costumes, papier-mâché masks, ancestral characters, and deeply symbolic performances.

Unlike traditional carnivals elsewhere, Kanaval Jacmel is layered with cultural and political meaning. Characters like Lanse Kòd, covered in black grease and dragging ropes, recall the violent legacy of slavery and the enduring fight for freedom. Others evoke spirits from Vodou lore, legends from Haitian folklore, and critiques of current social conditions. Each performance, each handmade costume, becomes a vessel of memory and resistance.

Christopher’s work goes beyond capturing the spectacle—it is an intimate portrait of a community in motion, a visual archive of transformation, resilience, and joy. Having lived in Jacmel for over 15 years and with family roots in the city, his perspective is not that of an outsider looking in, but of someone deeply woven into the cultural fabric. His images offer a rare window into the emotional rhythms of Kanaval: the moments of preparation, the calm before the drums, the electricity in the crowd, the poetry of movement and color.

Through both film and digital photography, Christopher has created a body of work that honors the artistry and soul of the people who make Kanaval what it is.

This project is part of a broader mission: to uplift and preserve Haitian cultural traditions through visual storytelling. At a time when Haitian narratives are often reduced to crisis, Christopher’s Kanaval work insists on complexity, beauty, and humanity.