How It Started

Hi, my name is Michel Petit-Homme "Mitch" I'm the founder and CEO of Petit Art Gallery. In 2019, right before the pandemic locked down, I became ill, and that illness was different than any other illness I have ever experienced. I felt as if this was the end of my life. The muscles on the left side of my chest started to contract as if it were some irregular heartbeat. I thought to myself, I would like to do one last good deed before leaving this earth. I wanted to help someone less fortunate. Not just help that individual, but change their lives forever so they can help their families and others for generations to come. That's when the idea came to mind. Why don't I find someone in Haiti such as an artist and promote their work here in the United States? You see, I left my home country, Ayiti, 40 years ago and have not been back since. However, I remember the beautiful colorful arts and crafts that I would see the merchants selling on the side of the road. The colorful kites flying in the air with the mountains view in the far distance behind those dozens of kites. For the past 3 decades, we have seen the ugliness of the beautiful Ayiti. The reason I chose an artist was that it was a way to expose the beautiful Haitian culture and help someone at the same time. That's when I asked a friend of mine to go into Port-Au-Prince and find me a random artist. Someone who was very shabby and seemed to have very little to no hope of ever being discovered for their talents. He found the perfect person. Romulus Dieuseul, a hidden jewel. He was very gaunt and had poor hygiene. According to my friend, one of his shoes was wrapped with duct tape. My friend called me, as soon as he saw him and passed him the phone. Since he didn't have any artwork with him at the time, there was no way to verify, but to take him at his word. That he said he was an artist and my friend gave him my number. It took a few days for him to call me because he had to use a neighbor's phone. Since then, I have adopted him and his family. Move them out of Port-Au-Prince to Jacmel. Paid housing for them for the past three years and the schooling of his three kids. The oldest daughter graduated in 2023. She's currently taking English courses, and she wants to study nursing. The son is in 10th grade and is very good with technology (basic), he wants to be a computer engineer. My vision is to see that a man with that type of talent will never go to bed hungry again. Nor does he or his children ever wear tape on their shoes. I dream that one day, he can own his own house, and open an art gallery in Jacmel where tourists would flood his art gallery. As you can see, his work is fabulous. Friends, you are not just buying an artwork, you are contributing to the legacy of helping a family.