Art from Haiti's children on display

Haiti's first lady Elisabeth Preval is visiting Washington as paintings and drawings made by her nation's children after the earthquake go on display at the Smithsonian Institution.

Preval says art has provided healing for the children as a way for them to express their emotions. She wants the Washington exhibit to remind the world that Haiti still needs help. The exhibit opens Thursday at the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive S.W. It is sponsored by the National Museum of African Art, and the artwork will be on display through Oct. 17.

The exhibit includes paintings by U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, from their April visit to Port-au-Prince. At the direction of a 5-year-old boy, Obama painted a colorful fish and Biden painted a house.

The Smithsonian also is leading a recovery project to pull paintings and cultural relics from Haiti's rubble to be preserved.

-- Associated Press