HAUI

{{Short description|Multidisciplinary artist}}

{{AI-generated|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = HAUI | image = | birth_name = Howard J. Davis | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|12|02}} | occupation = Multidisciplinary artist | spouse = [[Peter Hinton-Davis]] (m. 2018) | notable_works = {{ubl|''C'est Moi''|''MixedUp''|''Private Flowers''|''Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White''|''Aunt Harriet''}} | awards = {{ubl|Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Opera/Musical (2025)}} | website = {{URL|https://www.haui.ca/}} }}

'''HAUI''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|aʊ|i}}; (born Howard J. Davis)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.15questions.net/interview/fifteen-questions-interview-haui/page-1/ |title=Fifteen Questions Interview with HAUI |website=15 Questions |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref> is a [[British people|British]] [[Canada|Canadian]] multidisciplinary artist who directs, designs, and devises cross-disciplinary work. His work addresses themes of race, gender, identity, and sexual orientation, engaging with overlooked narratives, mythologies, and histories.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://operawire.com/q-a-haui-discusses-shedding-light-on-underrepresented-figures-through-art/ |title=Q & A: HAUI™ Discusses Shedding Light on Underrepresented Figures Through Art |website=OperaWire |date=11 March 2025 |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref>

== Early life == HAUI was born in [[Bath, Somerset]], of Cuban, Jamaican, and European descent.<ref name="Thorold">{{Cite news |last=Balsom |first=Mike |date=February 22, 2024 |title=NOTL Artist HAUI shares important stories of diversity |work=Thorold Today |url=https://www.thoroldtoday.ca/local-news/notl-artist-haui-shares-important-stories-of-diversity-8337782}}</ref> His professional name, an acronym for '''H'''ybrid '''A'''rt with a '''U'''nique '''I'''nterpretation, serves as a framework for a multifaceted practice, reflecting his mixed heritage.<ref name="Thorold" /> HAUI is a graduate of [[Toronto Metropolitan University]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=HAUI – Alumni – Toronto Metropolitan University |url=https://www.torontomu.ca/alumni/awards/alumni-achievement-awards/recipients/haui/ |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref>

== Career ==

HAUI joined the [[Shaw Festival]] acting ensemble in 2015, appearing in productions including ''Pygmalion'' and ''Sweet Charity''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/entertainment/article_726f9228-9056-11e4-b37c-772e7026c235.html |title=Kelowna actor’s dream coming true |work=Kelowna Daily Courier |date=2 January 2015 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> In addition to his work at the Shaw Festival, he has appeared as an actor with companies including [[Factory Theatre]], Outside the March, and [[Neptune Theatre (Halifax)|Neptune Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ttdb.ca/shows/bombay-black/ |title=Bombay Black |website=Toronto Theatre Database |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ttdb.ca/shows/passion-play/ |title=Passion Play |website=Toronto Theatre Database |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/commentary/a-bit-of-magic-dust-portia-white-and-portia-clark/ |title=A bit of magic dust: Portia White and Portia Clark |work=Halifax Examiner |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> He later returned to the Shaw Festival in subsequent seasons, contributing as a video/projection designer, including on ''Oh What a Lovely War'' in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/oh-what-a-lovely-war-s-ambitions-pay-off-in-dramatic-fashion/article_ad3a8b4b-5a5c-5be5-b86b-f4d892832103.html |title=Oh What a Lovely War’s ambitions pay off in dramatic fashion |work=Toronto Star |date=2018 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> In 2023, HAUI was part of the design team for ''Shadow of a Doubt'', which won for Outstanding Design; the production was designed alongside Gillian Gallow and Bonnie Beecher and directed by Peter Hinton-Davis.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.myentertainmentworld.ca/2024/01/haui/ |title=HAUI |website=My Entertainment World |date=January 2024 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> He has also worked in assistant and associate directing roles at major Canadian institutions, including the [[National Arts Centre]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://naccnaca-eventfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/13660/louis_riel__hp_final_web.pdf |title=Louis Riel program |website=National Arts Centre |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> the [[Grand Theatre (London, Ontario)]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grandtheatre.com/grand-theatre-announces-world-premiere-silence |title=Grand Theatre announces the world premiere of Silence |website=Grand Theatre |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> and as an associate director at [[Canadian Stage]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ttdb.ca/shows/choir-boy/ |title=Choir Boy |website=Toronto Theatre Database |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>

Alongside his acting and directing work, HAUI has contributed design work for major Canadian institutions including the [[Stratford Festival]], [[Luminato Festival]], [[Theatre Calgary]], [[Black Theatre Workshop]], and [[Tarragon Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cds.stratfordfestival.ca/uploadedFiles/2022_HP_HAMLET-911.pdf |title=Stratford Festival programme |website=Stratford Festival |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>

HAUI’s screen work include his 2017 short film ''C’est Moi'', which explores the life of [[Marie-Josèphe Angélique]]. It engages with Canada’s legacy of slavery and systemic racism, using symbolic storytelling to foreground suppressed historical narratives.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://this.org/2017/03/27/new-film-takes-a-much-needed-glance-into-canadas-uncomfortable-past-with-racism-and-slavery/ |title=New film takes a much-needed glance into Canada's uncomfortable past with racism and slavery |website=This Magazine |author=Melissa Gonik |date=27 March 2017 |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref> Internationally, the film was recognized for its visual symbolism, poetry, and educational value.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bataille |first=Eugénie |title=C'est Moi: Requiem pour Angélique d'Howard J. Davis |journal=Amina Magazine |issue=571 |date=2017 |pages=58–59 |language=fr |type=Print}}</ref>

HAUI directed his documentary feature-film debut ''MixedUp.'' The film was co-produced with trans filmmaker Jack Fox and produced in association with [[OUTtv (Canada)]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.createastir.ca/articles/mixed-up-streaming-review |title=Film review: Mixed↑ turns the search for identity into a provocative and artful experiment |website=Stir |date=10 November 2020 |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref> It examines mixed-race identity, queerness, and personal history through a multidisciplinary lens. [[Etalk]] host [[Traci Melchor]] noted the film’s ability to “allow people to begin to heal.”<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llnZlfDHOUQ |title=MixedUp on eTalk |website=CTV’s eTalk |date=March 2021 |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref> He also directed and devised the 2SLGBTQIA+ installation ''Private Flowers'', commissioned by the [[City of Toronto]] for Pride 2023. The work centred on queer histories and memorialization through movement, memory and music.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/fort-york-s-private-flowers-new-installation-illuminates-a-his-story-that-used-to-dare/article_6ccc20f9-9fea-5e32-abf9-146dafc86d81.html |title=Fort York's 'Private Flowers': new installation illuminates a his-story that (used to) dare not speak its name |website=Toronto Star |date=24 July 2023 |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref>

In 2024, HAUI became the youngest director to helm a production at the Canadian Opera Company<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Lepage |title=Robert Lepage |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=10 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/atom-egoyan |title=Atom Egoyan |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=10 May 2026}}</ref> co-composing his libretto ''Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White'', a theatrical work created in collaboration with conductor-composer Sean Mayes.<ref name="GlobeReview">{{cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/reviews/article-aportia-chryptych-tells-an-old-canadian-story-in-a-new-way/ |title=Aportia Chryptych tells an old Canadian story in a new way |website=The Globe and Mail |date=18 June 2024 |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref> The piece, which centers on [[African Nova Scotian]] contralto [[Portia White]], premiered at the [[Canadian Opera Company]] and was noted for its focus on diverse narratives.<ref name="OperaCanadaReview">{{cite web |url=https://operacanada.ca/canadian-opera-company-aportia-chryptych-a-black-opera-for-portia-white-celebrate-her-legacy-foregrounding-black-canadian-history/ |title=Canadian Opera Company: Aportia Chryptych celebrates her legacy while foregrounding Black Canadian history |website=Opera Canada |date=17 June 2024 |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref> The show received the 2025 [[Dora Mavor Moore Award]] for Outstanding New Opera/Musical and Outstanding Ensemble in an Opera.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/article-dora-awards-mahabharata-win-toronto/ |title=From a Mahabharata sweep to a Gen Z musical theatre boom, here's how the 2025 Dora Awards played out |work=The Globe and Mail |date=30 June 2025 |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref>

HAUI was a 2025 artist-in-residence at [[The Watermill Center]] in New York, an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts founded by avant-garde director [[Robert Wilson (director)]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.watermillcenter.org/residencies/2025-artists-in-residence/ |title=2025 Artists-in-Residence |website=The Watermill Center |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref> That same year, HAUI premiered the installation ''Aunt Harriet: An Ontario Oratorio''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/y-a-pas-deux-matins-pareils/segments/rattrapage/2197478/culture-regard-sur-aines-noirs-guelph-dans-ce-nouveau-projet |title=Culture : Regard sur les aînés noirs à Guelph dans ce nouveau projet |website=ICI Radio-Canada Première |date=10 October 2025 |access-date=13 October 2025}}</ref> The work is inspired by Harriet Miller, a Black woman who lived in rural southern Ontario in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and features dub poet [[Ahdri Zhina Mandiela]] in the title role. Blending poetry, portraiture, and performance, the project reflects what scholar [[Saidiya Hartman]] terms ''critical fabulation''—the merging of historical record and imagination to recover suppressed histories.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hartman |first=Saidiya |title=Venus in Two Acts |journal=Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism |volume=12 |issue=2 |year=2008 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1215/07990537-2008-000}}</ref> Through this approach, HAUI and mandiela highlight the presence, commonness, and fullness of Black women’s lives within Canadian history. As HAUI told CBC Radio, “History is what is recorded: Myth is what is remembered”.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-14-day-6/clip/16174824-how-black-queer-artists-embrace-myth-making-fill-missing |title=How Black and Queer Artists Embrace Myth-Making to Fill in Missing Canadian History |website=CBC Radio Day 6 |date=10 October 2025 |access-date=13 October 2025}}</ref>

HAUI was recently announced as one of the 2026/27 Britten Pears residents <ref name="BrittenPears">{{Cite news |last=Markay |first=Afton |date=May 5, 2026 |title=HAUI Named Among Britten Pears Arts Residency Artists for 2026–27 |work=OperaWire |url=https://operawire.com/haui-named-among-britten-pears-arts-residency-artists-for-2026-27/}}</ref>

== Personal life == He is married to the Canadian stage and opera director [[Peter Hinton-Davis]]. The couple met in 2015 during a [[Shaw Festival]] production of ''Pygmalion'' and were married in 2018 at their home.<ref name="NOTLLocal">{{Cite news |last=Balsom |first=Mike |date=February 14, 2024 |title=A true romance of Shavian proportions |work=Niagara-on-the-Lake Local |url=https://www.notllocal.com/local-news/a-true-romance-of-shavian-proportions-8306807}}</ref> HAUI has spoken about how his marriage represents a milestone for his queer identity, particularly regarding the historical context of LGBTQ+ rights in Canada.<ref name="Mundane">{{Cite web |title=Multidisciplinary Artivist Haui aka Howard J Davis Explores Mixed Heritage and Queerness |url=https://mundanemag.com/multidisciplinary-artivist-haui-aka-howard-j-davis-explores-mixed-heritage-and-queerness-with-new-film-mixed-up/ |website=Mundane Magazine}}</ref>

== Awards == * 2023 – [[Isadore Sharp]] Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.<ref name=":0" />

* 2025 – [[Dora Mavor Moore Awards]] for Outstanding New Opera/Musical and Outstanding Ensemble in an Opera<ref name=":1" />

* 2025 – Chalmers Arts Fellowship<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-04 |title=Chalmers Arts Fellowships |url=https://www.arts.on.ca/grants/general-granting-information/grant-results/2024-en/june/chalmers-arts-fellowships |access-date=2026-02-23 |website=Ontario Arts Council}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{official website|https://www.haui.ca/}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:HAUI}} [[Category:1990 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian male writers]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people]] [[Category:Canadian male dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Film directors from Toronto]] [[Category:Canadian male stage actors]] [[Category:Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Canadian queer writers]] [[Category:Toronto Metropolitan University alumni]] [[Category:21st-century British LGBTQ people]] [[Category:Canadian LGBTQ film directors]]