HAUI™ (Howard J. Davis) is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist of Caribbean and British heritage who directs, designs, and devises work that blurs the boundaries between stage, screen, and visual art. His practice—described as “defying categorization, much like the artist at its centre” (STIR Magazine)—synthesizes mythology, memory, and music to explore identity, race, gender, and queerness.
His early short film C’est Moi, which toured internationally, offered a poetic examination of Marie-Josèphe Angélique and established a practice rooted in archival recovery and symbolic storytelling. Trained in theatre and dance, he was a company member at the Shaw Festival—an embodied foundation that continues to shape his work in directing, dramaturgy, and visual composition. Alongside his performance practice, he has been published by Playwrights Canada Press, reflecting an ongoing engagement with text, music, and devised form.
Over the past decade, HAUI has developed a body of work bridging art and activism, amplifying overlooked and erased histories. His feature film Mixed↑ (MixedUp) was described as “going to allow a lot of people to begin healing” (ETalk Canada). His immersive, site-specific dance installation Private Flowers, commissioned by Toronto History Museums and developed through the National Ballet of Canada’s Open Space residency, was praised for “bringing forgotten history to life” (Toronto Star). His audiovisual work Aunt Harriet: An Ontario Oratorio continues this focus, offering a moving portrait and elegy that “gives Aunt Harriet her voice back” (CBC Arts).
At the Canadian Opera Company, he became the youngest stage director in the company’s history. He authored the libretto and co-composed Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White in collaboration with Sean Mayes, who conducted the premiere. The Dora Award–winning production was hailed as “a rare world premiere” (The Globe and Mail) and “an exciting testament to the wealth of innovative creativity in contemporary opera” (Opera Canada). Centering the life and legacy of Portia White—Canada’s first internationally acclaimed singer of African Nova Scotian heritage—the work foregrounds Black Canadian history through an interdisciplinary creative approach.
He is an artist-in-residence alumnus of The Watermill Center and has held residencies with Wildseed Centre, the City of Toronto, and the City of Guelph. A recipient of the Chalmers Arts Fellowship, he is currently developing new interdisciplinary projects internationally, with upcoming residencies in the UK and Spain. His collaborators include CBC, APTN, Stratford Festival, and the Shaw Festival. He was also recognized by Toronto Metropolitan University with the Outstanding Recent Graduate Award for distinction in the arts. HAUI’s work reimagines how stories are told across form, amplifying underrepresented histories, myths, and perspectives.
photo by Evan Mitsui
photo by Michael Cooper
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what are people saying?
haui™ is a remarkable artist with a rainforest of creative ideas spawned from his individualism.
hollywood north magazine
"his insights and commitment to creativity and storytelling were invaluable to the continuity of the work we were doing."
tantoo cardinal, activist and actor
"howard, or "haui," as he positions himself, is a highly intelligent, witty, and talented artist with a huge repertoire of skills...this is an exceptionally professional young man who will make his name, and soon, with a vengeance. his talents are wide-ranging– and unique."
the late martha henry; order of canada, order of on; hon lld, phd, dhum, dfa.
