I am so grateful to have been asked to be part of an interdisciplinary group to show in Havana, Cuba. Visual artists, performing artists, musicians and spoken word artists were put together to share this once in a lifetime opportunity: Letters to Cuba. Artists from Columbus, Ohio each created an artwork to & for the Cuban people while Cuban artists did the same for us. All of the artwork was shown at the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio in August 2022 and then in early 2023 made the long trip to be shown in Havana, Cuba. An international ode to the arts & culture.
As part of this group we got to visit Cuba for 6 days and meet other artists, performers and facilitators to the arts. We were able to go on a cultural visa, making it extremely special as Americans are unable to get tourist visas right now.
There was a bit of culture shock for sure, but the warmth of the Cuban people was far more impactful. Everywhere felt so safe; it was very easy to start talking to a perfect stranger and feel at ease. As an aside, I’ve never had mango so good in my life!!!!
Cuban breakfast in Cienfuegos, made by our host who picked the fruit from her backyard that morning.
Once we were well fed each morning, we went on different art exploration excursions. We went to so many unique places - ISA (the Cuban Art University), Fabrica de Arte, Regla, Fusterland…I could go on & on. The art we saw was absolutely world class. It made the honor of being a part of this group even more humbling. We were invited into artists studio from the street (not even planned as part of our experience!) It is always so exciting to see another artists studio - how they organize materials, half completed projects, resource references…I could go on! Some artists didn’t speak English & many of us tried with very broken Spanish. But through the language of art we understood each other.
Group photo of the 2023 participating artists with Cuban National Fine Arts Museum curator, Omar Diaz. March 2023.
Photo credit: Krystopher Scott
We were very fortunate to get a personal tour from Omar Diaz, curator of the Cuban National Fine Arts Museum — A fantastic collection & experience! This included extra history & cultural lessons that added so much more richness to our visit.
Art is one of the few special things that creates opportunities, creates dialogue & creates relationships—without the need for a written language (I mean, it doesn’t hurt to have..but it’s not necessary when you express from within). I’m so grateful to Michael Reese of Artway, Columbus City Council, Greater Columbus Arts Council and all of the donors that contributed to allow us this amazing opportunity. This experience allowed me to experience art in a new culture with other artistic disciplines that helped inspire & educate me. It always amazes me how art is its own language. It always has something more to say.
I made a few ATC’s (Artist Trading Card) sketches of experiences & people I saw. These were for fun and to send as a thank you to some of the donors that funded the trip.
No trip to Cuba is complete without a PIÑA COLADA, vintage car or grand hotel. And no trip I take is complete without a random cat picture! I hope to visit Cuba again someday! If you ever get the opportunity— it’s an absolute must. Cuba is like nothing else in the world.
I hope to visit Cuba again someday!