Vol. 71/No. 8      February 26, 2007

Featured artists include Jacqueline Brito, Yamilys Brito, Rocio Garcia, Elsa Mora, Sandra Ramos, and Julia Valdes.

“Americans come back from Cuba and say that Cuba is not like it is portrayed,” said philosophy professor Jon Torgerson at an opening reception attended by almost 100 people. Torgerson, who has traveled to Cuba 12 times since 1986 and took the first class of U.S. undergraduate students there in 1996, spoke out against Washington’s travel ban, which prohibits U.S. citizens from visiting the island nation. “Exposure to the arts in Cuba might be a way to show the richness of its culture,” he said.

“Any exhibit of Cuban art at this point is still quite unique,” said Sandra Levinson, director of the Center for Cuban Studies in New York, which loaned the art for the exhibit. “Certainly, there have been very few shows of Cuban women artists, and it’s even rarer to have a show devoted exclusively to women artists.”

For years U.S. trade laws aimed at isolating and starving the Cuban Revolution made it illegal to import original artwork from this island nation. This was overturned in 1993 when Levinson won a lawsuit against the Treasury Department to allow the importation of Cuban artwork. This enabled the Center for Cuban Studies to amass a sizable collection of sculptures and paintings.

Torgerson and his wife Betty are sponsoring the exhibition, along with Drake’s Center for Global Citizenship, Center for the Humanities, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Office of the President, and the Women’s Studies Program.
 
 
Related articles:
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Marked by discussion on cultural policy of Cuban Revolution
Houston event at Texas Southern University promotes campaign to free the Cuban Five
‘First and Second Declarations of Havana’ presented at Havana International Book Fair
Donate to cover costs of 'Militant' reporting team to Cuba  
 
 
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