With around 400 artists, historians and art critics, the Cuban capital is hosting the 15th Havana Biennial, the most important contemporary art event in Latin America and the Caribbean, which this year celebrates the 40th anniversary of its first edition.
Organized by the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, the Havana Biennial aims to promote artistic and theoretical production and contribute to the research and dissemination of art from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
This year, under the motto “Shared Horizons,” hundreds of exhibitions, art installations, and talks will take place until February 28, 2025. At the same time, the event presents a series of lectures and seminars called “The Decolonial Turn: A New Challenge for Art and the Social Sciences.”
During the opening ceremony, the event's director, Nelson Ramírez de Arellano, said the Havana Biennial is “the first Latin American biennial to show art from regions that were not interesting to the centers of power”, defining the meeting as an “event halfway between an art biennial according to international codes and an arts festival”.
Like many other festivals held on the Caribbean Island, the Havana Biennial has a “non-commercial” purpose, following the philosophy that says that access to art is a right for everyone. The exhibitions are held in museums, free of charge, as well as on the streets and in “unconventional” spaces, so that people have access to different shows.
In the midst of a serious crisis in the country – which has coped with two hurricanes in the last month – the event aims to show “the capacity of art to bring hope to people,” according to its organizers.
Culture is the only thing that can save us
In an interview with Brasil de Fato, Cuban cartoonist and painter Arístides Esteban Hernández Guerrero, better known as Ares, said that despite the difficulties the island is facing, the Biennial is proof that “Cuba continues to believe that culture is a fundamental aspect of the struggle for human emancipation."
“The Biennial, like all events here, shows that, despite all difficulties, there is a governmental will to continue promoting the arts and stimulating consumption and artistic production. That’s why it also receives many attacks. The doors of the museums are open for free, the public comes and engages in the activities that take place here. So, this demonstrates the government's desire for artistic creation, for promoting the best of art – and not just Cuban art, but international art too. This is very interesting and has to do with the political content of society or the characteristics of Cuban society,” he says.
Ares was honored in Cuba with the Distinction for National Culture and the National Humor Prize for his life's work, and was nominated by Witty World International Cartoon Magazine to be included in the list of the world’s best cartoonists.
In his opinion, opening up the Biennal to the streets and public spaces is one of the most important aspects of the event, as it “opens the doors to possibilities for people who are not art ‘connoisseurs’ to appreciate it”. Ares' work, which is highly critical of society, is a form of reflection and political debate. He says that a country can only be saved if it promotes culture.
“Culture is the only thing that can save us. And despite everything that may happen – hurricanes and sanctions – I think it continues to be promoted. Everything possible continues to be done for culture."
All of “Latin America” gathered on one island
Taina Villalobos Fischer, born in Chile, is one of dozens of young artists taking part in the Biennial. She defines herself as “trans-Andean and Latin American."
Since 2022, Fischer has been investigating the different connections between the slang of the different territories of Abya Yala (Latin America), and the popular languages in common across borders. This research is presented at this Biennale through different sculptures in her exhibition “Lengua Común, archivo de la jerga latinoamericana y del Caribe” (Common Language: archive of Latin American and Caribbean slangs).
“It's incredible when you come from the continent, arrive in Cuba and realize that all of 'Latin America' is gathered on a single island. It's very interesting to know that all these people have come together here,” she told Brasil de Fato.
“Lengua Común, archivo de la jerga latinoamericana y del Caribe” / Taina Villalobos Fischer
“My research project stems from the emotion I feel when I sense that there is something that connects us, an invisible fabric that makes languages resist. And it's incredible to be here and to be able to see so many artists of African origin and realize that many of this resistance – of who we are – are still so strongly connected to Africa. [It’s incredible to see] How, despite colonialism, our peoples manage to safeguard memories, identities and resistance.”
As part of the blockade targeting Cuba, campaigns against the Havana Biennial have intensified in recent years, by closing the doors of art exhibitions or not allowing prominent artists to exhibit in art spaces in the United States if they participate in the Havana Biennial.
While most international art exhibitions are increasingly becoming purely commercial events, Fischer emphasizes that the spirit of the Havana Biennial remains focused on art's content of contestation.
“Too often, the visual arts go hand in hand with rich people or big companies. And that doesn't fit with my perspective of what art is and what I want to do with my work. That's also why I decided to come [to Cuba] and support the Biennial. Knowing that there are many boycott attempts, it's fundamental for me to be part of the Biennial and say it's an important event that needs to continue. The Biennial is a common place for the peoples of the South, for the peoples of the Third World and its artists.”
Edited by: Douglas Matos
