Causecast

By Charmaine Picard

Twenty-eight US art galleries have been invited to show work at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, Cuba, for the first time since 1986. Organised by New York art dealers Alberto Magnan and Dara Metz, “Chelsea Visits Havana” opens on 28 March, with the participation of dealers including Andrea Rosen, Sean Kelly, Barbara Gladstone, Mary Boone and Matthew Marks.

The organisers approached Cuban officials nearly two years ago with a proposal for a comprehensive survey of contemporary art from the Chelsea gallery district in New York. In January, Mr Magnan and Ms Metz were notified that the project had officially become part of the Tenth Havana Biennial, which opens on 27 March. The Chelsea show is part of a wider programme of exhibitions throughout Havana and presents a selection of 35 international artists including Marina Abramovic, Will Cotton, Loretta Lux, Matthew Barney, and Guy Ben-Ner.

Mr Magnan says: “We’ve been under the harsh policies of the Bush administration for such a long time, and the reintroduction of cultural exchanges will hopefully move both sides closer to dialogue.” In mid-2004, President Bush strengthened the US trade embargo on Cuba by imposing tougher restrictions on travel, effectively ending all travel-related cultural exchange programmes. Since then, Cuban artists have regularly been denied visas to attend exhibitions or claim prizes and fellowships in the US.

Abelardo Mena, curator of contemporary international art at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, told The Art Newspaper that efforts to bring US artists to Cuba have frequently been blocked by the US Interests Section in Havana, an office that functions de facto as an embassy and represents US interests in the country. Mr Mena, who is coordinating “Chelsea Visits Havana” for the Cuban national museum, says the institution has a small collection of contemporary American art, which was donated by artists who participated in the 1986 exhibition, “Por Encima del Bloqueo/ Surpassing the Embargo”, organised by the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Centre. The collection includes works by Mel Edwards, Carl Andre, Lawrence Weiner, Nancy Spero, Leon Golub, Miriam Shapiro, Kiki Smith, and Tim Rollins and K.O.S. After 23 years, Rollins and K.O.S. will again be showing their work in Havana with the Lehmann Maupin Gallery as part of the Chelsea project.

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Photo: Aaron Escobar™