the art collectors

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Chelsea Goes to Havana

Andrew Schoultz will be exhibiting with Morgan Lehman Gallery as part of Chelsea Visits Havana. Image: Pulse Art Fair 2009 via TheArtCollectors

For the first time in over twenty years, New York art galleries will have a presence in Havana, Cuba, at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.  The exhibition, Chelsea Visits Havana, opens March 28 as part of the 10th Havana Biennial, and will include twenty-eight NY galleries, along with thirty-five represented artists. The event was organized by Fundacion Amistad, a U.S. based non-profit dedicated to “fostering better mutual understanding and appreciation between the peoples of the United States and Cuba.”

As noted by The Art Newspaper, in 2004 the Bush administration heightened travel restrictions to Cuba, effectively ending cultural exchange programs. Since then, numerous Cuban artists have been denied visas to the United States to claim prizes or fellowship opportunities, and efforts by the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes to bring U.S. artists to the country have continually been blocked. Abelardo Mena, a curator at the museum, said, “I don’t believe this exhibition would have been possible under the Bush administration. I hope the new president and his secretary of state recognize the value of cultural diplomacy based on mutual respect, and the free exchange of cultural goods (Art Newspaper, March 2009).”

As a side note, The Art Collectors are particularly excited for Morgan Lehman Gallery’s participation in the exhibit with an installation by Andrew Schoultz, whose visual commentary on U.S. government, capitalism and the military industrial complex should be particularly appropriate. Stay tuned for pictures…