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What Chelsea Visits Havana Generated in the PressThe 10th Havana Biennial was a wonderful event and all of us at Fundación Amistad as well as our guests who accompanied us had a splendid time. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who went with us for their presence and invaluable support. The first exhibtion of American art in Cuba in decades, Chelsea Visits Havana has been a tremendous success. We are grateful to the international media for their generous coverage. Scroll down for excerpts from some of the pieces inspired by Chelsea Visits Havana. 
American tourists at home in Cuba
The St. Patrick's Day parade was a little late, but the Cuban bagpipers and the blond transvestite in green satin made up for it in spirit as they sashayed down O'Reilly Street to observe Cuba's historic connections to Ireland. (Apparently, even Che Guevara was part Irish.) A video of the parade is on display at the first major exhibition of U.S. artists in Cuba in a quarter of a century, part of what organizers are calling a social experiment in connecting Cubans and Americans. "Art is a great bridge, the way to start a conversation," said Alberto Magnan, a New York gallery owner who is in Havana to oversee the exhibit. Luly Duke, head of Fundacion Amistad, a New York-based group that promotes ties with Cuba and helped organize the exhibit, said she was surprised that Cuban officials permitted things like the parade, conceived by U.S. artist Duke Riley, and put no limits on what art was exhibited. April 12, 2009 
Havana Biennial, in Which Chelsea Takes a Field Trip to Cuba
About 10 minutes after arriving at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes to show her work at the biggest exhibition by American art galleries in Cuba since the 1959 revolution, Delia Brown whispered, only half joking, to her Cuban assistant that the gallery was too hot and that she planned to head back to her hotel. She was standing beside one of her works from the �Guerrilla Villa� series, an oil painting of Ms. Brown and her friends posing against the decadent backdrop of a $1,000-a-night resort in St. Bart�s. Dressed in bikini tops, camouflage pants and Che berets, the women look stern-faced while drinking Havana Club Rum and eating Skittles. �The hope is that this will be a first step toward normalizing U.S.-Cuban relations,� said the show�s organizer Alberto Magnan, who left Cuba when he was 5 and owns the Magnan Projects Gallery in Chelsea with his wife, Dara Metz. The biennial, which opened on Friday, runs until April 30 and has attracted works from more than 300 artists and 54 countries. It has given the streets of Havana an almost carnivalesque air. With funds from the Fundación Amistad, a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes exchanges and understanding between Americans and Cubans, the Chelsea exhibition includes works by 30 artists from more than two dozen galleries, including Jack Shainman, Loretta Lux, Charles Cowles and Lehmann Maupin March 31, 2009 
Cuba holds biggest US art exhibit in 50 years
The exhibition that opened Saturday under the title "Chelsea visits Havana" -- after the famed New York art district -- displays 39 works of art by 33 US artists from 28 New York art galleries, according to National Art Museum curator Abelardo Mena. The exhibit, which altogether involves more than 200 artists from some 40 countries, and will run through May 17. The young creator of this engineering marvel, Doug Young, said he was "delighted" to participate in this first exhibit in Cuba, which has lived under an American trade embargo for 47 years. The embargo forbids American citizens to visit Cuba as tourists. However, 15 American artists and gallery owners did come to the island. March 30, 2009 
Chelsea Visits Havana - Cuban art exposition
Chelsea Visits Havana, which opened on Saturday, was three years in the making and features 30 artists from New York�s arty Chelsea neighbourhood. �I would love for this show to be a beginning step towards both countries getting a little closer together and starting a dialogue and I think art is a great way to do it,�said the show�s American curator, Alberto Magnan, whose parents left Cuba when he was five. �This is a kind of lighthouse of the next process of the culture and the politics between Cuba and the United States,� Aberlado Mana, the contemporary art curator at Havana�s Fine Arts Museum, told BBC News. "One work features an abstract redwood cut-out by Padraig Tarrant. Called Castrobama, it requires the viewer to look closely to discover the silhouettes of Fidel Castro and Barack Obama staring at each other face to face. March 30, 2009 
U.S. art scene builds bridges with Cuba
An exhibition of American artworks has just opened in Havana -- the first major American group show in Cuba for over 20 years. The "Chelsea visits Havana" exhibition is part of the 10th Havana Biennial art show, which opened on Saturday, and will take place at the prestigious "Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes." The exhibition is the brainchild of Alberto Magnan and his wife Dara Metz, owners of Chelsea's Magnan Projects art gallery. Magnan told CNN that he hopes the exhibition will lead to closer ties between the U.S. and Cuba. "We're hoping that art could be a tool to be used as a started up point for communication between the two countries," he told CNN. "We're such close neighbors that we just need some kind of catalyst to help get things started." March 30, 2009 
U.S. art scene builds bridges with Cuba
The Museo De Bellas Artes in Havana launched a surprise exhibition of contemporary art today: Chelsea visits Havana. That's not London's Chelsea, but New York's. This exhibition would have been unthinkable a while ago, because the USA was miffed when the corrupt Batista dictatorship fell to the Reds; then there was the Cuban missile crisis. The US arms embargo against Cuba became a trade embargo, which still exists. So, an art show by US artists in Havana is a hopeful sign that barriers between the two countries are coming down. Who to thank? Long-Bin Chen has no doubt. His sculpture The New Mount Rushmore adds Barack Obama to the familiar quartet of great US presidents. March 30, 2009 
Art exhibition fuels US-Cuba thaw
Hundreds of Cubans packed into Havana's Museo De Bellas Artes for the launch of the first major US contemporary art exhibition to be shown here for almost a quarter of a century. The curator of contemporary art at Havana's Fine Arts Museum, which is hosting the exhibition, Aberlado Mana, describes the show as "a surprise and a miracle". The show is expected to attract large numbers of Cuban artists who have spent years working in isolation, with little real contact with what is going on across the straits of Florida. The Cuban curator, Aberlado Mana, believes that for the first time in years it will be possible to compare the two. Many of the American artists are also taking inspiration from what they are seeing in Cuba. "The Cuban art I've seen is phenomenal," says installation artist Jade Townsend. "Can you imagine that, without having a commercial drive behind work, what amazing things you can come up with." March 29, 2009 
Cuba holds massive exhibit of U.S. contemporary art
Hundreds of Cubans packed into Havana's Museo De Bellas Artes for the launch of the first major US contemporary art exhibition to be shown here for almost a quarter of a century. The curator of contemporary art at Havana's Fine Arts Museum, which is hosting the exhibition, Aberlado Mana, describes the show as "a surprise and a miracle". The show is expected to attract large numbers of Cuban artists who have spent years working in isolation, with little real contact with what is going on across the straits of Florida. The Cuban curator, Aberlado Mana, believes that for the first time in years it will be possible to compare the two. Many of the American artists are also taking inspiration from what they are seeing in Cuba. "The Cuban art I've seen is phenomenal," says installation artist Jade Townsend. "Can you imagine that, without having a commercial drive behind work, what amazing things you can come up with." March 29, 2009 
Cuba Opens First Big U.S. Art Exhibit Since 1980sCuba on Saturday opened its first big group exhibit of American art since the 1980s amid hopes it would inspire better relations between the United States and the communist-run island. The show "Chelsea visits Havana" presents works from more than 30 artists representing New York City's Chelsea district and includes paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations and videos. "Incredibly, we did it. I think it's an incredible first step," said Alberto Magnan, principal curator and a Cuban-American who owns a Chelsea art gallery. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama "did not impede the show and I hope that when he sees this it will inspire him to do something" to improve U.S.-Cuba relations, Magnan said. Mar 28, 2009 
Arranca hoy la bienal de artes de La HabanaEspacio tambi�n, aunque fuera del programa oficial de la muestra, para la primera exposici�n de arte organizada y tra�da como un todo a la isla desde Estados Unidos en m�s de 50 a�os con el t�tulo "Chelsea visita La Habana'', en alusi�n a ese barrio neoyorquino. Mar 27, 2009 
The Chelsea Visits Havana exhibit, opening on 3/28/09, is the first US exhibit in Cuba in over 20 years and will be held a the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. The exhibit will feature 28 galleries from the NY area and include over 35 representative artist in this new era of cultural exchange with our Hispanic neighbors to the south. This type of event with these countries was unheard of under the Bush administration, but now with new hope, the art of 2 countries with troubled pasts will join forces for a greater good. If you live in the Havana area, or have a Visa to get down there, be sure to show up and support! March 24, 2009 
The pieces range from a painting of what could be Cuban refugees boating into Miami to an elaborate work that includes television sets and a transmitter that will beam out a video of an apocalyptic city of the future. Some of it, such as a red cutout with the profiles of U.S. President Barack Obama and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, makes overt reference to U.S.-Cuba relations. Magnan and wife Dara Metz are curating the exhibit along with the Havana museum's Abelardo Mena, who said the last group exhibit of U.S. artists in Cuba took place in 1986. One of the visiting artists, Jade Townsend, said that just as Cubans would get to see American art, he and his colleagues had gotten to view Cuban art in the context of Cuba's culture and socialist political system. March 24, 2009
U.S. artists are preparing for the first big group exhibition of American art in Cuba since the 1980s in what they hope is a harbinger of better relations between the two countries. The work of more than 30 artists representing New York City's Chelsea district will be displayed March 28 through May 17 at Havana's Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in an exhibit called "Chelsea Visits Havana." U.S. curator Alberto Magnan said on Tuesday the exposition's purpose was to give Cubans a chance to see American art, little of which has made its way to the Communist-run island during the past 50 years of hostilities between the United States and Cuba. "Art has always been a bridge to culture, and if this is any sign of things to come, it's a great first step," said Magnan, a Cuban-American and Chelsea art gallery owner. March 24, 2009 
NY Art Exhibit Takes Chelsea to HavanaHopes are high among some people on both sides of thr Florida Straits for warmer ties between the United States and Cuba under Obama. The two countries have not had diplomatic relations for nearly five decades. The show was the idea of Cuban-born American curator Alberto, who left the island when he was 5 and has been back numerous times in recent years. The 47-year-old sits on the board of directors of the exhibit's sponsor, Fundación Amistad, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that promotes exchanges and understanding between Americans and Cubans. He and his wife, Dara Metz, own the Magnan Projects Gallery in Chelsea. March 23, 2009 
CHELSEA GALLERIES TO CUBAIn addition, an installation from Jonathan Schipper makes the trip to "Chelsea Visits Havana," from Brooklyn-based powerhouse Pierogi 2000 -- proving the exhibition�s mission is bigger than one neighborhood -- while a special commission by Irish-born artist Padraig Tarrant is from Fundación Amistad, the organization dedicated to Cuba-U.S. exchange that is providing most of the funding for the endeavor. March 12, 2009 
Chelsea galleries visit Havana
Mr Magnan and Ms Metz have enlisted the help of the non-profit Fundación Amistad, which brings humanitarian aid to Cuba and sponsors art-related projects in the US and abroad. According to Luly Duke, president and founder, the organisation is raising funds to pay for the shipping and insurance of the art, as well as a catalogue. It is linked to academic, cultural and humanitarian institutions in Cuba, and will coordinate the complex shipment of work from the US to Havana and back. Mr Magnan, a Cuban American and the director of Magnan Projects gallery, said: �I�m not making any money from this and none of the art pieces are for sale. This is about exchanging culture. I couldn�t do this without the foundation�s help.� March 3, 2009 
Chelsea Art Galleries visit Havana
As a sign of improved relations between the United States and Cuban governments, Havana�s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes will showcase work from 28 art galleries from New York City�s Chelsea neighborhood as part of the museum�s Tenth Havana Biennial. The event, titled �Chelsea Visits Havana� will debut the 27th of March with the sponsorship of Fundación Amistad. US organizers of the event proposed the event to Cuban officials two years ago, but the event had been stalled under the Bush administration�s construal of the embargo. Under President Bush�s enforcement of the embargo, travel restrictions made it nearly impossible for Cuban and American artists to visit each other�s countries. Now, US artists whose work will be displayed in the event will actually have the opportunity to present their work, in Havana. That the US Interests Section office in Havana gave the green light for the event is symbolic of the new US administration�s philosophy towards Cuba. It is no coincidence that the event was given approval right on the heels of the new administration�s sweep into office. President Obama has already promised to lift the previous administration�s use of travel restrictions which have blocked travel between artists. Havana�s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes� exhibition is recognition of the importance of cultural diplomacy between the US and Cuba, and a restoration of cultural ideas and goods which the two countries historically share and enjoy. Sponsor Fundación Amistad, a practitioner of cultural diplomacy, sees the event as a historic opportunity to use �the power of art to surmount the cultural, political and social boundaries between the United States and Cuba.� March, 2009 
Chelsea Art Galleries visit Havana
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. March, 2009 |