Читать книгу 100 Places in Cuba Every Woman Should Go - Conner Gorry - Страница 29
ОглавлениеFOR ART LOVERS, COLLECTORS, AND CURATORS, Cuba is Paradise. There are museums, galleries, private studios, public art, installations, and performances all across the country, enriched by international events including the Bienal de la Habana (see Chapter 85), Holguín’s Romerías de Mayo, and workshops at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA, see Chapter 25). The last, Cuba’s equivalent to New York’s Julliard (and free for aspiring Cuban artists), is largely responsible for training and educating generations of the island’s top talent.
In fact, there’s a saying here that if you turn over a rock, half a dozen talented artists will run out—and this isn’t simply Cuban hyperbole. While artists can be found in every village, town, and mountain hamlet, certain cities are known for their concentration of fabulous art and artists, such as Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos, and of course, Havana. In the Cuban capital, the top places to see art under one roof are the Cuban collection at the Museo de Bellas Artes (see Chapter 21) and the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (see Chapter 30); the best location to buy art for its wide selection from exquisite to kitsch, is the Almacén de San José, a repurposed warehouse with hundreds of different artists and types of art; and the most accessible place to see art being created (and where you can buy what strikes your fancy), is the Taller Experimental de Gráfica.
Founded in 1962, this working lithographic studio in the heart of Habana Vieja is a fun place to visit even if you’re not in the market for original Cuban art. Tucked away at the end of a small, cobblestone alley (shared with Doña Eutimia, voted by Newsweek as one of the world’s top 100 restaurants) in the Plaza de la Catedral, Cuban printmakers create marvels under the languid spin of ceiling fans here every day. The air is thick with the stink of ink and paint, laced with the piquant aroma of uncut Cuban cigarettes, but it’s tolerable thanks to the large open space, high ceilings, and positive energy the workshop radiates. The artists here—some self-taught novices, others formally trained and established—are usually happy to chat about their process and craft and will show you around. There’s a small gallery upstairs and most of the limited-series prints are for sale. Visitors in town for a month or more should inquire about the printmaking workshops here. Offered regularly, they’re affordable and make a great excuse to play with ink and prints while scratching below the surface of Havana and experiencing Cuba more profoundly than most. Participants will take away memories of a lifetime and a dozen prints of their own creation.
