Paintings and drawings created by up to 30 artists living and working in Cuba will bring to London a taste of the exciting current art scene on the island when ¡PRESENTE! Contemporary Art from Cuba opens at the GX Gallery in London later this year. It will then move to the Searcy Gallery on the 38th floor of the Gherkin, one of London’s iconic landmarks. The exhibition is a project of the Music Fund for Cuba charity in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture in Cuba, and organisers are appealing far and wide for support for this unique event. The island’s music and dance have always enchanted audiences in Britain and now Presente! will introduce Cuba’s visual arts.

The exhibition will feature over 50 new works of art, highlighting the diversity of Cuban visual artistic practice – from established artists with international recognition to emerging young prize winning artists. Two artists will travel to the UK for the opening and to participate in a programme of public talks and educational activities in London and other cities.

¡Presente! has two goals. First it will give artists from Cuba a rare opportunity to display their work in the UK. And, second, the surplus from any sales of the art will fund much needed supplies and materials for Cuba’s art schools. Both of these elements are vital aspects of this project as long as the US blockade remains firmly in place.

Meet Adislén

Adislén Reyes Pino is one of the artists to feature in ¡Presente! and will be coming to the UK for the show. She has been described as ‘a smart young feminist influenced by contemporary media culture’. Although graduating from Havana’s prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte as recently as 2010, Adislén has already exhibited extensively in Havana and also beyond – in Washington DC, Boston, Taipei and Madrid. She teaches today at the San Alejandro Academy of Art in Havana. You can support this project by helping to raise funds to stage the exhibition and bring Adislén to Britain.

¡Presente! Contemporary Art from Cuba
6-29 October 2016, GX Gallery, London
7 November-22 December 2016, Searcys Gallery at The Gherkin, London

To support the project or join the email list for more news contact presentecubanart@gmail.com

More info coming soon at http://www.presentecubanart.org