“Beyond all the differences, there is a space of knowledge, expectations and preferences that most human beings share. Seeking these points of connection, those common areas that allow us to move forward together towards a more equitable and sustainable future should be our main currency.”
This is the conceptual platform proposed by the organizers of the 15th Havana Biennial, which will run from November 15 to February 28, 2025.
Havana’s biennial is the largest visual arts event in the country—an event that takes the city as a stage and transforms it. Cuban news site CubaDebate recently published an interview with its director Nelson Ramírez de Arellano.
—What new approaches does this 15th Havana Biennial bring?
The Biennial celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. We have decided to create some commemorative exhibitions to exhibit works that are in collections in Cuba, such as that of the Casa de las Américas and that of the Wifredo Lam Centre for Contemporary Art itself, the institution that organizes the Biennial.
Also, for the first time there will be a commemorative exhibition of Cuban artists and works that have left a lasting mark on the memory of the Biennial. With this exhibition, which will be held at the Linea y 18 Cultural Station (recently opened multi arts centre, formerly a tram station), the public will be able to see again many of the works that have been emblematic of earlier Biennials and enjoy the work of Cuban artists who have developed thanks to their participation in the event throughout these 40 years.
We have also developed a unique work of close collaboration with sociocultural projects such as Quisicuaba en los Sitios (in central Havana) and Akokán en los Pocitos (in Marianao district), cooperation that we hope will transcend the traditional relationships between artists (creators) and recipients (participants) and become co-creators.
—What goals do you aspire to with this conceptual platform that you propose for the 15th edition?
The idea could also be summed up in José Martí’s famous phrase “homeland is humanity”. Since the first Biennial in 1984, the possibility of contributing to building a better world has always been our driving force.
Now, more specifically in the field of art, we are interested in highlighting the possibility of collaboration in creative and research processes related to artistic experience, policies and mediation processes in the arts and across disciplines, understood as the possibility for art to intersect and build bridges of connection between different areas of knowledge.
—Does the biennial maintain its original purpose of promoting decolonisation as a concept? In what ways or spaces will you highlight this aspect?
The Havana Biennial cannot avoid its anti-colonial and decolonizing nature. Since its inception, the fact of establishing itself as the first international space for the dissemination, visibility and promotion of visual art from the geocultural zones identified today as the Global South is in itself a decolonizing and anti-colonial commitment.
Our most universal painter, Wifredo Lam, asserted in an interview the idea that his painting was in itself an act of decolonisation.
For the Havana Biennial, at present, the mere fact of existing is an act of decolonisation.
Beyond this, the primary aim of our event continues to be contrary to the interests of capital and neocolonial centres of power. The fact that the West recognizes and praises the cultural values of our peoples often includes a paternalistic attitude of the so-called developed countries towards those in the developing world. The Biennial continues to fight because the recognition of our values prevails, first of all, among ourselves and from our own judgments.
—How many artists will participate and from which countries?
In this Biennial we will have about 240 artists from 57 countries, a large list to which we should add Cuban artists, both those directly invited to the event, and those who will be participating collaterally in the programme with exhibition projects, open studios and other initiatives.
Unfortunately we have very few African and Asian artists, because despite all the decolonization efforts we are making today—although it may seem absurd—on many occasions the distance between two countries relatively close on the map, such as Brazil and Guinea, is in practice amazingly long. In the same way, it is easier for African artists to attend an event in Europe than in Latin America.
—How can an artist be part of the Biennial? In the case of Cuba, can only artists who belong to the National Council of Visual Arts participate?
Based on the interests defined in the conceptual platform of each Biennial, the team of curators investigates which artists could contribute with their artworks to the creation of the symphony that constitutes the Biennial; Each artist contributes, so to speak, an instrument, a particular sound.
Artists present their proposals for projects that are analysed by the curatorial team, but in reality it is not an open call. There is no pre-requisite membership, nor do we ask anyone if they belong to one thing or another.
—What place do young artists occupy within the Biennial’s programme?
Historically, the Havana Biennial has paid a lot of attention to young or emerging art and has launched countless unknown artists to fame over the years.
Unlike most similar international events that privilege the presence of famous figures for their media value, very many Cuban and foreign artists have had their first participation in an event of this category at the Havana Biennial.
We also work very closely with the ISA University of the Arts and San Alejandro art school, where there important exhibitions and projects have taken place in each Biennial. Also, given the enormous quantity and quality of our artists, we organize a program of collateral exhibitions in collaboration with the Centre for the Development of Visual Arts that gives special attention to the youngest generation.
—What are you doing to involve the public who don’t know much about art? What are you doing to attract young people?
Mediation or building bridges is one of the topics that interest us most, so we have planned lots of workshops and shows in public spaces, and other things to attract young people.
We also hope to have some music concerts in collaboration with visual artists that should appeal to young people.
—How will the XV Biennial be better? What experiences, positive and negative, have inspired you when creating this Biennial?
I do not believe that one can say one Biennial is superior to another. In every previous event, the organizing team has faced various challenges and has solved them according to the possibilities available at the time, in my opinion, always with a lot of intelligence and flexibility.
The Havana Biennial, unlike most of the counterpart events in the world, has always been organized from the same nucleus, the team of curators at the Wifredo Lam Centre for Contemporary Art. This has allowed the event to evolve in such a way that each new edition maintains an idea of continuity with the previous one.
It may be that, for the public, depending on their tastes or preferences, one biennial seems better or worse, but from my point of view the bases for these judgments are usually quite superficial.
However, I could say that for me the most memorable have been the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 12th, but my reasons are not objective enough either because it is impossible to do an analysis of this type without handling a huge amount of information about each edition.
In general, the most interesting thing is to be able to appreciate how there is a line of development that transcends even the changes of direction of the Biennial, because, although over the years the directors have changed and in a certain way each one has contributed his or her stamp to the event, essentially there has not been a process of evolution by leaps.
Each edition neither rejects nor competes with the previous one. In a way, the Biennale is like a living organism that adapts to circumstances in order to survive. In the same way that a person does not change radically unless he or she suffers a traumatic experience that involves a mutation in his or her development, a cultural process such as the Havana Biennial has maintained a coherent line of evolution over the years.
– How do you assess the current state of visual arts in Cuba?
Art is one of the most subjective and elusive concepts developed by the human intellect. Their nature is constantly changing, and strangely, each new stage adds value to the previous one.
In the sciences, each new discovery can cancel out the value of the previous discovery; in art it does not happen in the same way. The visual arts have become increasingly complex by evolving to increasingly sophisticated experimental and processual forms, however, that has not detracted from the more traditional ones.
In our country, the number of artists and public interested in art statistically exceeds that of most countries in the world.
Although many people may have a very critical view, I believe that as long as there is a significant percentage of the population that considers the condition of artist as an aspiration for self-improvement, and the need to be good at what they do prevails in artists, over that of making money, it will mean the arts in Cuba is in very good health.
—From your experience in the organizing committee, how can the Havana Biennial, through art, contribute to the improvement of society?
The existence of an event like the Havana Biennial in our country is in itself a considerable help to the development of society.
On occasions when societies are plunged into depression due to coercion such as economic or health crises like covid-19—as happened in Matanzas at the beginning of 2022—the launch of a cultural event like this is a ray of hope, and can contribute substantially to the improvement of society.
Looking at it in a more “academic” way, art exists and develops within a unique logic of multidimensional, multitemporal and multidimensional thinking. This allows the artist to find total lynew and often unexpected ways for the progress of any other discipline of knowledge.
It allows you to choose, perhaps based on intuition, the best solution without having all the variables to calculate the best path. This may seem like an unnecessary skill, but many decisive advances in human history have been made possible by these less Aristotelian forms of thought and analysis.
–What are the expectations for this 15th Biennial?
We have expectations, but we are also aware that we will face many difficulties, not as many as during the 14th edition, which we opened just after covid-19, when we still had restrictions on the number of people admitted to closed spaces, with practically no budget; but it will be difficult anyway.
On this occasion we have appealed to the passion that Cuban and foreign artists feel for Cuba and for the Havana Biennial.
I could say that our greatest expectation is that this edition will be coherent enough with the history of the event and relevant in itself to ensure continuity.
This will depend above all on our ability to harmonize all the energies that move with the Biennal and make them come together in such a way that the artists feel that they have had the opportunity to grow together with the event.
Cuba 50 
You must be logged in to post a comment.