The College of New Jersey is set to present a video exhibition created by Cuban artists during the past 10 years.
This is the first time many of the works featured Video Cubano are being presented in the United States.
Video Cubano is a project of The 8th Floor, a private exhibition and event space in New York City established to promote cultural and philanthropic initiatives.
Three years ago, the project began as an experiment to engage with artists who rarely have the opportunity to exhibit their work outside of Cuba and who have traditionally been excluded from publicly funded exhibitions due to U.S. sanctions. Beginning as an open call for video art, Video Cubano inaugurated in 2010 at The 8th Floor and subsequently toured the country.
The artworks presented in Video Cubano explore a dynamic worldview through a lens of Cuban culture.
Artist in the exhibition include Jeosviel Abstengo-Chaviano, Analia Amaya, Alexandre Arrechea, Adonis Flores, Amilkar Feria Flores, Luis Garciga, Ricardo Miguel Hernandez, Hamlet Lavastida, Ernesto Leal, Glenda León, Duniesky MartÃn, Geandy PavÏŒn, Sandra Ramos, Javier Castro Rivera, Lázaro Saavedra, José Toirac, and Yoxi Velázquez.
The works by these artists, many of whom were born in the 1970s and 80s, present a kaleidoscope of the cultural, social, and political life in contemporary Cuba. Many videos examine particular aspects of daily life in Cuba, including the cityscape, baseball, ballet, political propaganda, and the military, while other videos explore universal themes of identity, self-imagery, perseverance, and survival.
Rachel Perera Weingeist, senior advisor to the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, curated the exhibition. As collectors of Cuban art, The Rubin’s are dedicated to providing opportunities for artists, as well as preserving the rich culture of the island.
Weingeist is scheduled to present Frames of Cuba, a talk on video and contemporary art in Cuba, 4 to 5 p.m. Oct. 23.
Also scheduled is a one-night presentation of Jose Toirac’s 2005 video and installation Requiem, a work based on films from October 10, 1967 of the slain body of Che Guevara in Vallegrande, Bolivia.
Artist Geandy Pavon is set to lecture on Vanitas: The Political Still Life 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Nov. 8 in Mayo Concert Hall in TCNJ’s Music Building. Born in Cuba and educated at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Pavón currently lives in New Jersey. The event is part of Center for the Art’s Brown Bag lecture series.
Video Cubano is scheduled to be on display Oct. 23 through Dec. 15 at TCNJ’s Art Gallery in the Arts and Interactive Multimedia Building, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing. Gallery hours are 12 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.
More information is online at tcnj.edu/artgallery.
