An exhibit of Afro-Cuban art, the first of its kind in South Florida, features paintings with vibrant colors and bold images reminiscent of West African tribal art. It opened at the University of Miami on February 17, showcasing the wide range of artistic expression by African descendant people from Cuba and the Afro-Cuban Diaspora.
The exhibit, entitled “Africa in Cuba,” celebrates Black History Month. Featured are works by Afro-Cuban artists Tómas Esson, Armando Marino, Nicholás Guillién Landrián, Duwane Coates, Manuel Mendive, Lupe Lawrence, and Africana Studies Professor Patti Rose; and film screenings by Afro-Cuban film makers Nicholás Guillién Landrián, Sergio Geral, and Gloria Rolando.
Sponsor and curator
Dr. Edmund Akaba, associate professor of history, is chairman of UM’s Department of Art & Art History and Africana Studies, sponsor of the show. Akaba wore to the opening a shirt from Ghana with a lively embroidered design. He says African Diaspora arts have global significance not only in music, but also in photography, painting, crafts, and other artistic creations. His interest in Africa in Cuba stems from a desire to showcase the African Diaspora contribution to global culture.
Curator of the exhibit is Ludlow Bailey, managing director of a gallery, Asmar Fine Art, and of G&A International Consultants, Inc., in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. In the 1990s he was general manager of Trans World Airlines’ Latin American and Caribbean Division in Miami, and operated a gallery in North Miami.
Bailey believes that Afro-Cuban artists may be creating some of the world’s best contemporary visual art.
The show is in UM’s College of Arts & Sciences Gallery, located in the Wesley Foundation building at 1210 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables. It will run through March 5.
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