A Private Art Collection
There is a rapacious creative talent in Havana: this is a city of virtuoso and ubiquitous singers, dancers, musicians and artists. It’s partially because the culture has always been elevated by the Castros; partially because when Cuba’s artists joined the international art market from the 1990s, making art became a viable way to make a decent, international living: you could earn significantly more as an artist than as a neuro-surgeon.
The city explodes with artistic possibility during Havana’s Arts Biennale, but any time of year, Cuba Private Travel can organize your private tour of Havana’s best artists (in their studio-homes), collectors, galleries (both state and public) and collectives; educate you on the finer points of Cuba’s Kafka-esque art-dealer scene, and lead you to what you seek with a bloodhound-like nose for your artistic tastes. If you are not in the market to buy we can give you a potted tour of Cuba’s vibrant artistic heritage, from its colonial genesis to the present day.
Sussette Martinez
Art curator - Cuba Private Travel Team
Whether you want to meet a feminist art collective, fine art that grapples with the problems in Cuba’s society and heritage head-on, challenging Socialist values and confronting issues of race and post-colonialism through a historical perspective; or discover the most vibrant new private studio-galleries, we can set it up.
For some lovers of the arts, the latest gallery openings and exhibitions, and the chance to buy direct from contemporary Cuban artists themselves in their private studios will not be enough of an exposure – they are seeking even more of an insider peek into the art scene here in Havana. For a true aficionado of the arts we will open the doors to the restored mansion of a prestigious collector of Latin American art, where you will find rooms populated with Cuban and associated art from the Vanguardia era onwards. These wonderful pieces range from the likes of Sandú Darié to the current darling of the contemporary Cuban art world Juan Roberto Diago. The owner has a prestigious foundation that promotes and celebrates the region.