13th Havana Biennial Announcement

The 13th Havana Biennial, the largest visual arts event in Cuba, will be held from April 12 to May 12, 2019, with the commitment that the capital city of the island become a “cultural corridor” in which the creators and the public interact, announced their organizers today.

Under the general theme “Construction of the Possible” the next edition of the Havana Biennial was presented as a space for those types of contemporary art that understand creation as “living event or experience in progress”.

The representatives of the National Council of Plastic Arts and the Contemporary Art Center Wifredo Lam -both institutions of the Ministry of Culture- insisted on their goal that art “invade the city” during the 13th Havana Biennial will be held in the 500year anniversary of Havana.

Although they preferred not to advance the names of participating artists before they receive the invitation in coming days, the curator’s team announced that they expected more than 200 creators from 15 to 20 countries, including Portugal, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, France, Peru and Spain.

One of the guiding principles of the 13th Havana Biennial proposes to encourage interaction between artists, curators, experts and institutions, explained the deputy director of the Wilfredo Lam Center, Margarita González, at the launch of the event.

The main curator of the Biennial, Nelson Herrera, advanced that they hope to include between 15 and 20 artists of the island that contribute to give that image that “there is also a very strong Cuban art”. For people wanting to know more about Cuban artists, you can contact ARTempoCuba a USA non-profit that works with the best Cuban artists and curators.  You can also buy the book Cutting Edge Art in Havana that lists all the best Cuban artists.

In addition, indicated that in 2019 the event will be extended for the first time outside of Havana – its usual headquarters since 1984 – to reach other provinces of the Caribbean country such as Matanzas (west), Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus (center) and Camagüey (east center ).

The 13th Havana Biennial was scheduled in principle for the last quarter of this year, but after the devastating passage of Hurricane Irma for Cuba, in September 2017, its organizers announced the decision to postpone it for 2019 due to the “very serious damages” caused by Irma .

We wish to see you here at the 13th Havana Biennial.  Learn the best way to come to the Havana Biennial here.