Tamarind Connects with Cuban Artists

Taller Experimental, a printmaking studio and gallery in Havana, Cuba, was buzzing with activity when Tamarind Institute Director Marjorie Devon visited last month. The purpose of Devon’s trip was to arrange for a Cuban lithographer’s visit to Tamarind this summer.

“There is a vibrant community of visual and performing artists in Cuba and. many of them have established reputations abroad despite travel restrictions,” she said. The graphic arts have a strong tradition and continue to thrive with many contemporary artists working in print media at Taller Experimental as well as in smaller private studios around Havana.

Devon’s visit coincided with the Havana Biennale, an exhibition of work from around the world. The biennale spills from the main venue at El Morro, a Spanish fort built in 1589, into the streets and throughout Havana’s many galleries and museums.

On her third visit to Cuba, Devon was gratified to be able to hand-deliver a copy of Tamarind’s newly published authoritative resource on fine art lithography, “Tamarind Techniques for Fine Art Lithography.”

Tamarind hopes this will be the beginning of an ongoing exchange with Cuban artists, in cooperation with the Latin American and Iberian Institute.

Story by Shelly Smith