Sancti Spíritus: a Tribute to Visual Arts in the 500th Anniversary

On June 4, such visual arts expressions as painting and photography joined the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the foundation of Sancti Spíritus, the fourth Cuban village. Despite the fact that the program of the Cultural Days, developed in early June, didn’t include the name of most of the shows, the display carried out by Cuban painter, sculptor and ceramist Ever Fonseca, 2012 National Visual Arts Award, stood as a gift to the city. With tens of solo shows and over 400 collective exhibitions in more than 25 countries, the prize-winning artist opened a solo show in Oscar Fernández Morera Art Gallery, on June 3. That very day, the same cultural institution hosted a display by Alicia Leal, another outstanding Cuban artist that has also showcased her work in Cuba and overseas; artworks created by this artist, who was born in Taguasco, Sancti Spíritus, are exhibited in the Center of Cuban Studies, New York, University of St.Thomas, Houston, Texas, and The National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston. The same gallery witnessed another reverence to the village by photographer Raúl Abreu, who opened a solo show in early 2014 in Trinidad, Mankind’s Cultural Heritage, within the context of the 500th anniversary of that city. Antonio Díaz’s “Congratulations, City” joined the birthday celebration and was exhibited in the venue of Cuba’s Artists and Writers Union in Sancti Spíritus; the fairly so-called Painter of the City found in the half millennium of the city another leit motiv to recall urban scenery, from his poetic approach. Prensa Latina’s office hosted the opening of a model of “Trip to the Infinite”, by acclaimed creators José Perdomo and Wilfredo Prieto, one of the flagship names in Cuba’s recent visual arts, with tens of collective and solo shows carried out from Tokyo to New York. Last but not least, the opening of 2014 City Hall, in Oscar Fernández Morera Gallery, in order to get closer to different creative styles, including photography. All of that visual richness was within the reach of the people in Sancti Spíritus, who found in those proposals moments of aesthetic growth.

Source: Radio Sancti Spiritus