Some contemporary Cuban artists demand that their works exhibited in the National Museum of Fine Arts, as well as those that are on the museum’s website, are not exhibited until Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is released, there are no guarantees of access to his relatives to check his state of health and eliminate the “police fence” to which the Cuban government subjects the artist.
Renowned contemporary Cuban artists asked to remove their works from the Museum of Fine Arts in Havana in protest at what they consider to be the “kidnapping” of the creator and dissident Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, admitted and held incommunicado in a hospital for three weeks. Tania Bruguera, Tomás Sánchez, Marco Castillo (former member of Los Carpinteros), Jorge Luis Marrero, Sandra Ceballos, Celia-Yunior and Reynier Leyva Novo expressed the request in a letter addressed to the director of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Jorge Fernández Torres.
Within the protest carried out by artists in Cuba, we suggest: A revolution within the revolution
The demands of the artists
The group demands that its works exhibited in the permanent and temporary exhibition rooms of the National Museum of Fine Arts “be covered in such a way as to impede their communication with the public and that those that are not exhibited “, as long as three demands are not met: the immediate release and return home of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, the guarantee of access to his relatives to check his state of health and the elimination of the” police fence “to which the Government Cuban submits the artist. “We decided to bring out the letter with six names and other artists are joining,” said Tania Bruguera, known for her political interpretations, as well as for having participated in events at the Tate Modern in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. , and for having been under house arrest in Havana for more than three months.
Bruguera assured that some of the signatories have a good relationship with the Museum of Fine Arts, so he hopes that its director “stands in defense of the artists, since the Ministry of Culture has not done so.” However, until now, the Cuban state and its institutions have limited themselves to accusing critical artists of carrying out subversive activities financed by the United States.
Three weeks in solitary confinement
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, 33 years old and declared a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International, was admitted to the Calixto Garcia hospital in Havana on May 2, after declaring a week on hunger and thirst strike to protest the constant police harassment and the destruction of several of his works. Organizations, activists and close associates of the opponent have been demanding his release for days, considering that he is being held against his will in the hospital center, where a strong security device is deployed and he is not allowed to make phone calls, connect to the internet or receive visits from your partner or friends.
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In recent months, the artists’ collective has been the most protesting against the Cuban government, whom they accuse of not respecting freedom of expression and silencing critical voices with repressive tactics. These critical artists are organized in the 27N Movement, articulated after on November 27 of last year more than 300 figures from the cultural field and supporters peacefully gathered in front of the Ministry of Culture to demand freedom of expression and creation, as well as the cessation of police harassment. Artists, activists and independent journalists have denounced an increase in repression in recent months, which includes police surveillance, acts of repudiation, arbitrary detentions and house arrest without having committed any crime.