The National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba denied the request of a group of contemporary artists from the country who, in the form of protest, demand to hide or remove their works exhibited there, in the face of what they consider the “kidnapping” of Luis Manuel by the authorities Otero Alcántara, Cuban dissident and creator.
“The Museum does not accept a demand that does not agree with the vocation of service of our institution, nor with the interest of the public to whom it is due,” said the institution in a statement in response to the request of a group of artists critical of the government Cuban to remove his works from the place. The Museum of Fine Arts, which is temporarily closed to the public due to the pandemic, assures that it has used funds from the state budget to acquire works by Cuban creators of all generations and tendencies, including those of rebellious artists. He argues that these works are given “a legitimate and beneficial use for citizens” and that “no situation outside the museum field can pretend to violate this museological procedure.” This Fine Arts note responds to the demand of a group of contemporary Cuban artists, including Tomás Sánchez, Marco Castillo (former member of Los Carpinteros) and Tania Bruguera.
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An initial group of eight signatories was joined by more artists throughout the week, with a total of 24 managers, as well as the Amelia Peláez Foundation, who by letter require the museum to cover their works exhibited in the exhibition rooms permanent and temporary, as well as those that they have on their website be removed. They also raised three demands: the release of the opposition artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (declared a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International), access to his relatives to check his health, and the elimination of the “police fence” to which the Government subjects him. .
According to the lawyer Eloy Viera, Cuban legislation does not include the right of withdrawal and there is no jurisprudence in a case like this, so it is difficult for the authors to set the precedent to achieve the concealment or withdrawal of their works from the museum.
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Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, 33, was admitted to the Calixto García hospital in Havana on May 2, after a week on hunger strike. Since then, he has been held incommunicado without being able to make phone calls, connect to the internet or receive visits from his partner and friends. The artists’ collective has been in recent months the most rebellious against the Cuban government, which they accuse of not respecting freedom of expression and silencing critical voices with repressive tactics, such as police surveillance, acts of repudiation, arbitrary detentions and house arrests without having committed any crime. The Cuban government, for its part, considers critical artists to be “mercenaries” paid by the US government to subvert order on the island.
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