Cuban Art Exhibit Showing.. Sand Springs Museum..!

[Rico]

Sand Springs museum hosts Cuban art exhibit
By Mike Averill World Staff Writer
12/6/2006



For most Americans, Cuba remains a mystery -- a resort island whose beaches, cigars and culture are off-limits.

The Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum is offering a small slice of the country's culture with its newest exhibit.

The museum has partnered with the Eastern Cuba Cultural Exchange and the Meridian International Center to present Cuba Oriente: Contemporary Painting from Eastern Cuba.

The exhibit features 60 works from many Cuban artists depicting the Oriente, or eastern, region of the island.

"This is a chance to appreciate another culture that very little is known about because of (Fidel) Castro and communism," said Adeline Southerland, museum curator.

The exhibit has been on tour in the U.S. since 2002 and this is the first time it's been on display in Oklahoma, Southerland said.

"It's exceptionally wonderful to get the opportunity to share this with the public. It's such a wonderful thing," Southerland said.

"This is a place we're not supposed to get to see and not supposed to know about.

"We're not supposed to see these beautiful pieces of artwork."

Located about 650 miles from Havana,
the Oriente region is often referred to as the heartland of Cuban culture, something that is reflected in the vibrant works in the exhibit.

Southerland said paintings provide a look at the country from its residents' point of view.

"You can see their point of view in the paintings … where to us it might look like slumlord stuff, they see the same thing as beautiful," she said, referring to many of the village and city scenes depicted in the paintings.

The exhibit includes a running video biography of the artists.

According to its Web site, the Eastern Cuba Cultural Exchange was formed to foster an environment of goodwill through the sharing of cultural ideas and the celebration of diversity.

Meridian International Center is a nonprofit institution that promotes international understanding through the exchange of people, ideas and the arts.

"We are thrilled to be able to share this exhibit with our neighbors. We hope everyone will come and experience these magnificent paintings with us," said Jan Powell, chairwoman of the Museum Trust Authority.

Exhibit

What: Cuba Oriente: Contemporary Painting from Eastern Cuba

When: The exhibit runs through Dec. 29

Where: Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum, 9 E. Broadway Ave.

Cost: free

For more: call the museum at 246-2509