***  Haus der Kulturen der Welt: Forum1 Archive  ***
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   [Date]: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 07:21:50 +0100
   [From]: Pat Binder <pat@uinic.de>
     [To]: forum1@hkw.kbx.de
[Subject]: Seventh Biennial of Havana

Dear members of the forum,

I am posting here the press release of the next Havana Biennial, we have
received from the Centro Wifredo Lam. I thought it would be of interest
for you, because it "intends to reflect communication and dialogue among
human beings in the midst of global, economic projects and the
re-emergence of ethnic, religious and cultural particularisms which seem
to increasingly accentuate the differences among the various communities
and nations of the world". 

For getting the Spanish text please email me directly: pat@uinic.de 

Los que deseen recibir el texto de la Bienal de la Habana en espanol,
contactenme directamente: pat@uinic.de

pat binder


       

WIFREDO LAM
CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER

Seventh Biennial of Havana
November-December 2000



Since 1984, the Biennial of Havana has represented one of the most
significant art gatherings in the world.

Originally  conceived for Latin American and Caribbean artists, since
its second edition in 1986, it became the space for confrontation and
dissemination od wide sectors of the visual arts from Asia, Africa and
the Middle East, where not only the work of up-moving artists were
exhibited next to renowned names but also different expressions of
handicraft, design, architecture, enfin, all that makes up the visual
world of our geographic-cultural regions.

In 1989, the third time it was held, The Biennial of Havana set itself 
the task of structuring a series of exhibits, creation workshops and
colloquia always around a central theme of reflection, which on that
occasion was Tradition and Contemporaneity. Several places of the
Historic center of Havana, as well as its modern areas welcomed hundreds
of art works together with curators, art critics, historians, directors
of museums and galleries, professors. A large part of the city also
served as a stage to present the best of contemporary Cuban art, in a
clear show of interest to profit from the visit of so many professionals
from the world over.

   In 1991, this cultural event was articulated around the theme
Challenge to Colonization or artistic languages, and four great masters
of Latin American architecture were paid homage. In the 1994 fifth
edition, the Biennial of Havana addresses some of the important problems
that most of humanity faces today, in five big collective shows:
marginalization, migration, environment, individual appropriationsand
obsessions, while the idea of having individual exhibitions to highlight
the trajectory ofartists who had achieved certain fame in our regions
gained ground.

   The last edition, held in 1997, emphasized the problem of Memory as
an essential factor in the definition of individual and collective
identities, offering a varied program of how it is experienced by
artists and cultures so geographically apart. The topic was aldo
addressed for several day through works of plastic art and performances.

   The next edition of the Biennial, scheduled for November and December
of the year 2000, intends to reflect communication and dialogue among
human beings in the midst of global, economic projects and the
re-emergence of ethnic, religious and cultural particularisms which seem
to increasingly accentuate the differences among the various communities
and nations of tle world.

   From the most out-of-the-way places to the most important cities of
any country, many individuals, institutions, and governments send and
receive messages dealing with the simplest and most complex of problems.
Beyond and illusion or desire, a large part of the modern world is
intercommunicated today thanks to the technological progress made in the
field of information. We are seeing the birth od a new age which will
take definite shape in the coming new century and third millennium of
Humanity.

   However, given the differences existing among rich and poor nations,
this level of intercommunication does nor develop equitably. In today's
world hundreds of millions of persons still lack the necessary means to
exercise what seems to be a universal right. Furthermore, all the
progress made in computers, microprocessor and information technology
has not been able to bring individuals close as was thought at first,
since, paradoxically, having computerized and digitalized equipments
even in our homes has not led us to establish closer contacts with other
people; on the contrary, in many cases it has led to isolation and
immobility in order no to part for a single mment from that guiding line
which "communicates" us and is an inseparable part of many lives,
perhaps depriving us of the traditional sources of exchange that has
always made it possible to stay closer, to talk face to face, to
understand one another better. Many men and women today suffer from the
information and communication syndrome which is only a new face for the
loneliness syndrome.

   We have been subjected to so much development that we have ended up
underdeveloping ourselves in the field of personal relations. This
contemporary paradox is currently being analyzed by some sectors of
philosophical social thought and of culture, concerned about these
modern means of communication should effectively contribute to mere just
relations among individuals, among different communities and nations.

   Artists who live in rich countries and artists who live in poor
countries alike have felt the nearness of that abyss, because art has
not escaped that feeling and certainly of loneliness that rarefies the
current atmosphere, and today feel the urge to brake those barriers and
lay down bridges resorting to finding new ways and means that will make
for a better rapprochement among humans.

   In several parts of the planet thay ere trying to reconstruct
traditional forms and lost models of communication which humankind
achieved even in the midst of difficult living conditions, in an
end-of-the-century attempt to better know and understand one anothe and
coexist in an atmosphere of respect and peace which is so necessary to
overcome once and for all the persistent intolerance that has gradually
consolidated into one of the main evils of this 2oth Century and
threatens to extend timelessly to the 21st Century which its inevitable
sequels of ethnic, cultural and religious conflicts that oftentimes lead
to war.

   The Seventh Biennial of Havana, convoked for November and December of
the year 2000 by the Wifredo Lam Center, wishes to reflect upon this
important issue by means of artistic designs and works that propose and
effective dialogue among humans, an effective communication  to convey
the most authentic and noble values of our cultures, an inquiry about
the communicative barriers between art and the public, with the aim of
conjuring that evil, in order that can live on this planet in a more
equitable way.

   We see this Biennial as the end product of our viewpoints about some
of contemporary man's main problems, which have been systematically
addressed in previous editions, especially since 1991.

   The team of curators of the Biennial, following their usual working
method, will select the artists of different regions of the world who
can carry out their designs in situ or send their works to previously
identified old and modern parts of Cuba's capital. The expenses for
making and transporting the designs and works that will be exhibited
will be paid by the invited artists or their sponsoring institutions
after coordinating it with the Biennial production team, as a way to
contribute to the success of this event that has been able to keep up
because of its importance and transcendence in addressing significant
problems of humankind and its contemporary culture.

   The Organizing Committee is also to proposal of works and designs
that comply with the central reflection objectives stated here. The
convenience of carying them out will be assessed  even if they do not
belong to artists or countries of the regions that are our main object
of study.

   At the same time, the Organizing Committee proposes conducting a
Contemporary Engraving Workshop and a series of lectures related to the
global project of this Biennial. It was aldo, on this occasion, for the
first time, convoke art and architecture students to meetings, in which
educational centers of different parts of the world wishing to do so can
participate.

   Soon our curatos will begin their visits to the following regions:

Nelson Herrera Ysla		   Latin America
Ibis Hern‡ndez Abascal		Latin America
Margarita S‡nchez Prieto	Latin America
JosŽ M. Noceda Fern‡ndez	 The Caribbean
Hilda. M. Rodr’guez		   Asia
Magda I. Gonz‡lez Mora		çfrica

For further information and details get in touch with the following
address:

Centro de Arte Contempor‡neo Wifredo Lam
San Ignacio 22, esquina a Empedrado, Plaza de la Catedral
La Habana Vieja, Cuba
Tel: 537-612096 / 613419
Fax: 537-338477
E-mail: wlam@artsoft.cult.cu


Notice

By the end of this year, we expect to have at your disposal a CD-ROM
about the biennials of Havana held from 1984 to 1997, with ample
information abour artists, workshops, special exhibitions, lectures,
meetings. If you wish to purchase it or to obtain any type of
information, about it, please contact