Images available upon request
This January students and faculty from the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) returned from several weeks in Cuba where they inaugurated a new program, the first of its kind, at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), Cuba's leading art school. The first time that the Cuban government has invited a partnership with an American art school at this level, the program includes a new department of study at ISA, as well as a series of joint seminars between the two institutions. The newly formalized relationship between SFAI and ISA is designed to shape the international dialogue of an increasingly global art community.
Art Institute New Genres professor Tony Labat, who will be honored this year as a seminal video/performance artist in Cuba's first Festival del Cinema Pobre, was invited by ISA to co-create Arte de Conducta (Art of Behavior), a new department at the Cuban school, with noted Cuban artist Tania Bruguera. The program, the first of its kind in Cuba, focuses on new genres, performance art, and new media installations.
While the January trip was the first official collaborative course between the two schools, the relationship between the SFAI and ISA dates back to 1999, when Labat led a travel/studio class to Havana. Labat, instigator and primary organizer of the Art Institute's portion of the exchange describes the first expedition to Cuba as an adventure into "the unknown." "Initially, we were invited by an art consortium of three Cuban artists known as Los Carpinteros to go to Cuba to develop a dialogue, particularly about conceptual art," says Labat. "Our students met both the traditional and contemporary artist communities in Cuba, and began what has now become a more deeply developed joint program of study and a true on-going interchange of ideas, new technologies, and experiences for all involved."
The initial class was such a success that several Cuban artists were invited to visit and teach at the Art Institute in subsequent years. Los Carpinteros, as well as Tania Bruguera and Raul Cordero, have recently taught in the school's New Genres Department and were commissioned to develop new work in collaboration with and assisted by SFAI students. During Fall 2001 and spring of 2002 the works were included in four exhibitions in the school's galleries. As the interaction between the two schools increased, ISA proposed the establishment of the new department at their institution.
The joint seminars will comprise a key component of the new program at ISA, and have been integrated into the SFAI curriculum. Nineteen SFAI students and twenty ISA students participated in January's two-week long intensive course, co-taught by Labat and Bruguera on the ISA campus, which is housed on the grounds of a pre-Castro era country club. Seminars will alternate between countries, the next being at SFAI in Fall 2003.
In recent years Cuba has positioned itself as a leader in the dialogue between what has been traditionally viewed as developed and underdeveloped nations. The Havana Biennial, established in 1984, has played a key role in introducing artists from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America to a contemporary market that has often overlooked them. According to Dermis P. León in the Winter 2001 Art Journal, "This global scope has changed the balance of power in the international art world by focusing critical attention away from the dominant cultural centers toward the periphery." Many artists first shown at the Havana Biennial are now routinely exhibited at more mainstream international exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale in Italy and Documenta in Kassel, Germany.
The new formalized exchange program provides an important opportunity for Art Institute students to have in-depth, first-hand experiences with students and artists based in a country that is shaping the dialogue of a new global art world, and that until very recently, has been all but inaccessible to citizens of the United States. "Clearly, we all have a great deal to learn from one another as individuals and as cultures," says Labat. "While the politics of our countries are diametrically opposed on many grounds, as artists, we work toward the same goal. This new department at ISA and the cross-cultural program we've produced will open possibilities where none existed before."
The San Francisco Art Institute, which celebrated its 130th Anniversary in 2001, is one of the leading art schools in the United States. Focusing solely on the fine arts, SFAI has a distinguished history and a long list of affiliated artists who have won prestigious grants and fellowships, many of whom are included in major national and international exhibitions, and are held in museum collections throughout the United States.
The Institute Superior de Arte, which is housed on the grounds of what was once one of Havana's more exclusive country clubs during the pre-Castro era, is the leading fine art university in Cuba. Areas of study include: Music, Theatre, Dance, Media, Communications and Audiovisual Arts, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Audiovisual Communication.
SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE GALLERIES, VISITING ARTISTS, AND PROGRAMS
The Walter and McBean Galleries are open Tuesday--Saturday, 11am--6 pm. The Diego Rivera Gallery is open daily 8 am to 10 pm and, in addition to the renowned Rivera mural, features weekly exhibitions of student work. Receptions are every Tuesday, 5--7 pm. Swell Gallery, located in the Center for Graduate Programs, features student curated exhibitions, Monday -- Friday, 9-5 pm, and by appointment. For show listings go to www.sfai.edu and click on "this week's events," or call 415/749-4563.
Visiting Artists and Public Programs: The San Francisco Art Institute integrates its academic and public programs by providing visiting artists with opportunities to create new work utilizing the resources of the institution and by engaging directly with students over an extended period of time. Foremost in our efforts are residencies with national and international artists who take advantage of this unique creative environment by participating in activities including commissioned projects, exhibitions, public lectures, and critiques. For more information, contact: Exhibitions and Public Programs 415/749-4563, [email protected].
Educational Programs at The San Francisco Art Institute Academic Program include accredited Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees, and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in digital media, film, new genres, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture; as well as community education program of studio, art history, and theory classes for adults and teens. For more information contact: Admissions 1/800/345-7234, [email protected]; Community Education 415/749-4554, [email protected].
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