No Es Fácil, Cuba (It’s Not Easy, Cuba): Contemporary Art from Cuba October 16 to December 14, 2003 Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond Museums On October 21, 2003, the Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond Museums, will open the exhibition No Es Fácil, Cuba (It’s Not Easy, Cuba): Contemporary Art from Cuba with the premiere of a documentary full-length film titled “Cuban Artists Speak” on Monday evening, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Center for the Arts. The documentary was made by Magoyafilms, a company started by three young filmmakers in Argentina. Filmed in the spring of 2003, the film highlights the lives of artists living and working in Cuba today through dialogues with the artists.
According to the filmmakers, the purpose of this film is neither to offer an examination of Cuban painting and art nor to reflect any particular political belief. Their art translates Cuban strength for enduring the transformations that their country has been constantly suffering in the last decade. The account of the artists’ lives and their work relate not only to the history of the Revolution but also to contemporary Cuban issues. Thus the movie also reveals Cuba’s reality in its own complexity and contradictions by examining the daily lives of these artists, their struggles to create and exhibit, and to support themselves and their families overcoming the obstacles of their environment. Another significant theme shown in their works is the importance Cuban artists give to work, patience, and time. The University will host two of the filmmakers, Sebastián Schindel and Fernando Molnar, during a weeklong stay, and students in various courses will have a special opportunity to discuss their work and filmmaking techniques with the artists. The film was produced with the generous support of the Associated Colleges of the South in association with the Spanish Program of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Richmond and the University of Richmond Museums.