Exercises to be Happy: Ephemeral Practices in 1980s Cuba
On view: May 21–August 13, 2022
Co-curated with Glexis Novoa, this exhibition brings together a selection of images, videos, and facsimiles that document ephemeral and performance practices in Cuba in the 1980s. Titled after Lorna Burdsall’s “Felicicios,” or exercises to be happy, the exhibition reveals a variety of artistic strategies and methods—from conceptual and formal artistic explorations to more confrontational performance practices which involved actions such as interrupting panel discussions and artists’ presentations, trampling on political icons, turning exhibitions into decadent parties, and generally adhering to nihilistic attitudes. The exhibition is part of a 3-year research project that will culminate in an authoritative volume on the period and its practices. In addition, the material in this exhibition will form part of [NAME]’s Migrant Archive—a physical and online repository of cultural documents, supported by the Knight Foundation. Migrant Archives is drawn from artists who are part of the displaced communities that now call South Florida home.
ARTISTS
Lorna Burdsall & ASÍ SOMOS
Williams Carmona
Equipo Hexágono (Consuelo Castañeda, Humberto Castro, Sebastián Elizondo, Antonio Eligio Fernández (TONEL), Abigail García and María Elena Morera)
Ex-members of ARTE CALLE (Max Delgado, Offil Echevarría, Ernesto Leal and Ariel Serrano)
Manuel Mendive
Glexis Novoa
Carlos Rodríguez Cárdenas
Ariel Serrano
