Cuba: Artists Mold Havana's Face in Biennial

Havana.- Artists from various countries change today urban areas of this capital city on occasion of the 12th Biennial of Havana, the most important event of the plastic arts in Cuba. "To participate in the event, artists were requested to place their works in an urban and social environment", said director of the event Jorge Fernandez.

With that goal, more than 300 artists arrange their works in various areas of Havana seeking to have them ready for the opening of the Biennial on May 22.

"Foreign artists had to arrive in this city before the event to become familiar with public spaces and begin their works from that idea, but the response has been outstanding and the results highly beneficial to the aesthetic of some places in the city", said Fernandez.

"The Hershey train station, in Casablanca community, is different now, artists have recovered the video room there, they also asphalted the roads and replaced street lamps, while Reglaâ Ös motorboat has a new image thanks to the work carried out by an Afghan and a Cuban artist", said Fernandez.

Organizers chose atypical places for the works, like bookstores, parks, libraries, a former bicycle factory, public institutions like the Cuban Book Institute, an old peopleâ Ös home, the old thermoelectric power station Talla Piedra and the building Focsa, among others.

Malecon, the most famous avenue of the North coast in Havana, will host more than 50 projects.

The event, running until June 22, includes numerous works willing to mold Havanaâ Ös face.