A Florida public art exhibition has been thrown into jeopardy after two US-based artists, one Cuban and one Chinese, were criticised for their apparent pro-communist political beliefs.
Local politicians in the town of Coral Gables said they were not prepared to approve an increase in budget for the Illuminate Coral Gables festival if Sandra Ramos and Cai Guo-Qiang were included.
‘It is very easy to make comments on the record supporting communism and saying that communism is a great idea, but they are here in the United States taking American money’, Vince Lago, the city mayor, said at a town meeting. ‘At the end of the day, that doesn’t bode well for me.’
Lago, who is Cuban-American, describes himself as a ‘strong proponent of arts and culture’ and has served on the board of Locust Projects for more than 10-years, a Miami non-profit contemporary art organization that supports emerging and mid-career artists. He also served on the City of Miami’s arts and entertainment council. Additionally, he is on the board of directors of the Coral Gables Museum.
Ramos, who moved from Havana to Miami in 2014, is no stranger to censorship in the US. Her work at an exhibition at the Perez Art Museum Miami in 2017, On the Horizon: Contemporary Cuban Art, received criticism from Miami’s Cuban exile community for apparently depicting the Caribbean island fondly.
Cai is known for his dramatic pyrotechnical installations and for using gunpowder as a medium.
An open letter signed by several scholars of Cuban history and culture noted the hypocrisy of the situation. ‘Trying to interfere with the curator’s decision about what or who to include, however, and demanding the exclusion of certain artists, are acts of censorship. These acts are similar to those experienced by artists in Cuba every day, against which they have protested tirelessly over the years.’
The Miami Herald reports that the festival’s curator, Lance Fung, has since quit.
