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Cuban Art Factory marks ten years as Havana's art oasis

The Cuban Art Factory has been a creative hub in Havana for the last decade, offering a platform for local artists to showcase their talents despite challenges.

AFP

Cuban Art Factory offers a space for artistic expression unlike any other. / Photo: AFP

For ten years, the privately funded Cuban Art Factory in Havana has provided a space for local talent to exhibit their creations in what was once a train station.

The FAC, as it is known, has become internationally renowned as a gallery and nightclub — a place for expression in a country where saying what you think can land you in jail.

Every week, from Thursday to Sunday, hundreds of visitors pay the equivalent of $4 to attend music concerts, see plays, dance, or simply stroll, Mojito in hand, through its corridors replete with modern art.

AFP

Transformed from a train station, it’s a fusion of gallery and nightclub where freedom reigns.

"Here, you can see things you couldn't even imagine," Olivia Rodriguez, a 30-year-old musician, told AFP as she waited for renowned Cuban salsa singer Issac Delgado to come on stage.

"Since we opened here, this (venture) has been carried by artists, always focusing on the work and the message," X Alfonso, founder and leader of the avant-garde project, told AFP.

The provocative and light-hearted contributions of some artists have sometimes caused problems, admits Alfonso, but he does not want to dwell on the subject.

Hundreds of Cubans, including artists, are in jail for daring to speak out against the communist state or demonstrating against poverty amid the communist island's worst economic crisis in 30 years, marked by shortages of fuel, medicines and food. Countless others have fled into exile.

AFP

This former train station bursts with artistic expression, offering a unique blend of music, dance, and modern art alongside a taste of vibrant Cuban nightlife.

'Fuel station for the soul'

"We make art, those who want to turn it into politics can, that's their problem," said Alfonso, a composer and performer who won the 2022 Latin Grammy for best folk album with the group Sintesis, formed by his parents.

"It's like a fuel station for the soul," he added.

Like the city that harbours it, the FAC enjoyed prosperous years with the easing of ties between Cuba and the United States in 2015 under the presidency of Barack Obama (2009-2017).

But the good times did not last, with Donald Trump reversing most of his predecessor's overtures. Sanctions were toughened after a crackdown on protests in July 2021.