Espacio Aglutinador(Gathering space) was born two decades ago as an “emergency room” and autonomous square for promoting and developing Visual Arts.
“I can assure you it was not planned, not carefully organized, nor created over theoretical foundations or interests or backgrounds; it just emerged by accident” noted to OnCuba artist and curator Sandra Ceballos, the soul and manager of this space settled in her house until last April 6, when it started a tour all over the country.
During the early 90’s, difficult moments every Cuban recalls, we needed an emerging cultural space in the country to carry out more daring and less prejudiced projects free from censorship.
We needed a space for exhibiting visual arts away from canonized boundaries and methodologies for the promotion of officially established arts such as promoting established or new artists from the Cuban Higher Institute of the Arts (ISA by its acronym in Spanish), leaving aside talented artists that had been moved away from the cultural systemic infrastructure of that time. We demanded a place where art weren’t judged by the personality or the attitude of its creators, a place free from taboos that prevented exiled Cuban artists to exhibit their work in Cuba, a place free from bureaucratic mechanisms and purist positions, a place for creating and recycling good art. “By that time artist Ezequiel Suarez was to open a personal exhibit in the 23 and 12 Gallery, but unfortunately it was not possible because some of his works were censored for their “indecent, frenzied and challenging” content against Cuban cultural institutions, so we decided to exhibit them at my place. Ezequiel was living with me at the time because we were a couple in life and in arts. The idea was well received by other artists that have supported it till present day”, she explained.
Some people say 20 years is not much
It was not the first home to host a plastic arts exhibit, previously Jose Manuel Fors had hosted an exhibition with the artists of Volume 1 at his place; but it was the first time in Cuba to open a private cultural space with such complexity, curatorial logistics,and so rigorously demanding in terms of quality of the pieces and artists, and –contradictorily– with an anarchist and eclectic spirit in its aesthetic and conceptual principles.
The main idea is to gather and exhibit all kinds of artists: Cuban and foreigners, old and young, graduated and self-taught, famous and emerging, heterosexual and homosexual, men and women, believers and non-believers from any political association, modest or self-sufficient, as long as they have the necessary quality and the required doses of honesty and unease in the creation of true art. “We were used to bringing together in an exhibit famous and unknown artists, graduates from art institutions and self-taught, artists exiled and others living in Cuba.
Throughout these 20 years we have carefullycarried out our work with marginalized artists by institutions and their own personality, their attitude, or their precarious economic situation.
Thus, we have exhibited works by imprisoned artists, street sellers, alcoholics, mentally challenged and religious people; as well as by successful artists supported by the cultural governmental system”, stated Ceballos. There they have organized more than a hundred personal and collective exhibits, performances, among other cultural activities. It is important to highlight the stage of Aglutinador Laboratorio (Gathering lab), the creation of the Museum of Manic Art (MAM by its acronym in Spanish) and the Experimental Quick Organized Response Proposal scholarships (PERRO by its acronym in Spanish) with the support of several European foundations and Sandra´s own economy.
Two conflicting but interesting projects were Curadores go home (2008) and Curadores come home (2013), which showed that despite all differences they can coexist within the same operative system of a certain cultural structure and that everything is valid as long as they are good because “poles apart need to interact in order to create an intelligent and dialectical balance”.
Sandra assured that this space has gained a spot in artists, critics, art fans and collectors from all over the world. New positions have risen and have been assumed by emerging curators and artists in general as a result of the aesthetics and concepts of the exhibits hosted in EspacioAglutinador.
Itis not breaking apart.
Not at all, it changes and it expands for the necessary period of time. The house (located in 25 and 6 streets) is closed for the exhibits. “We have decided to close it after all these enriching but unquestionably aggressiveyearsfor my private life, to tour and engage other public places in and out the capital city”, pointed out Sandra. The next activity organized by the project will take place in July and its curator can only share with us its title: Brujas y tambien brujos. It will deal with the topic of witchcraft worldwide since the beginning of humankind till present day, covering traditions, religions, spells, enchantments, and philosophies from different historic moment and places.
As it has already proven, Espacio Aglutinador is always in renovation in order to create alternative projects for its alternativeness.
Author
Cecilia Crespo
