Global Contemporary Art Tourism: Engaging with Cuban Authenticity Through the Bienal de La Habana

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article addresses the role of the Bienal de La Habana in the production of local authenticity for international contemporary art travelers. Since 1984, this biennial art exhibition has mirrored Cuba’s international policy interests with its selection of artworks, from an initial promotion of nonaligned international solidarity to an increasing visibility of North American and European artists. Under the motto “Between idea and experience”, its 2015 iteration favorited site-specific and socially engaged art works that “blurred the limits between art and life”, reportedly facilitating the encounter between international art tourists and local residents in Havana in their quotidian private and public living spaces. This analysis is framed by the State’s current tourism campaign “Cuba Auténtica”, which highlights the nation’s “rich cultural tradition, [its] history and immaterial heritage, [its] visual and performing arts”, and will draw from data gathered from participant observation, archival research, and secondary literature analysis. This paper speaks to concerns about the staging of cultural uniqueness for niche tourism publics, such as the elite international community of contemporary art tourists. The Cuban case further illustrates the convergence of the cultural industries with tourism development in developing regions negotiating access to the international market economy.