​Art Education in Cuba 

This is a professional development program for art educators and artists interested in exploring how higher education and community institutions facilitate the learning of the arts.  The program will allow for a dialogue with Cuban experts and contemporary artists about professional, vocational and community art education approaches. Our journey will take us to the University of the Arts and the San Alejandro Academy to learn about the Cuban higher education system for fine arts education, the Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Restoration School in Old Havana facilitating the learning of crafts for architectural restoration and to community development projects such as Pelegrin's Patio in Pinar del Rio facilitating cultural development through the arts and sustainable food production. The program includes visits to the National Museum of Fine Arts, Old Havana, and the Valley of Viñales in Pinar del Rio.






What is included?


  • Orientation before departure
  • Travel Guide with tips for a safe, fun and informed trip
  • Emailed CubaInfoBytes about sites to be visited
  • Admission fees to museums in the itinerary
  • All in-Cuba ground transportation and airport transfers in AC vans
  • Six nights at B&B in Havana with daily breakfast
  • One night at Los Jasmines Hotel in Viñales
  • All breakfasts and two dinners
  • Seminars by Cuban expert in art education and community development projects
  • Field trips in Havana and Viñales Valley
  • Experienced bilingual Program Leader
  • License to travel to Cuba
  • Gratuities for servers in included meals, B&B staff and driver

What is not included?


  • $250 (estimate) round-trip airfare to Havana from Tampa on Southwest Airlines.

         Instructions to buy airline tickets will be provided after registration deadline. Tickets will   

        be booked online with Southwest Airlines using miles or a credit card; health insurance while in

        Cuba is included in the airfare.

  • $50 Cuban tourist visa

         Instructions to buy the visa will be provided after registration deadline. You may purchase the

         visa online before departure or at the Southwest check-in counter on the day of departure.

  • Meals not in itinerary
  • Airfare for a connecting flight to Tampa, if traveling to Florida from another state
  • Hotel accommodations (the night before departure), if traveling to Florida from another state
  • Trip interruption and cancellation insurance


For Payment and a Registration Packet

Please visit our   Contact Us   page and provide all required Information. As soon as we hear from you, we will email a registration packet with required forms and instructions. You can also call us at 978-998-0039.


Payment Options - Program Package

Cashier's Check or Credit Card
PLEASE VISIT OUR PAYMENT PAGE

Timetable for Registration and Payments
     
Registration Documents Deadline
50% of Program Package Cost

45 days before departure
50% balance due of Program Package Cost
           
Cancellation Policy

Cancellations after registration and before 2nd payment- 50% refund
Cancellations after 2nd payment - no refund


Itinerary


Our program will start the night before departure at a hotel near Tampa Airport.  That evening we will meet at 7:00 pm for an orientation at the hotel.

DAY 1

Our flight from Tampa, Florida to Havana, Cuba will take 52 minutes. Once in Havana a bilingual Cuban Tour Guide who will be will greet us. As soon as we get to our AC bus we will be on our way to accommodations at our B&B in Havana followed by a panoramic tour of Havana and lunch. This evening we will meet and enjoy a welcome dinner.

DAY 2

Our first day in Havana will start with breakfast at the B&B (all breakfasts are included), followed by a conference titled  “Art in Cuba”. After the conference we will be ready for a visit to the National Museum of Fine Arts. Its halls treasure the Cuban Art Collection, the most comprehensive parade of who’s who in a history of art making spanning nearly three centuries. Our visit will be followed with lunch (all lunches are included).


DAY 3


Our day will start with a conference about the Cuban educational system to understand how art education is organized and delivered. After lunch we will visit the University of the Arts, a central institution for art education in Cuba. Located on the former American-owned country club in the western Havana suburb of Cabanacan, the University of the Arts was founded in 1961. ISA has produced an astounding number of Cuba's leading artists and musicians, and remains a vibrant source of artists' training. Enjoy a guided tour of the school's impressive revolutionary architecture and meet students and faculty with an opportunity to arrange the purchase of paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and ceramics. To conclude the day we will visit the San Alejandro Arts Academy. The current training plan of the student is done in four years. This is subdivided in four areas of study within the same major : Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, Graphics and Digital Art.


DAY 4

Our third conference will consist of a conversation with architects and educators participating in the restoration project lead by the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana. This conversation will continue as we participate in a walking tour of main plazas in Old Havana visiting the Scale Model of Havana and the Old Havana Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Restoration School. The school was established in 1992 by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation and the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana. The mission of the school is to develop young specialists to rescue and restore old buildings and monuments in Havana. School programs last for two years during which students learn practical skills and obtain theoretical understanding of their unique field of study. Upon graduation students are issued a Diploma of Craft Laborer Qualified in Restoration in their chosen specialty.


DAY 5

This is a special day in our journey when we travel west of Havana (2.5 hours) to the amazing Valley of Viñales in the Pinar del Rio province, home of the best tobacco in the world. The valley was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 because of the area’s natural beauty and the inhabitants’ use of traditional agricultural techniques for the cultivation of tobacco and other crops. Upon arrival we will explore the town of Viñales and after lunch, before checking-in in our hotel, we will visit a tobacco farm. 


DAY 6

After breakfast and checkout, we will explore the Valley of Viñales visiting an indian cave and the Prehistory Mural Park were we will enjoy a typical Cuban country lunch. The mural is a 120m-long painting designed in 1961 by Leovigildo González Morillo. The mural is a visual description of life during the Jurassic era.  The valley emerged from the sea when Cuba was borne from the movement of the North American and Caribbean plates. The mural is on a cliff at the foot of the 617m-high Sierra de Viñales and took took 18 people four years to complete. On our way back to Havana we will stop at the Pelegrin's Patio Community Project to learn about their network of visual arts, dance, literature, music and theater workshops for local residents to cultivate their artistic and intellectual interests. The Patio (garden) is also a sustainable development project to produce local organic food.


DAY 7

During our last day in Cuba we will continue with our exploration of colonial Old Havana visiting el Morro and La Cabaña fortresses to learn about the Spanish system of fortifications to defend the Bay of Havana. After lunch we will tour Arms Plaza visiting the Palace of Captains Generals and the Museum of the City of Havana. In the evening, after our farewell dinner, we will go back to La Cabaña fortress for the Firing of the Cannon Ceremony. The San Carlos de la Cabaña fortress was built around 1774 by the Spaniards to control the access of the Havana Bay. In the fortress is a museum about Che Guevara. In 1959 Che Guevara took possession of the fortress on his triumphant conquer of Havana during the fall of the dictator Batista. Soldiers dressed in 18th century uniforms fire a cannon over Havana bay at precisely 9 p.m. o’clock. The cannon fire announced the official end of the day and the time to close the city gates for the night.
 

DAY 8

Departure from José Martí International Airport

 

Program Dates and Package Fees

Limited to 6-12 Participants

AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST