NUESTROS CUERPOS, NUESTROS ALMA (“OUR BODIES, OUR SOULS”)
February 3 - April 2, 2023
Opening Friday, February 3, 2023 6-9 p.m. (CST), 5 Points Art Gallery + Studios launches its 2023 exhibition season with a showcase of imported multidimensional, multi media artwork that expands Black history, identity and prowess in Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestros Almas (“Our Bodies, Our Souls”) Afro-Cuban diasporic art exhibition.
Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestros Almas, a three-year collaborative project between 5 Points Art Gallery + Studios and CoCo Colectivos, is a conscious exposition exposing and elevating within the global market, nine prolific Afro-Cuban artists—Gabriel Estrada, Isolina Limonta, Jorge Luis Figueroa, José González, Lino Felix Vizcaíno, Magnolia Moré Abreu, Miguel Ángel Espinosa, Orlando Bos Rodríguez, and Victor Mora.
The roots of the exhibition date back to 2016 when a diverse mix of artists met periodically in Centro Habana to answer the complex question, “What is Afro-Cuban?” Nuestro Cuerpos, Nuestras Almas is a visual representation of their colorful debates about the claiming, ownership, and implications of race in modern-day Cuba. A demonstration of ingenuity, resilience, social-political awareness, oneness with African lineage, high regard for spirituality and family, folklore, and play, the artists orate and document varying lived experiences and values core to the pulse of Cuba’s culture and soul.
The works, created with self-made materials and constructed by repurposed tools, juxtapose their creative genius with the reality of Afro-Cuban artists who have long struggled for access to equitable resources. The blend of figurative and abstract compositions are comprised of brilliantly hued acrylic paintings, black and white ink illustrations, woodblock and linocut prints, digital photography, intricately ornate wood sculptures, and mixed media collages.
Founded by Kimberly Waller, CoCo Colectivos is a non-profit community collaborative designed to foster conversations and connections across the African diaspora. CoCo Colectivos works in solidarity with Cuban creatives centered in predominantly Afro-descendant communities to promote local artists and cultural engagement with visiting friends. Connected through the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, CoCo Colectivos’ and 5 Points Art Gallery + Studios’— both, black women owned art enterprises— affirm a commitment to increase representation, cultural provenance, and economic opportunity for locally, nationally and internationally marginalized demographics via the arts, fostered this organic partnership.
The visual synthesis of the Afro-Cuban experience in Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestros Almas remains on view until Sunday, April 2nd, 2023.
