PLEASE NOTE: The information below is for our March 2024 trip to Cuba, which is now complete.
Please check back for future Art Encounter trips.

The New Cuba: A Blend of Old Traditions and New Visions

Friday, March 8–Saturday, March 16, 2024
Price: $5290 per person Double Occupancy

Join Joanna Pinsky, Art Encounter Co-Founder and Artistic Director, and Sarah Packer, Public and Member Programs Manager, on an exclusive, exciting adventure to Havana, Cuba. Art Encounter is partnering with the Copperbridge Foundation to introduce you to Havana’s rich and inventive cultural arts scene featuring extraordinary visual art, contemporary dance, and music. Discover how Cuba’s innovative artistic expressions evolved from African, Spanish and Asian origins and find out how Cuba’s unique art educational system produces artists who are gifted in both technical skills and creative ideas. Learn about Cuba’s colonial history, its revolution, and the “Special Period” following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Get an inside view as you meet artists in their studios, walk in the footsteps of Havana’s colonial plazas led by a local historian, explore astonishing visual community projects, and peruse the homes of private art dealers. Sample delicious flavors created by outstanding chefs. Enjoy our Hotel Grand Aston La Habana, which is overlooking the Malecon and is elegantly designed to emulate the new urban Caribbean lifestyle.

Activity Level: Participants should be comfortable independently walking and standing for an hour at a time, climbing and descending stairs, and walking on uneven surfaces. 

Interested in learning more? Email sarah@artencounter.org.

COST DETAILS

Price: $5290 per person double occupancy; single room supplement: $200

Cost includes: visas for travel to Cuba, eight nights hotel accommodations in Havana, all breakfasts, most lunches and dinners, transportation to selected programs, expert guides, all museum entrance fees, special tours and performances

Cost does not include: airfare, transfers to/from airport, trip insurance, porter tips, alcohol, incidental room charges

You must be a current member of Art Encounter to participate.

Trip is limited to 25 participants. We recommend that you are up-to-date with all covid and flu vaccinations.

A $700 non refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot. Please do NOT purchase airfare until notified that the trip is confirmed by Art Encounter. 

itinerary

Itinerary is subject to change.

Day 1: Arrival
Friday, March 8

Our adventure begins with check in at the luxurious and elegant Hotel Grand Aston La Habana, complete with modern amenities, conveniently situated overlooking the Malecón and Havana Bay. At 6:00 pm, we’ll meet for a sunset reception to get to know each other before heading to a special welcome dinner at a historic private restaurant in the Miramar district.

Day 2: Bellas Arte Museo, Old Havana, Contemporary Dance
Saturday, March 9

Our first full day begins at 9:30 am with a tour of contemporary art at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba to discuss roots of Cuban modern art with a focus on past revolutionary artists. After lunch and a stop at the Parque Central, we’ll go on a walking tour of Old Havana with a city historian. After the tour, we’ll enjoy a contemporary dance performance at the Retazos dance theater and conclude our day with dinner at La Guarida, a restaurant famously featured in the film Strawberry and Chocolate.

Day 3: History Told Through Art
Sunday, March 10

On Sunday morning, we head to the Plaza de la Dignidad and the American Embassy to learn about the plaza’s history and discuss its public sculptures, then we’ll explore the Callejon de Hamel, a narrow alley filled with huge murals and wild installations founded by the late celebrated artist Salvador González Escalona. After lunch, we’ll visit the Plaza de la Revolucion to see the grand José Martí monument and famous sculptural image of Che Guevara. Our day will conclude with a dance performance from Havana’s Mi Compania Ballet Company. The group will then be free to enjoy dinner wherever they choose.

Day 4: Community and Architecture
Monday, March 11

At 9:00 am, we depart for the Instituto Superior de Arte to see its unusual architecture, explore the school’s ruins, and learn about its history. Then on to the amazing “Fusterlandia,” a neighborhood filled with extraordinary mosaic art installations by the notable José Rodríguez Fuster. After lunch, we head to the Fondo de Arte Joven Cubano, or Youth Art Fund, a platform founded in 2023 to promote emerging Cuban artistic and cultural enterprises. After a relaxing break at the hotel, we will be treated to a special private dinner at the home of art dealer Milagros Borges.

Day 5: Artists’ Studios and Collaboratives
Tuesday, March 12

Our fifth day in Havana will focus on visiting artist studios and collaboratives, including the Fábrica de Arte Cubano, El Apartamento art gallery, and the JEFF Expacio Cultural. Then, we’ll enjoy a barbecue lunch with live music before returning to the hotel for a break. At 7:30 pm, we depart for an exquisite dinner at Malecón 663 Bistro.  

Day 7: Stately Architecture and Art in the Making
Thursday, March 14

Today begins with an architecture tour of Havana’s Vedado neighborhood featuring stately homes from the early 20th century, with stops at the Enrique Garcia Cabrera House, the Casa de la Amistad, and the Sephardic Synagogue. After viewing a performance by the Malpaso Dance Company, we’ll imagine a former lifestyle in a visit to the National Museum of Decorative Arts followed by lunch at El Del Frente. Time permitting, we’ll stop at the Factoría Habana, an impressive gallery space and center for contemporary art, before visiting Taller Experimental de Gráfica de la Habana to see printmaking processes. The afternoon concludes at the home of Christina Vivas, a private art dealer who has helped put Cuban artists on the map. We will take a break at the hotel before heading to dinner at sculptor, printmaker, and photographer Esterio Segura’s remarkable studio compound.

Day 8: Artists’ Studios and Craft Market
Friday, March 15, 2024

After visiting several artist studios, the group will have the afternoon free to explore a craft market, have lunch, walk on the Malecón, or whatever you choose. In the evening, we will meet to share experiences in a group conversation before our special farewell dinner.

Day 9: Departures
Saturday, March 16

After a final breakfast in the hotel, we bid farewell to Havana and head for the airport.