Exploring Neverland: Cuban Artists at UT

As a young kid, teachers, friends and family members would default to Lázaro Saavedra whenever they needed something sketched. He had an innate ability, and their encouragement inspired him to study the craft. Today he is one of Cuba’s most respected living artists.

“You enter into another dimension on that white sheet of paper, and it’s magical,” said Saavedra. “The world outside you disappears.”

Saavedra is one of seven renowned and provocative contemporary Cuban artists featured in the University of Tampa’s Scarfone/Hartley Gallery exhibit “Growing Up in Neverland,” which runs until March 18.

Seen as the seminal exhibit of pre- and post-Revolutionary Cuban artists, the exhibit is designed to reflect the everyday concerns that weigh upon the Cuban community, especially focusing on the problems Cuban society faces as it moves toward the future.

David Horta, Pinar del Rio-based curator of the exhibit, said a central aim of the exhibit is to encourage dialog and promote cultural exchange through the sharing of knowledge of important Cuban artists and their work.

“They say every Cuban that lives in Florida is homesick for the Cuba that was lost,” said Horta. “Maybe the timing is perfect right now to conciliate that past with the Cuba that will come.”

Jack King waited 42 years to see Cuba, and when he toured the country last summer for the Havana Biennial Art Exhibition, he came back home embarrassed by how little he knew of Cuba when many of the people he ran into knew so much about the U.S. He was also impressed at how resourceful and contemporary the artists were.

“I came away drop-jawed from every studio,” said King, exhibit co-curator and professor of art, who knew he had to find a way to bring the experience back to UT.

“I want students to see art that’s engaging, provocative and as contemporary as anything they’ve seen,” said King, who wants to build a network with artists for future exchange opportunities. “I want to expose students to things they wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to, and I want to share my passion. When you are excited by something you hope it will excite someone else.”

For a full list of the art, lectures and cinema that are part of the exhibit, visit www.growingupinneverland.org.

In addition, in April UT will be inaugurated as the first U.S. affiliate of the Center for José Martí Studies (Centro de Estudios Martianos) in Havana at the first UT-USF International Conference on José Martí.

The Neverland exhibit is co-presented by The University of Tampa and The Cuban Arts Group.

The Scarfone/Hartley Gallery is located on the UT campus at the R.K. Bailey Art Studios, 310 North Boulevard, and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday. There is no charge for admission.