Capturing Cuba in 65 Years of Never-Before-Seen Photos

US-Cuban relations come alive in a new exhibition from the International Center of Photography and the Center for Cuban Studies.

by Nathaniel Ainley

August 3, 2015, 4:40pm

Tony Mendoza, Cuban fishermen, from the series Cuba: Going Back, 1996. © Tony Mendoza. Courtesy of Lehigh University Art Galleries - Museum Operation.

The Southhampton Arts Center will host more than 100 color and black-and-white photographs spanning from the 1950s to present day Cuba from August 15th through September 7th. In the wake of rejuvenated relations between the US and Cuba, the International Center of Photography has teamed up with the Center for Cuban Studies, for a new exhibition, ¡Cuba, Cuba! : 65 Years of Photography.

Featuring the work of over 20 Cuban photographers, including Alberto Korda and Raul Corrales, alongside renowned American photographers like Burt Glin and Elliot Erwit, the show explores decades of culture and history within the context of a newly refurbished diplomatic relationship with the island republic just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Pulling works from ICP’s collection, the Center for Cuban Studies archive, Lehigh University Art Galleries, and Vicki Gold Levi’s collection of Cuban works, the upcoming exhibition presents a unique and in-depth look into Cuba’s complex political history as told by their cultural exports and historical documentation. The show covers everything from the “decadent Havana nightlife of the 1950s to the 1959 Revolution and its iconic leaders, to everyday life in contemporary Cuba.”

¡Cuba, Cuba! has been organized by Cuban art historian, curator, and art critic, IIiana Cepero, together with ICP Curator Pauline Vermare. The collaboration has resurfaced never-before-seen images, “historic artifacts, political posters, and publications” in this truly monumental program.

Check out a few images from the show below:

Gory (Rogelio López Marin), from the series Es sólo agua en la lágrima de un extraño (It’s only water in the teardrop of a stranger), 1986. © Gory. Courtesy of Lehigh University Art Galleries - Museum Operation.

Burt Glinn, Castro speaks in Santa Clara, January 5, 1959. © Burt Glinn / Magnum Photos.

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, from the series Sagrada Familia (Holy Family), 2000. © María Magdalena Campos-Pons. Courtesy of Lehigh University Art Galleries - Museum Operation.