Symposium | Contemporary Cuban Photography Saturday, February 15, 2025 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
February 15, 2025
This day-long symposium accompanies the exhibition Navigating the Waves: Contemporary Cuban Photography, which explores the evolution of photography in Cuba from the Revolution to present day.
Since 1994, the MFAH has built a representative collection highlighting how photographers navigate the realities of the Cuban people while evading censorship. The symposium delves into the effects of economic and political forces that have shaped the relationship between Cuba and the United States. Navigating the Waves features 100 photographs that explore themes of identity, the body and spirit, Afro-Cuban heritage, and the margins of society. It offers an in-depth look at how Cuban artists have addressed shifting societal and cultural boundaries.
Moderators and Panelists
Navigating the Waves co-curators Malcolm Daniel, the Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography; and Raquel Carrera, curatorial associate for Latin American and Latino art, are joined by Wendy Watriss, photographer and co-founder of Houston’s FotoFest, to moderate three panels: Cuban Photography in the 1970s and 1980s, The Special Period and the Houston–Havana Connection, and The Current Generation: Cuban Photography in the 21st Century. Carrera leads the first panel with artists José A. Figueroa, Eduardo Muñoz Ordoqui, and Eduardo Hernández Santos. Watriss introduces the Houston–Havana panel with photographers Juan Carlos Alom, Cirenaica Moreira, and René Peña. Daniel concludes the program with Alfredo Sarabia, Alejandro González, and Adrián Fernández.
View Program Details
Plan Your Visit
- The symposium is included with Museum admission and takes place in Lynn Wyatt Theater in the Kinder Building. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The exhibition is located on the third floor of the Kinder Building.
- The program features simultaneous live translation in both Spanish and English.
- Parking Information | Museum Hours | MFAH Campus Map
This program receives generous funding from Humanities Texas. Additional support is provided by the Foundation for a Civil Society with funds from the Ford Foundation and Marica Vilcek.
All Learning and Interpretation programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, receive generous support from H-E-B; Institute of Museum and Library Services; Sempra Foundation; the Brown Foundation, Inc.; the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo; the John M. O'Quinn Foundation; the Joe Barnhart Foundation; the Cockrell Family Fund; the CFP Foundation; Macey and Harry Reasoner; the Texas Commission on the Arts; and the Junior League of Houston, Inc.
Endowment funds are provided by the Louise Jarrett Moran Bequest; Caroline Wiess Law; Windgate Foundation; the William Randolph Hearst Foundation; Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Fondren Foundation; BMC Software, Inc.; the Wallace Foundation; the Neal Myers and Ken Black Children’s Art Fund; the Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation; Medha and Shashank Karve; Virginia and Ira Jackson; Jesse H. Jones II; the CFP Foundation; the Favrot Fund; gifts in memory of John Wynne; Neiman Marcus Youth Arts Education; gifts in memory of Peter Lotz; and gifts in honor of Beth Schneider.
“Navigating the Waves: Contemporary Cuban Photography” is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Major support is provided by:
Madeleine and Harvey Plonsker
Additional generous support is provided by:
Mary and Bernardino Arocha
Carolyn Covault
Patricia J. Eifel and James A. Belli
Linda and George Kelly