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| Classroom in a special needs school. Notice the high ratio of teach to student. |
Who can create art? As I have mentioned in previous post, Cuba supports and promotes the arts at the elementary level, the high school level and the college level. It is not surprising that students with special needs would also have the opportunity to create art. We had the privilege to visit a number of special needs schools.
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| PE class |
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| Men in front of school cutting grass with machetes. In Florida this would result in a "lockdown." |
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| The teachers showed a genuine love for their students. |
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| This was a room set up like a kitchen in order to teach the students life skills. |
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| Art (craft) created by students. |
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| A visiting artist came in and taught the students for this particular project. |
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| A student working hard. They know what to do even if their teacher is absent. |
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| Painting plates. These are mass produced, however we could not buy any because of some sort of Government red tape. |
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| Weaving hats. |
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| I actually was allowed to keep this hat after winning it on the last day of our trip. Thanks Bob! |
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| Not only do the student create art they also participate in drama. However the genre was rather surprising. The dance reflected "The fervor that a man feels for a woman when she tempts him." |
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| The girl on the left won a medal in the Special Olympics held in the US. |
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| Next stop, we met with University professors in to discuss art education in Cuba and US. Interesting that they also have studied the writings of John Dewy and Victor Lowenfield among other influential scholars. They have a strong art educational program for the training of their art teachers. |
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| Some of the faculty, in a on campus gallery, for the hearing impaired. This special needs program takes place at the University. |
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| Students and faculty. Notice the baby in the arms of one of the students. It could not have been more than a few days old. |
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| Student work -Remind anyone of Duchamp? |
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| All of this work has been created with a ball point pen. |
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| Creativity or Self Expression |
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| Ballpoint pen |
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| Amazing! All created by special needs students! |
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| As with most of the buildings in Cuba, many are in need of repair. This is the outside of the University. If you look closely, many of the windows are broken out as well chipped plaster. This building at one time, was headquarters during the Batista years. |
On a side note the meeting with the Art Professors was unique. I felt a quiet bond to these individuals whose goals in life were comparable to my own. My goal to make art assessable to all, sometimes feels monumental in light of art education budget cuts here in the states. The Cuban people have financial burdens equivalent to what we faced during the great depression, yet art continues to be a valuable core subject in the Cuban curriculum.
I cannot help but be reminded that there was a time when the US did the same. Part of Roosevelt's Depression era New Deal - Federal Art Programs resulted in 3,500 murals, 18,000 sculptures, 108,000 paintings, 250,000 prints and 500,000 photographs. Even with fiscal hardships, 12,000 artists were employed over a 10 year period. This monumental attention given to the arts would be unheard of today.
Who can create art? If it were up to me, I think you already know the answer.
