Cuba’s Art Factory marks 10 years

– For 10 years, the privately funded La Fabrica de Arte Cubano, or The Cuban Art Factory, in Havana has been a space for local talent to exhibit its creations in what was once a train station.

The FAC, as it is known, has become internationally renowned as a gallery and nightclub – a place for expression in a country where saying what you think can land you in jail.

Every week, from Thursday to Sunday, hundreds of visitors pay the equivalent of $4 (about R76) to attend music concerts, see plays, dance or simply to stroll, mojito in hand, through its corridors of modern art.

Everything is on offer here – nights of techno music, exhibits of plastic works, photography, fashion and just plain fun.

“Here, you can see things you couldn’t imagine,” says musician Olivia Rodriguez, 30, as she waited for famous Cuban salsa singer Issac Delgado’s performance.

He performed as part of the FAC’s 10th anniversary celebrations.

X Alfonso, founder and leader of the avant-garde project, says: “Since we opened, this [venture] has been carried by artists, always focusing on the work and the message.”

The provocative and light-hearted contributions of some artists have sometimes caused problems, but he does not want to dwell on the subject.

Hundreds of Cubans are jailed for daring to speak out against the communist state or protesting against poverty amid Cuba’s worst economic crisis in 30 years, marked by shortages of fuel, medicines and food. Many others have fled into exile.

“We make art, those who want to turn it into politics can, that’s their problem,” says Alfonso.

“It’s like a fuel station for the soul,” he adds.

Like the city that harbours it, the FAC enjoyed prosperous years with the easing of ties between Cuba and the US in 2015 under the presidency of Barack Obama.

American cruise ships landed carrying tourists eager to drive in an old convertible and discover the nightlife of Havana.

The city’s economy flourished. But the good times did not last, with Donald Trump reversing most of his predecessor’s overtures.

Sanctions were toughened after a crackdown on protests in July 2021.

Covid did not help, starving the island of much-needed tourism.

Today, Cuba battles recurring power outages, and running the FAC has become a daily struggle. –

Pictures: AFP ART OASIS. A man looks at artworks at The Cuban Art Factory where, 10 years ago, artists conceived a place for techno music, galleries of plastic work and photography, fashion and entertainment.

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. A woman visits The Art Factory, an alternative space of international fame that oxygenates Cuban culture.