The Fondo de Arte Joven (FAJ) is pleased to announce the inauguration of the second edition of malaYerba, the visual arts competition aimed at young Cuban artists between the ages of 18 and 35. This event, which has been consolidated within the platform as an opportunity for the promotion of emerging art in Cuba, will take place on September 12 at 4:00 p.m. at the Salón Blanco gallery, located in the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco de Asís.

Called last May by FAJ and the Los Carbonell Foundation / NG Art Gallery, partner and manager of the visual arts profile of the platform, malaYerba will exhibit the works of 29 young finalists, and that same afternoon the artists selected by the jury will be awarded.

For this occasion, an extensive program of collateral actions has been planned, including in the coming months the presentation of the catalog of the first edition, talks, workshops and theoretical exchanges for young creators.

According to Neida Peñalver, FAJ's General Coordinator, more than a contest, malaYerba was set up as a space where the new voices of Cuban art find a place to express themselves and connect with the public. Under this premise, it reaches its second edition, with the aim of continuing to generate habitats for young Cuban art in the various cultural manifestations and forms of exhibition of creative content, in alliance with Cuban and international projects, institutions and artists, in order to promote opportunities for professional development and cultural interactions. 

For her part, essayist and art curator Corina Matamoros, after visiting the exhibition resulting from the first edition, described it as "a luminous hall, displayed with museographic care, in which one can perceive the breath of things that begin, with its expected swings between images that seem familiar to us and the efforts of each creator to say what is unique to him and try to formulate it within the high margins of Cuban art". 

- One can perceive in the themes of many of the pieces, that interest in connecting with the complexities of the country's social environment, which has been, in short, one of the main axes of all contemporary Cuban art. Issues of migration, social prejudices, or freedoms to be conquered, continue to have an impact on a wide range of national creation," the specialist added.

This year, the exhibition promises to surprise with a wide variety of artistic proposals that reflect the diversity and talent of the young generation of Cuban creators.

Regarding the increase in the number of participants with respect to the previous edition, in which 65 artists' applications were submitted, of which 24 were finalists; curator Sandra García pointed out that on this second occasion 82 applications were received, of which 29 artists and their works were finalists, which speaks of the artists' confidence in the work of the FAJ. 

-Unlike the usual behavior in this kind of contests -where painting is the predominant manifestation- in the selection of finalists of this second edition there is a balance that also includes several installations, sculptures and objectual works. Photography and video, although to a lesser extent, are also among the manifestations represented," he concluded.