By: Mercedes Muñoz and Daniel Burgos

We talked with Dr. Julio César González Pagés, researcher, writer, professor at the University of Havana and National Program Officer of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in Cuba. The exchange focused on the importance of international cooperation and support for the younger generation of intellectuals as a vital necessity for sustainable development.

What is the value of committing to youth art?

In my opinion, it is crucial to support young artists and cultural enterprises, in this case those who develop their creative projects from Cuba. In a world in crisis like the current one, it seems that art loses value, while the economy is perceived as the engine of change and the generation of new ideas. Therefore, support is crucial for creators.

There is a lot of talk about sustainable ventures that can generate resources. Considering a country like Cuba, which has committed significantly to culture, I think this can be a great source of employment generation and positive change. Including more people in the cultural sphere can boost the exchange of ideas and progress.

When we observe the potential of art in Cuba, in all its manifestations, we see talented young people who not infrequently become disillusioned when they do not find spaces to develop. Sometimes, migration becomes the only option, and every time someone emigrates, a valuable potential that could generate resources for the country is lost.

Therefore, it is essential to contribute to and support art and culture not only as something complementary. We often see artistic expression as something that occurs in parallel to economic events, but this is not the case. Art and young people can generate resources, jobs and, potentially, value that can be exported or sold.

In addition, we must value the ability of art to change mentalities. I believe that artists have been responsible for many of the changes in the field of human rights in the last fifteen years, on issues such as gender, race and sexual diversity.

In contrast, laws cannot change inequality, although they may be legislated. It is artists who generate many of the changes that are neither tangible nor measurable, because they belong to the realm of subjectivity. Those of us who study these changes know that art has significant potential in this regard.

In the case of international cooperation, how can it contribute to the development of youth art in Cuba?

I believe the role of cooperation, although it is to accompany the processes in a non-interfering way, is crucial. Well-focused cooperation in areas that can be explored –such as support for young people who are generating new resources– provides the opportunity to grow professionally. Cooperation allows that room for experimentation.

I believe that every day cooperation should be closer to projects where young artists are found, who even generate employment for other young people. However, they also need to have initial capital to make this sustainable culture a reality.

This is where cooperation can define the spaces, create good practices and help the country understand that it really generates resources and can change the cultural-economic dynamics around the new product.

Can attention to culture be generated in a systematic way with projects such as the Fondo de Arte Joven?

From international cooperation, we must pay attention to culture, and that is what the Fondo de Arte Joven (FAJ) is for. This initiative, which stems from the SDC’s previous experience with specific actions in the area of culture, makes it possible to systematize this work and to consider the possibilities of the FAJ. From a development perspective, it is a step forward.

Sometimes, cooperation funds commit to projects that are already established, which reduces the possibilities of obtaining financing. However, I think we should commit to having funds support young people, promote the development of artistic projects and create spaces where they can share with people from other places, both financially and personally.

Although there are good examples and good practices, I believe they are insufficient compared to the potential of culture and young people in Cuba. For this reason, many artists choose to leave the country to develop their skills in other places, where they seek other opportunities to make the most of their potential.

It would be wonderful if they could return and generate jobs for other young people, becoming examples of capacity and human development. Currently, there are few cases in which we see galleries and accessible or touristic spaces that exhibit the talent of emerging artists.

I believe this must be reversed and the actions of the FAJ in its short time since its creation already show the results of this initiative. This is illustrated, for example, by the activation of the Salón Blanco of the Convent of San Francisco de Asís as a systematic exhibition hall with the group exhibition Hijos de Darwin and now with the new exhibition Paisaje para el nuevo siglo.

We must lose the fear of having young people develop, and that is why the FAJ must receive more support and expectations, both from our country and from new donors. What is needed is the economic resource, because the human potential is there. We must focus on sustainability, providing academic exchanges and good practices that generate confidence that the country’s development lies with young people. In Cuba, culture can be an important link in the economy.

In the first instance, you need a kind of sponsorship, not only in terms of money but also legitimacy. I think the FAJ can be precisely a way to make yourself known outside the Cuban environment. That’s where the journey begins, where many creators present themselves, criticize themselves and grow. You shouldn’t be afraid of criticism, which is also part of the value of the system of calls for proposals through which the FAJ offers its support.

The linking of collaborative experiences from Switzerland, Panama, Italy and Cuba will contribute to this visibility through their presence in social media or with other long-term projects. This will give young creators the chance to emerge from ostracism and change their lives. We have to expose ourselves more in a competitive world that is so marked by globalization and visual perception, where there are so many media flooded with banalities.

What advice or expectations do you usually share with young artists?

I think they should avoid pessimism. From my experience, I can tell them that I developed during the economic crisis of the 1990s in Cuba and I always looked for the light. That light is found in the people who give you opportunities. I would tell Cuban artists who wish to develop their career here to approach institutions and look beyond what has usually been done in the individual management of one’s own work.

Often, they will face “no” as an answer. This will always be present in the discourse of those who discourage young artists and make them feel uncertainty. For this reason, I believe that initiatives such as the FAJ and those of us who work with cooperation for development should encourage and insist on actions that offer the possibility to grow.

The Cuba of the future must be a place where young people and cultural initiatives break dogmas and mediocrity in order to create more diverse spaces, not only for them to develop, but also for others.

For example, we must do away with the idea that the city is the only place to develop our potential. I would like all cities and municipal spaces to also have the opportunity to participate. I know this may be a utopia, but it must become a reality, where young people linked to culture will be decisive if we want to contribute to a future that is rooted in our country.

I encourage young people who really need a space and support in their productions to apply for the Fondo de Arte Joven opportunities. I think the First Call for Proposals Program was the best proof that there was a wide selection of artists. It would help a lot if artists would flood us with proposals in the next calls for proposals to be made by the FAJ.

Therefore, the FAJ could be a good experience that other institutions would be encouraged to support with a view to the creation of art. That would give us reasons to look for more formulas, more support and show that there really is a large number of young people who need that help. We should stimulate creativity so that, from the Cabo de San Antonio to Baracoa in Guantanamo, they can send us all the art that young Cubans are capable of producing. Art is everything.