MORGAN LENTES: WELCOME BACK. WE ALL KNOW THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF GREAT ART IN NEW ORLEANS. AND ONE LOCAL GALLERY OWNER HAS AN EXHIBITION ON DISPLAY WITH ROOTS IN ONE OF THE CARIBBEAN MOST INFLUENTIAL COUNTRIES. SO HERE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT CUBA REVISITED ARE GALLERY OWNER JONATHAN FERRARA AND ARTIST ELIO JESÚS. GOOD MORNING, GUYS. THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
JONATHAN FERRARA: GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR HAVING US.
MORGAN LENTES: SO LET’S START. TELL ME ABOUT THIS EXHIBIT. WHAT IS CUBA REVISITED?
JONATHAN FERRARA: CUBA REVISITED IS KIND OF AN EXTENSION OF A PROJECT I STARTED ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO. I DID WORK IN CUBA 2000 AND 2001 AND BROUGHT TWO MAJOR EXHIBITIONS TO THE UNITED TO NEW ORLEANS WITH CUBAN ARTISTS. AND THIS IS KIND OF LOOKING BACK 20 YEARS, BUT HAVING GONE TO HAVANA IN THIS YEAR AND TALKING ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HAVANA AND NEW ORLEANS AND ALSO THE WONDERFUL CONTEMPORARY ART THAT AND GETS CREATED IN CUBA. SO WE HAVE NINE ARTISTS THAT ARE BASED IN HAVANA, TWO OF WHICH ARE HERE. SO IT’S A VERY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW ORLEANS TO SEE AN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF CONTEMPORARY CUBAN ART
MORGAN LENTES: AND TALK ABOUT IT, BECAUSE THAT MIGHT NOT BE A TYPE OF ART THAT PEOPLE KNOW A LOT ABOUT OR IS HIGHLIGHTED. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON THESE ARTISTS?
JONATHAN FERRARA: BECAUSE I THINK THAT WHAT’S VERY IMPORTANT ABOUT CUBAN ART IS THEIR ABILITY TO CREATE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING. THEY DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME MATERIALS THAT ARTISTS IN THE UNITED STATES DO, BUT THEY’RE ABLE TO MAKE WONDERFUL WORKS OF ART. SO WE HAVE PAINTING, WE HAVE SCULPTURE, WE HAVE PHOTOGRAPHY, INSTALLATION ARTWORK, THINGS THAT PEOPLE CAN RECOGNIZE AS CUBAN, THAT ALSO KIND OF MORE CONCEPTUAL ART PIECES THAT REALLY SPEAK TO THE CULTURE AND THE CREATIVITY THAT EXIST IN CUBA.
MORGAN LENTES: AND WE HAVE ONE OF THESE TALENTED ARTISTS HERE WITH US. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE EARLY. TALK ABOUT SOME OF YOUR ARTWORK AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FEATURED.
ELIO JESÚS: AN EXHIBIT LIKE THIS IS REALLY TO HEAR AND PRESENT MY WORK TO THE NEW ORLEANS I MEAN MY WORK IN GENERAL TENDS TO BE WORKING ABOUT THE FRAGILITY OF THE HUMAN NATURE. MOSTLY ON DRAWING AND ON ART INSTALLATION, WHICH ARE THE PROJECTS I’M PRESENTING AT THE SHOW AND IT HAS BEEN EXCELLENT, A BRILLIANT ORGANIZATION AND TODAY IS GOING TO BE AWESOME.
MORGAN LENTES: AND WE DO HAVE AN EVENT GOING ON THIS EVENING, RIGHT? KIND OF KICKING THINGS OFF. TELL ME ABOUT THAT.
JONATHAN FERRARA: SO EVERY MONTH ALL THE GALLERIES HAVE ART WALKS. AND SO THIS EVENING IS THE FIRST ONE OF THE YEAR, THE EXHIBITION FROM 5 TO 9 P.M. SO EVERYBODY’S WELCOME TO COME DOWN, MEET SOME OF THE ARTISTS AND SEE THE GREAT ARTWORK.
MORGAN LENTES: AND TELL ME WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING SPECIFICALLY SO PEOPLE KNOW WHERE THEY’RE GOING.
JONATHAN FERRARA: IT’S AT 400 JULIA STREET RIGHT IN THE ARTS DISTRICT. RIGHT ON JULIA AND TCHOUPITOULAS.
MORGAN LENTES: AND THAT’S NOT THAT FAR FROM HERE AT WDSU. MAYBE WE’LL SNEAK DOWN LATER
JONATHAN FERRARA: HOPING YOU CAN MAKE IT.
MORGAN LENTES: WELL, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. I DO WANT TO PUT THE INFORMATION ON THE SCREEN IN CASE ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO COME OUT. THESE ARE THE DETAILS. THIS EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH FEBRUARY 4TH AND THERE IS AN OPENING RECEPTION TONIGHT THAT IS FROM 6 TO 9 P.M. THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. BEST OF LUCK.
JONATHAN FERRARA: THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.