Sikán’s image is paramount in all these works because like myself, she led and leads –through me- , a disquieting life, looking insistently for a way out Belkis Ayón, January, 1998 Belkis Ayón Manso (1967-1999) Printmaker, drawer , curator, teacher The Artist Havana, January 23, 1967 - September 11, 1999 STUDIES • 1979-1982 Elementary School of Plastic Arts "20 de Octubre", Havana. • 1982-1986 San Alejandro Academy, Havana. Printmaking teachers: Pablo Borges, Carlos A. García and Ángel Ramírez. • 1986-1991 Bachelor of Art in Printmaking, Art Superior Institute (ISA), Havana. Printmaking teachers: Luis Cabrera, Luis Lara, Rolando Rojas and Pablo Borges. ARTIST'S RESIDENCES • 1999 Brandywine Workshop, Center for the Visual Arts Cuba Project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. • 1999 The Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. • 1999 Bronski Center, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. • 1999 Bensen Hall Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island, United States. MAIN COLLECTIONS pe rsonal exhibitions collective exhibitions

Entrevistas realizadas a Belkis Ayón por reconocidos periodistas cubanos. INTERVIEWS Talk about the myths of art. Interview with Belkis Ayón Jaime Sarusky February 4, 1999 To tell the truth, it was not easy to interview Belkis Ayón, despite appearances, that is, his youth, the recognition that his artistic work has had, his personality, that one would bet very accessible, frank and open as his laugh. But do not confuse such attributes with the vehemence, I would say even the passion, of the creator Belkis Ayón, the one who with steely lucidity knows the paths of yesterday and today of her work. And I'm sure tomorrow too. But his humility and pride, traits that coexist in many authentic artists, prevent him from sanctioning such a prognosis. Although in his heart every great artist knows that it is, the challenge to time is raised and time, in turn, challenges it. Time, for better or for worse, can do everything, except with the great art that resists it, transcends it and walks by its side with an ironic smile ... READ MRE In irregular confidence David Mateo March 4, 1997 ... “It seems that your work aspires to become universal, I tell him, as he hands me a group of matrices on a small table in his apartment in Alamar. The first one represents a fish woman, beginning in the spiritual world of one between two Jicoteas women; but the poetic atmosphere that the relationship between each one of them acquires is so moving that the allegory of the Abakuá legend and its particularly liturgical iconography almost seems to diminish; I had already noticed something similar with the inclusion of the Holy Spirit in one of the winning works at the Maastrich International Biennial ... READ MORE

CONFLUENCES INSIDE Havana, Mexico, United States, Portugal November 2006 - 2010 Cubarte Newsletter Year 7 Number 25, June 20, 2007 Exhibition "Confluencias" is presented in Mexico By: Nelson Herrera Ysla The exhibition "Confluencias", with works by 26 Cuban artists of various generations, has been inaugurated at the Museum of Modern Art of Toluca, of the Mexiquense Institute of Culture, after their presentations at the Clavijero Palace of the City of Morelia (where the idea for the project arose thanks to the enthusiasm of the Constitutional Governor of the State of Michoacán, Mr. Lázaro Cárdenas Batel) and at the José Luis Cuevas Museum in the Federal District. The exhibition, curated by Juan Delgado, had the advice of Elvia Rosa Castro, and an excellent catalog designed by the Cuban team Baus Diseño, printed in large format in Mexico. It brings together more than 70 works, mainly in painting as well as drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture and video by some of the most notable Cuban artists, from Alfredo Sosabravo and Manuel Mendive to Alain Pino, the youngest. Participating in it: Roberto Fabelo , Nelson Domínguez , Arturo Montoto, Belkis Ayón, Eduardo Roca , Ernesto Rancaño, Flora Fong, José A. Toirac, Lester Campa, Los Carpinteros, Luis Gómez, Pedro Pablo Oliva , Rigoberto Mena, Roberto Diago, Rubén Rodríguez, Santiago Rodríguez Olazábal, Zaida del Río , Carlos Quintana, Aymée García, Carlos Montes de Oca, Eduardo Ponjuán, Alexis Leyva (Kcho), Agustín Bejarano. Unfolded in over 400 square meters, the exhibition offers a synthetic panorama of recent productions of Cuban visuality where the two dimensions stand out from the rest, and in which it is possible to appreciate the strength of painting in our country, a phenomenon that today begins to gain notoriety in events and fairs around the world. The large format of the works and the balance between various modes of expression contribute to their interest in the artistic and communication media as well as in the Mexican public: these allow us to reflect on Cuban visual arts and inform about our culture of the image in constant process of expansion. The inauguration was attended by Mr. Agustín Gasca Pliego, General Director of IMexC, Lic. Vivian Martínez Tabares, Cultural Counselor of the Cuban Embassy in that country, Laura Castañedo, Artistic Secretary of Ars Latina 2007 and Cuban artists invited to participate in this project that will take place during the month of June in Baja California. Also present were the curator of the exhibition Juan Delgado, the art critic Nelson Herrera Ysla and the artist Arturo Montoto. So much interest has aroused "Confluencias", whose original project was limited only to the city of Morelia, and today their presentations in the states of Tabasco and Guanajuato for this year 2007 are in the process of being coordinated. Source: CUBARTE Participating artists: Agustín Bejarano, Aimée García, Alain Pino, Alexis Leyva (KCHO), Alfredo Sosabravo, Arturo Montoto, Belkis Ayón, Carlos Montes de Oca, Carlos Quintana, Eduardo Ponjuán, Eduardo Roca (CHOCO), Ernesto Rancaño, Flora Fong, José A, Toirac, Lester Campa, Los Carpinteros, Luis Gómez, Manuel Mendive, Nelson Domínguez, Pedro Pablo Oliva, Rigoberto Mena, Roberto Diago, Roberto Fabelo, Rubén Rodríguez, Santiago Rodríguez Olazábal, Zaida del Río.

NKAME: A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE CUBAN PRINTMAKER BELKIS AYÓN (1967-1999) Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona, United States October 13, 2018 - January 20, 2019 The traveling exhibition Nkame: a Retrospective of the Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) was inaugurated on October 13, 2018, at its fifth venue, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. A project organized by this prestigious institution and the Belkis Ayón Estate, Havana Cuba. The exhibition is curated by Cristina Vives. Exhibition Tour Management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA. Photographs: Courtesy of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art For more information, visit the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art website

NKAME ARRIVES AT THE STATION MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN HOUSTON, TEXAS July 31st, 2018 Yadira Leyva Ayón © Belkis Ayón Estate After the successful presentations in different cities of the United States while traveling through this country, the exhibition Nkame. A Retrospective of the Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999), arrives at the Station Museum in Houston, Texas. The exhibition was inaugurated on the night of June 2nd in an atmosphere full of friends, excellent music, and lovers of good art. The masterful curatorship of Cristina Vives, stood out on this occasion thanks to a curatorial idea that was brought to reality, thanks to the efforts of the Museum staff and its Director James Harritas: many of the large-format works obtained three-dimensionality when placed on walls, specially built for each piece, resulting in a very positive visual impact, with the pieces obtaining an unprecedented monumentality. In addition, this exhibition will feature a book/catalog on the exhibition and the life and work of Belkis Ayón, entitled Behind del veil de un myth. Produced by the Station Museum and the Belkis Ayón Estate, with texts by Cristina Vives and design by Laura Llópiz. The exhibition will be open to the public until September 3, 2018. PREVIOUS NEWS NEXT NEWS

NKAME: A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE CUBAN PRINTMAKER BELKIS AYÓN (1967-1999) Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States February 29, 2020 The traveling exhibition Nkame: A Retrospective of the Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) was inaugurated on February 29, 2020, at its sixth venue, the Chicago Cultural Center. A project organized by this prestigious institution and the Belkis Ayón Estate, Havana, Cuba. The exhibition is curated by Cristina Vives. Exhibition Tour Management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.

PALMA DIGITAL AWARD 2015 GRANTED TO THE WEBSITE OF THE ARTIST BELKIS AYÓN November 14, 2015 Yadira Leyva Ayón © Belkis Ayón Estate The team made up of the Belkis Ayón Estate and CarDanSoft, creators of the website of the artist Belkis Ayón, received Friday morning, November 13, the 2015 Palma Digital Prize awarded by CUBARTE, in the category of Personal sites and blogs from cultural profile. PREVIOUS NEWS NEXT NEWS

THE AYÓN ESPACE The Ayón Space, the original idea of Dr. Katia Ayón, Belkis Ayón Estate, was a project presented to Cuban cultural institutions in 2004, on the fifth anniversary of the artist's physical disappearance. It was conceived as a permanent space for the exhibition and conservation of Belkis's graphic work and as a place for promotion and support for young printmakers, one of the missions assumed by Belkis Ayón from her position as an exceptional pedagogue. Numerous artists and intellectuals, especially Antonio Martorell and Humberto Figueroa, supported the initiative, which is still waiting for its materialization, and argued, from different perspectives, the need to found it. Goals: • Permanently display the artist's work. • Promote the work of young artists whose main line of work is printmaking. • Offer summer workshops to young national and foreign artists. • Establish the BELKIS AYÓN National Contest of Collography that allows the participation of young and established artists, of national and international character, in collaboration with other art institutions. • Establish links with the community near the place to integrate it into the public activities of the space. • That they can access the valuable and vast bibliography, property of the artist Belkis Ayón: students, ethnographers, sociologists, anthropologists, artists, historians, and teachers.

Exhibiciones personales y colectivas de la grabadora cubana Belkis Ayón (1967-1999). EXHIBITIONS PE RSONAL EXHIBITIONS COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIO NS

IV Edición del Concurso Nacional de Colografía Belkis Ayón, 2021 IV National Collography Contest Belkis Ayón ANNOUNCEMENT The National Council of Plastic Arts, the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), and the Graphic Society of Cienfuegos, in coordination with Espacio Ayón, the Estate of Belkis Ayón, the Provincial Council of Plastic Arts, the Provincial Committee of the UNEAC and the Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets of the province of Cienfuegos, summon all interested artists and students to participate in the IV National Contest of Colography Belkis Ayón in tribute to one of the Cuban artists who marked, with her graphic work and pedagogical, a milestone in the history of Engraving in Cuba. Basis of Participation All Cuban students and artists with engravings made in the COLLOGRAPHY technique, printed between 2019 and 2020, who have not participated in a previous exhibition, event, or contest, may participate. Inscription The works must be sent unframed, through certified mail or in person, until March 18, 2020: To the Association of Plastic Artists of the UNEAC of Havana, appointment at 17 and H, Vedado. Tel. 78325781, in the case of artists and students residing in the western provinces (Pinar del Río, Havana, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Matanzas and Isla de la Juventud) To the Graphic Society of Cienfuegos, appointment at Ave. 50, # 2326, between Calle 23 and Calle 25, Cienfuegos 1, Cienfuegos. Tel. 43 517979, in the case of artists and students residing in the central provinces (Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus and Ciego de Ávila) To the Caguayo Foundation, appointment at Calle 4 No. 403 between 15 and 17, Rpto Vista Alegre, Santiago de Cuba, CP 90400, Tel. 22 643492, in the case of artists and students residing in the eastern provinces (Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo). Each artist will have the right to present three works (independent or triptych) duly signed and numbered in pencil, which cannot exceed 60 x 80 cm (paper measurements). Workshop or artist tests are not accepted. Selection A Jury will be appointed to select and award the works received. The selected and awarded works will be exhibited at the Cienfuegos Art Gallery, within the program of the 14th Feria de La Estampa, an event that will be officially inaugurated on April 9 and until April 12, 2020, making the final decision of the jury public. on April 9, at 9 pm, the opening day of the competitive exhibition. The exhibition will remain open to the public for 30 days. It will also be presented at the Casa del Benemérito de las Américas Benito Juárez of the Office of the City Historian, Havana, in 2020. The organizers of the contest are responsible for the care of the works sent, running with all the expenses generated by the return of the same to their authors. Prize A single and indivisible Grand Prize will be awarded consisting of 5 000.00 MN (donation from the artists belonging to the Belkis Ayón workshop and Estate), a diploma, and a reproduction of a work by the artist to whom the contest is dedicated. The Jury will award mentions at its discretion, without a financial award. The awarded artist will be invited to the Engraving Workshop "Magenta Rhinoceros" in the city of Toluca, Mexico, for a 10-day artistic residency. The winning works will become part of the Cienfuegos Stamp Cabinet. The awarded artist will be invited to carry out a personal exhibition at the Cienfuegos Art Center in 2022, within the official program of the V National Contest of Collography. The works not selected must contact the Organizing Committee for their return. Participating in the Belkis Ayón National Coloring Contest implies acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. The Jury's decision will be final. More information Organizing Committee of the Belkis Ayón National Coloring Contest ESTATE OF BELKIS AYÓN, HAVANA belkat@cubarte.cult.cu | 7 642 3083 GRAPHIC SOCIETY OF CIENFUEGOS caceres69@azurina.cult.cu | 43 517979 www.ayonbelkis.cult.cu

DRAPETOMANIA Galería de Arte Universal, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba / Consejo Nacional de Artes Plásticas, La Habana / 8th Floor Gallery, New York, United States / Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, California, United States / The Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. April, 2013 - 2015 The exhibition Drapetomanía: Grupo Antillano y the Art of Afro-Cuba, which was presented in Santiago de Cuba and Havana, arrives at Harvard University after having been shown in New York and San Francisco. Originally exhibited at the Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design in Santiago de Cuba (April-May, 2013), where it was described as "one of the best exhibitions of plastic arts in recent years in Santiago de Cuba," Drapetomanía now travels to the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African and Afro-American Art at Harvard University after have been exhibited at the Center for the Development of the Visual Arts in Havana, The 8th Floor Gallery in New York and the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco. Drapetomanía pays tribute to Grupo Antillano (1978-1983), a previously forgotten cultural and artistic movement, which proposed a vision of Cuban culture that highlighted the importance of African and Afro-Caribbean elements in the formation of the nation. The exhibition offers a revisionist reading of the so-called “new Cuban art” and highlights the need to include the work of artists who tried to think about the Cuban from their connections with the African diaspora. Grupo Antillano's art is part of a long Caribbean tradition of resistance and cultural affirmation, of that "prodigious effort of self-defense" and of "ideological cimarronearía" that, according to the Haitian poet René Depestre, allowed the enslaved masses of the hemisphere rework their pasts and cultures. The title of the show, Drapetomania, refers to an alleged illness described in the mid-19th century by a plantation physician in Louisiana. From the Greek drapetes (escape, flee) and mania (madness), the most visible symptom of this curious disease was the irrepressible and pathological tendency of many slaves to flee and be free. In other words, the doctor described maroon as a disease, a disease, a deviation from the natural order, an expression of the indomitable savagery of blacks. Curated by historian Alejandro de la Fuente, professor at Harvard University, the Drapetomanía exhibition is complemented by the book Grupo Antillano: el arte de Afro-Cuba, edited by the curator of the exhibition, with essays by art critics and historians like Guillermina Ramos Cruz, José Veigas and Judith Bettelheim. The exhibition includes works by Grupo Antillano artists (Esteban Ayala, Rogelio Rodríguez Cobas, Manuel Couceiro, Herminio Escalona, Ever Fonseca, Ramón Haiti, Adelaida Herrera, Arnaldo Rodríguez Larrinaga, Oscar Rodríguez Lasseria, Alberto Lescay, Manuel Mendive, Leonel Morales, Clara Morera, Miguel Ocejo, Rafael Queneditt and Julia Valdés) and a group of contemporary artists who have shown in their work similar concerns to those articulated by Grupo Antillano (Belkis Ayón, Bedia, Choco, Diago, Esquivel, Marta María Pérez Bravo, Montalván, Olazábal, Douglas Pérez, Peña, Elio Rodríguez and Leandro Soto). In other words, Drapetomanía proposes a new genealogy in Cuban plastic arts that connects creators from generations and diverse artistic trajectories through their shared attention to issues such as race, identity, and the meanings of the Cuban. The show will be exhibited at Harvard from January 29 to the end of May of this year. Information provided by Alejandro de la Fuente, Curator.

EVA LEAVES AND TAKES FLIGHT. EVA CEASES BEING A RIB Havana, Cuba. October 13, 2014 As part of the visual arts event Ellas Crean , sponsored by the Embassy of Spain in Cuba, it was inaugurated in October 2014, the exhibition Eva leaves and takes flight, Eva ceases being a rib, with the curatorship of Gabriela García Azcuy. This exhibition shows the works of five outstanding women in the world of Cuban visual arts: Aimeé García, Belkis Ayón, Cirenaica Moreira, Rocío García and Sandra Ramos; which despite having begun their struggle for the plastic arts in the late 80's of the last century, have maintained, in the words of the curator, that "female protagonism, which twenty-five years later, remains in the art scene of the Island like an already stainless spring". Participating artists: Aimeé García, Belkis Ayón, Cirenaica Moreira, Rocío García, Sandra Ramos.