National Schools of Art, Cubanacán
CubaNational Council on Cultural Heritage4th St. and 13th St., #810, Vedado, CP 10400Havana.
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Description
The set of buildings conforming the National Schools of Art, created in 1962, constitutes one of the most outstanding examples of contemporary Cuban architecture, with an acknowledged artistic value, reuniting testimonial values stemming from the historic moment in which it was built to serve as a the training school for artists. Some of the graduates form part of the history of contemporary Cuban art and the schools constitute a well-acknowledged set of Cuban architecture at an international level.
The architects that implemented the project took the decision of constructing the buildings based on two essential constructive elements: bricks and Catalan domes, given the scarcity of cement and concrete at that time. This has been the main characteristic of the set, regardless of the specificity of each school, inserted within an important natural context.
The creation of these National Schools of Art pursued a fundamental premise, that of serving as the training school for Cuban artists in five specialties: Plastic Arts, Music, Ballet, Drama, Modern and Folkloric Dancing and to establish cultural cooperation with other underdeveloped countries.
Its faculty, during the 60s and 70s, was formed by outstanding Cuban and Latin American artists and graduated the most representative artists of Cuban art.
Given all these reasons the schools are considered the most advanced example of an all-encompassing and multidisciplinary pedagogical and artistic project.