Help bring a young Cuban artist to Britain

Cuban music and dance have already seduced the world - now it’s the moment for their exciting visual arts scene!

With a commitment to free arts education at all levels, Cuba boasts world-renowned arts schools which have produced many brilliant visual artists. However, the Cuban people are still subject to a cruel blockade by the US government. This starves artists of materials and opportunities for exchange.

To help overcome these obstacles, the charity Music Fund for Cuba, with the collaboration of the Cuban Ministry of Culture and the GX Gallery, is organising a major exhibition, ¡PRESENTE! Contemporary Art from Cuba. It will take place at the GX Gallery in London this October.  A series of educational events will run alongside the exhibition, and all surplus from sales of the artworks will be used to support arts education projects in Cuba. 

We need your help to bring Adislén Reyes, a rising young star of Cuban art, to Britain for ¡PRESENTE! Some of her works use popular imagery while others use traditional artefacts, always in thought-provoking ways.  They offer a social and political commentary on today's Cuba and its relationship with the past.  Along with other internationally known Cuban artists whose work will be shown in the exhibition, Adislén will take part in public talks, educational activities and wider cultural events, reaching out to young people and broad audiences in the UK.

We need £3250 to bring Adislén to Britain for this ground-breaking cultural exchange:

• £1200 for international airfares
• £150 for travel documents
• £1900 for travel, accommodation and food within the UK 

We want every penny possible raised by art sales at ¡PRESENTE! to go back into arts education in Cuba - so we need your support NOW to ensure that this young artist can come and join others in spreading the word. Any funding over our target will be used to buy art equipment to send to Cuba. Back us at any level you can: your donation will make all the difference!  

Choose from our list of exciting Rewards for great opportunities to hear from the artist, receive a free exhibition catalogue, have your name in the catalogue, or come as a VIP guest to private viewings, as a thankyou for your support today. If you would like a Reward and would like to donate more than the amount listed, simply click and add to your donation on the next page.  Remember to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the 'Pledge' or 'Pay with bank transfer' button to make your donation.

PLEASE NOTE: Because of the US economic blockade against Cuba, the Music Fund for Cuba is not allowed to use PayPal or card payments, as these are routed through the US.  So we can only take Direct Debits through this Crowdfunder page - but don't worry, you will just make a one-off direct debit, we will not take any further payments! (If you prefer to pay by credit card, or if you do not have a UK bank account, you can donate here instead.)  At the very bottom of the donation page, you can tick the box if you wish to donate anonymously.

There are other ways you can help us meet our target too:

• Share this page with your social network and help spread the message

• Email the link for this page to your friends and let them know why you're backing our campaign

• Contact us at the Music Fund for Cuba to let us know about any patrons of the arts, family foundations, or other organisations who might also help us to bring Adislén here.

Find out more about ¡PRESENTE! Contemporary Art from Cuba here and the GX Gallery here.

Find out more about the Music Fund for Cuba here.

Find out more about Adislén Reyes here.

_{Music for our crowdfunder video is by longzijun}