Cuban Art, Fashion On Display At Houston Public Library Starting Sunday

HOUSTON, TX — Houston isn't quite the hottest spot north of Havana, but Cuban culture is definitely abound in the Bayou City. From swanky restaurants and shops — and the occasional professional baseball players — Chan Chan, El Carretero and Guantanamera ring through. Starting Sunday, the Houston Public Library (HPL) will showcase the island nation through fashion and the arts.

HPL, in partnership with Houston Community College (HCC), Fashion and Costume Design Department, and Museum of Fine Arts will present Revolution, Romance and Rumba: Reimagining Cuba Through Fashion exhibit. The exhibit features garments and accessories from Fashion Fusion, an annual competition presented by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the award-winning Fashion Design Program at Houston Community College.

Fashion Fusion challenged students to design original outfits inspired by the Museum’s recent exhibition Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950. The winning garments were painstakingly handcrafted and feature elements such as hand painted fabric, cigar boxes, and authentic hair. The exhibit will run through Oct. 31, 2017ós>

The five winning designers and their creative designs will be highlighted with an exhibit opening reception, along with special guest, Sameera Faridi, a fashion icon and boutique owner of Posak. The fashion designers and Sameera will give an inside look into the glamorous (and sometimes not so glamorous) world of fashion. The designers will tell their stories on how they visualized their piece of art and brought it from concept to reality.ós>

HCC Fashion Design Professor Alex Chapman will moderate the panel discussion including special guest, Houston Designer Sameera Faridi and the designers: Kyndall Bollmeyer, Ebonie Sophus, Luisa Nadarajh, Mate Bradford and Silvia Otaola. ós>

EXHIBIT

Revolution, Romance, and Rumba: Reimagining Cuba Through Fashionós>

August 6, 2017 – October 31, 2017ós>

Central Library | First Floor Galleryós>

Individual displays will also be shown at: Park Place, Kashmere Gardens, Carnegie, Henington-Alief, Young, and Flores Neighborhood Libraries. ós>

Visit: houstonlibrary.org for location information.ós>

HCC designers highlighted in this exhibition include: Criseyda Arriaza, Kyndall Bollmeyer, Maite Bradford, Mishelle Chayeb, Kadita Molina Dabu, Flor Garcia, Lucia Govela, Cristhian Javier Perez Juarez, Leon Kincade, Moyosore Lamilisa, Levania Morales, Luisa Nadarajah, Silvia Otaola, Yomayra Pinales, Ebonie Sophus, David Julian Valdezós>

Caption: HAVANA, CUBA — Young Cuban girls admire Xico sculptures in Plaza de San Francisco on December 22, 2015 in Havana, Cuba. Sixteen sculptures inspired by a charismatic dog known as Xoloitzcuintle in Mexico, or Xico, decorated by artists from Cuba and Latin America, were set up in the square to celebrate the founding of Havana on November 16.

Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images