A delegation of U.S. cultural ambassadors is spending four days in Cuba this week, following President Obama’s recent visit. The delegation from April 18 to 21 includes co-chairs of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities George Stevens, Jr. and Margo Lion, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu, violinist Joshua Bell, director/choreographer Martha Clarke, Miami City Ballet director Lourdes Lopez, singer/songwriter Dave Matthews, and actor/singer John Lloyd Young, among others. Delegation members will participate in scholarly and artistic events and exchanges in addition to meetings with Cuban government officials and directors of Cuban cultural institutions. An NEA press release states that the trip’s purpose is to “advance deeper cooperation around the common bonds of our heritages—arts and culture—and identify greater opportunities for people-to-people artistic and cultural collaborations.” In May of 2015, cultural diplomacy between the U.S. and Cuba was opened when the Minnesota Orchestra became the first American orchestra to visit Cuba after President Obama announced the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries in December 2014. Read League President and CEO Jesse Rosen’s report about the Minnesota Orchestra’s Cuba visit in Symphony magazine here.
Posted April 18, 2016
