Factoría Habana, a new cultural center in the Old Havana section of the Cuban capital, opened on December 18 with Antecomienzo (Before Beginning), a group show that will run through April 2010. The show features artists who emerged in the 1990s and have since gained international reputations, including Lázaro Saavedra, Fernando Rodríguez, Abel Barroso, Ibrahim Miranda, Carlos Montes de Oca, Luis Gómez, Sandra Ramos, Osvaldo Yero, Aimée García and René Francisco. Though the works in Antecomienzo draw on a variety of creative approaches, they reflect a trend toward social conscience shared by many artists of their generation.

Factoria Habana is located at 308 O’Reilly Street, between Habana and Aguiar. Conceived as a project of urban and artistic recovery, the center is sponsored by the Havana Historian´s Office and Spanish curator Concha Fontenla. Factoría Habana’s goals include promoting the latest Cuban art as well as fostering the interaction of contemporary art with new technologies, sound and sensorial experimentation, industrial design, performance, and urban art.