Ornaghi & Prestinari on Their Cuba Residency and Exhibition in Milan

Milanese artists Valentina Ornaghi (1986) and Claudio Prestinari (1984) returned to Italy on February 19 after a six-week residency in Havana's Miramar district, curated by Carlos Garaicoa. In an interview, they describe a Cuba starkly different from expectations. Their exhibition "YOU + ME = US" with Loris Cecchini and Giovanni Ozzola opened in January at Galleria Continua's new Havana space. The residency aimed to foster connections between foreign artists and the Cuban art community. Daily routines included studio visits, meetings with artists and intellectuals like Mayerín Bello, a Cuban writer and professor of Italian literature at the University of Havana, and open studios. Material scarcity was a challenge; they brought alabaster from Italy. Their perception shifted: initially admiring Cuban artisans' resourcefulness, they came to see it as a burden of survival. The artists noted Havana's architectural decay and the slow pace of change despite events like Obama's visit and the Rolling Stones concert. They visited independent spaces like Fábrica de Arte Cubano and private apartments used for exhibitions. Their show "YOU + ME = US" uses bicycles as a medium, replacing pedals with alabaster sculptures to symbolize contact between Chinese and Cuban communities. The exhibition runs until June 30 at The Open Box in Milan.