The Lowe Art Museum unveils a collection of works by foremost Cuban female artists on November 3, 2016. Titled Unconscious Thoughts Animate the World: Selections from the Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection, the exhibition comprises thirty works that span the last five decades of Cuban history and communicate the island-nation’s cultural heritage, as well as notions of collective and individual identity. An Opening Reception will be held on November 3 from 7 to 9 pm, with talks by two of the artists from the exhibition, Sandra Ramos and Clara Morera. Tickets to the Opening ($12.50, free for Lowe members) can be purchased online at rsvp.lowemuseum.org.

Since the founding in 1961 of Cuba’s National Art Schools (Escuelas Nacionales de Arte, now known as the Instituto Superior de Arte or ISA)-whose objective was to establish educational equality that profoundly affected women in the arts-female Cuban artists are routinely recognized for their work, both nationally and internationally. The Shelley and Donald Rubin Private Collection of Cuban Art includes works by many of the country’s most prominent female artists and represents a wide range of media and genres.

The ten artists whose work is included in Unconscious Thoughts Animate the World invite us to think critically about feminine identity and accepted power structures by addressing the cultural, psychological, sociological, and anthropological aspects of the female condition. While Antonia Eiriz and Sandra Ceballos represent the flaws and contradictions inherent in Cuba’s political system, Cirenaica Moreira and Aimée García engage with and challenge traditional female stereotypes. Similarly, Belkis Ayón and María Magdalena Campos-Pons address the complexities of race and gender through their explorations of Afro-Cuban religions. Rocío García, on the other hand, explores society’s sexual norms, while Sandra Ramos bears witness to key moments in Cuban history.