A project by the artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov during the 11th Havana Biennial was nearly derailed when the US Department of the Treasury denied the artists the necessary public performance and exhibition license that would allow five US children to travel to Havana, saying the project was "not consistent with the current US policy on Cuba." A government official who declined to be named told The Art Newspaper the state department was afraid the American children would be used for political propaganda by the Cuban government. However, after winning an appeal, the Kabakovs' Ship of Tolerance opened at the Oratorio San Filpe Neri in Havana, with a classical music concert performed by children from the US, Russia and Cuba. Read more...
Image: Children's orchestra performs in Havana as part of the Kabakov's Ship of Tolerance project
