FAR

What does it take to develop an opera? To tell a resonating story inspired by an historic Afro-Cuban artist and activist? Join us Friday, February 25th beginning at 4:30pm for an intimate, behind the scenes conversation with the makers of Aponte: An Opera (working title). You’ll have a chance to hear from the creative team directly about their process and to participate in a community Q&A. Drinks will be available for purchase (cash bar).

The creative team currently includes Teresita Fernández (Visual Artist); Yosvany Terry (Composer); Bárbaro Martínez-Ruiz (Art Historian); Jessica Lanay (Librettist); and Ian Askew (Librettist); Ada Ferrer (Historian) (will not be present).

About Aponte
Aponte is an opera inspired by 19th-century Afro-Cuban hero José Antonio Aponte, who ignited a slave rebellion in Cuba and created an extraordinary, and now lost, artifact, the “Book of Paintings.”

The creative team reimagines Aponte’s story for our time, beginning with Aponte’s own words—about his art, his humanity, his revolution. It connects the work and passion of making political and social change with the power of art and the imagination to confirm an empowered image of Africans in the Atlantic world (Cuba), amplifying the expansive traditions, rich body of knowledge, moral philosophy, and global history, which informed Aponte’s life.

Image Credit: Image: Teresita Fernández, Dark Earth (Subterranean), detail; 2019Solid charcoal and mixed media on chromed panel 80” x 64” x 2” Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and LondonPhotographer: Elisabeth Bernstein