…As well-known local artist Tania Bruguera placed under house arrest

As anti-government protests continue in Cuba over artistic freedom, outspoken Cuban artist Tania Bruguera has reportedly been placed under house arrest there after being forcefully detained.

Information coming out of Cuba suggested that Bruguera was placed under house arrest as she continued to protest against the Cuban government’s anti-free speech statute known as Decree 349. She has repeatedly been detained by Cuban authorities in recent years over her outspoken stance on artistic freedom in the communist-led Caribbean island.

Her sister, Deborah Bruguera reported to The Art Newspaper that the Cuban authorities are building a case against Tania. This latest development comes as protests continue in Havana over artistic freedom, resulting in a standoff against the Cuban government.

Only last week, members of the San Isidro Movement, a Cuban art collective, went on hunger strike following the arrest and imprisonment of rapper Denis Solís González.

In a series of posts on Facebook, Deborah Bruguera described how her sister was detained last Friday. According to the sister, Tania Bruguera was taken to Infanta police station “against her will” and told she could not leave her house to buy water or food. She was reportedly released approximately 1.35 p.m. the following day.

Tania Bruguera, who was scheduled to travel overseas for work purposes, has responded to her house arrest saying she “is not leaving Cuba until the situation with independent artists is resolved”, adding that she was putting off all overseas work projects for now.

POLIC DEPLOYMENT OUTSIDE ART INSTITUTION’S HEADQUARTERS

A statement posted yesterday on Facebook by the Instituto de Artivismo Hannah Arendt (Instar) – the arts institution in Cuba founded in 2015 by Tania Bruguera – reported that there is a police deployment outside its headquarters in Havana.

In June this year Bruguera was taken into custody to prevent her from taking part in a demonstration against police violence. In the meantime support is growing for the San Isidro Movement.

Members of the group, Anamely Ramos González and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, were hiding in the collective’s headquarters in Havana, as part of an escalating row over alleged human rights abuses by Cuban state security. Cuban authorities subsequently raided the building; Otero Alcántara was once again detained by authorities while members of San Isidro are now under de facto house arrest.