Art

In Cuba, Art Is the Ultimate Act of Resilience

Two stories get told about this island — that it’s frozen in time or that it’s collapsing. Both are ways of not looking.

Rum, cigars, coffee, and rumba may be Cuba’s claims to fame. Spend a week with the people who make things here, and something deeper comes into focus that has little to do with nostalgia and everything to do with endurance. In a place where the lights go out regularly and supplies are scarce, Cuba’s artists and designers are producing world-class work, not despite the hardship, but as a way through it.

Art in Orkney

As they have for nearly everyone, the last 18 or so months have had an unpredictable impact on me.

POTTERY, ART & FOOD EXPERIENCE IN ABRUZZO

7 days, 6 nights in ITALY, July 24-30, 2022. Group limit, 8. Highlights: Transfer from Rome to medieval Castelli, International Collection of Contemporary Ceramics/pottery classes at Fattoria d’Arte i Colli in Lentella/watercolor class on Trabocchi Coast/cooking class with guide’s family/olive, cheese and wine tasting. €1,795 (near $2,082) ppdo. Single supp., €150 ($174).

New art museum, Paris

In Paris’ 1st arrondissement, a new modern art museum, the Bourse de Commerce: Pinault Collection (2 rue de Viarmes; phone +33 1 55 04 60 60, www.pinaultcollection.com/en), opened May 22, 2021.

THE ART OF FLORENCE: CRADLE OF THE RENAISSANCE

7-day, 6-night art history tour in Firenze (Florence), ITALY, Nov. 1-7, 2021 & March 21-27, 2022. Highlights: Palazzo Medici Riccardi for frescoes/early 15th-century Hospital of the Innocents (orphanage)/Uffizi Gallery/Bargello Nat’l Museum/at Palazzo Pitti, Boboli Gardens. From London, £2,610 (near $3,656) ppdo; land only, £2,380 ($3,334). Single supp., £380 ($532). Martin Randall Travel (London, England; in US, 800/988-6168, www.martinrandall.com).

On-the-Road Travel Tips (part 12)

With this issue, we have completed something unimaginable to me a year ago: 12 months’ worth of On-the-Road Travel Tips submitted by ITN readers (each followed by my own comments). It has been a journey of sharing and discovery. It has also provided a most pleasant distraction from the enduring pandemic that has affected our lives in so many limiting ways.

Travelers’ Intercom USA

ITN is temporarily accepting brief write-ups about the US. Information on independent travel. cultural and traditional sites and sources of handmade crafts plus little-known natural wonders are welcome. Avoid touting commercial theme parks, casinos or highly publicized touristy sites.

Email editor@intltravelnews.com or write to Travelers’ Intercom USA, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818.

MURALS TO SEQUOIAS IN CALIFORNIA

Art