CR’s Mark Sinclair is blogging from the Icograda World Design Congress in Havana. In this post, he visits the Cuba Gráfica exhibition, a retrospective of Cuban graphic design from 1959-2007 and talks to Eladio Rivadullo, the designer of the very first poster created for the Cuban revolution of 1959 (shown above).
In addition its seven day conference, the Icograda Congress boasts a range of satellite events and exhibitions. With Cuba hosting the Congress this year, many of the country’s designers have taken the opportunity to show some of their best work in a host of different venues around Havana. The largest show, Cuba Gráfica, was a comprehensive retrospective of Cuban visual communication design, and included examples of editorial and identity design, posters, websites, motion graphics, packaging and stamps from 1959 to 2007. Curated by Pepe Menendez, Pedro Contreras and Hector Villaverde, the exhibition is currently on show in the stunning setting of publishing house/gallery, Casa de las Americas, in the Vedado district of Havana. The opening night was popular with Icograda delegates and Cuban designers alike and I also had the pleasure of meeting a special guest, too – Eladio Rivadulla, the man behind the first poster ever designed for the Cuban revolution of 1959.