Conceptual Art at the 12th Habana Biennial Vandalized by Locals

Locals have vandalized the conceptual art exhibition during the 12th Habana Biennial. According to reports, guard Moraima Cobas, said: 'I heard a man, yesterday, saying that people stole fragments from an art work that represents a massive birthday cake made of layers of polychrome plastic materials only to cut those fragments into smaller pieces to make their own jewellery. The 150 pesos (6 dollars) a month we are paid to keep the place safe does not compensate for all the effort we have had to put into preventing people from pillaging the art. Everybody wants to steal. We need to be so vigilant in our daily lives. It is part of our culture'.

This year, the program of activities includes performances from the worlds of dance, theatre, music, film and literature. In the words of one of the organisers: "It won't be a Biennial for collectors or gallerists, but rather to make a connection with the city". There will be no official opening or specific venue; art will spill out of the galleries, bursting into the streets which will be bubbling with ideas.

The 12th Biennial will be held in squares, parks and urban spaces, as well as in the usual venues for the event, including the Wifredo Lam Centre of Contemporary Art, the photo library Fototeca de Cuba, the Centre for the Development of Visual Arts and the Cuba Pavilion.

The Indian artist Nikhil Chopra, the Mexicans Héctor Zamora and Sandra Calvo, the Austrians Axel Stockburger and Johann Lurf, the Aruban Nelson González, the Peruvian César Cornejo and the Argentinean Dolores Cáceres have confirmed their participation, joining the list of more than 200 artists and collective projects from 44 countries acrossLatin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. The list also includes Cuban artists, displaying their innovative and experimental work