The document provides biographical information about Cuban artist Tania Bruguera and discusses some of her key artworks that address issues of censorship, free speech, and political oppression through installations and performances. Her 2009 performance "Tatlin's Whisper #6 (Havana Version)" allowed members of the audience to give uncensored 1-minute speeches and highlighted the lack of free expression in Cuba. The document also summarizes one of her 2016 works "Referendum" which engaged with the European refugee crisis and immigration debates.

1. other works by
Tania Bruguera
The Burden of Guilt 1997-
1999
Decapitated lamb, rope, water,
salt, Cuban Soil

2. About Tania
Bruguera
TANIA BRUGUERA tries to activate viewers’
interest by recontextualizing powerful
images.Her artwork draws reference from
significant social and political events. She is
also interested in the widespread apathy that
has followed in the wake of several failed social
revolutions. (think of #occupywallst )
Apathy: Lack of care for something.
Context: The space that something exists in,
and information surrounding it.
Recontextualize: To CHANGE or alter the
information surrouding something.
The Burden of Guilt 1997-1999
Decapitated lamb, rope, water,
salt, Cuban Soil

3. TANIA BRUGUERA
Tania Bruguera (born 1968,
Havana, Cuba) has
previously worked with
installation and performance
art. She was trained at the
Instituto Superior de Arte in
Havana and at the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago.
Bruguera’s work pivots
around issues of power and
control.
IMMIGRANT MOVEMENT International
From a performance in 2009 at the
National University of Columbia at Bogota

4. Tania Bruguera
Untitled (Bogota), performance,
2009
Bruguera’s performance, at an auditorium of
the Facultad de Bellas Artes at the
Universidad Nacional, began with three
figures -- representing, the artist said, a
right-wing paramilitary fighter, a left-wing
guerrilla and a refugee displaced by the
long-running conflict in Colombia -- all
speaking simultaneously into a
microphone.
However, whatever they were trying to
communicate was overshadowed when the
second part of the show began, with an
assistant wading into the crowd carrying a
tray laden with lines of cocaine, presenting it
for the audience’s consumption.

5. Tania Bruguera
“I’ve been inspired by anything
that is an attempt to implement
Utopian ideas. Restrictions
also trigger me, especially when
someone says, “No, it is not
possible.”

6. What about you?? p8
How do you react when someone says
“No, it is not possible.” ?
1. Marco: I like to prove them wrong.
2. Kaylee: Agreed. I’ll challenge them.
3. Jaylin: Agreed. I don’t like being told that I can’t do
something. I’m gonna prove them wrong.
4. Jaylieen: Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. So I’ll
just walk away.
5. .

7. What about you?? p6
How do you react when someone says
“No, it is not possible.” ?
1. Michael: I do it and prove that its possible.
2. Danisa: It depends….like if it’s impossible to jump to the
sky, then they’re right.....but if it’s impossible to get a high
grade, i say alright, WATCH.
3. Abdul: I feel like it’s worse if I did something….and they
say it’s impossible. Even though i already did it....
4. .
5. .

8. Tania Bruguera
Tatlin’s Whisper #6 (Havana Version)
2009, Color video

9. Tania Bruguera
Tatlin’s Whisper #6 (Havana
Version)
2009, Color video
In a performance at the 2009
Havana Biennial, Tania Bruguera
provided temporary platform for
the free speech normally denied in
Cuba. Members of the audience
were invited to take the stage and
speak uncensored for one minute,
after which time they were
escorted away by two actors in
military uniforms.

10. Tania Bruguera
Tatlin’s Whisper #6 (Havana Version)
2009, Color video
A white dove was placed
on each speaker’s
shoulder in allusion to the
one that landed on Fidel
Castro during his first
speech in Havana after the
triumph of the 1959
revolution.

11. LET’S DO THIS.
TODAY.
Give A 1-Minute SPEECH.
Uncensored.

13. VLADIMIR
TATLIN
who the piece is named after
Monument to the Third
International
Planned: 1919 after Bolshevik
revolution
Built: Never.
• Was a portrait painter for a
long time, turned to
sculpture/architecture
• Favored Geometric forms
• Felt that all art should have
a purpose.

14. VLADIMIR TATLIN
This whole structure was to be built
on an rotating axis running up the
center, where Cube at the base
would make a full rotation once a
year, the pyramid in the middle
would rotate once a month, and the
cylinder would rotate once a day
Furthermore, the cube would house
lectures and legislative needs,
The pyramid was for executive
functions and…
the Cylinder was for publications
and radio information…including a
broadcast screen that would display
messages to the public.
Monument to the Third International
Planned: 1919 after Bolshevik revolution
Built: Never.

15. The importance of
free speech
.Ingrid: You’ve got the freedom to speak, but you know that everyone
else is listening to what you say. They could be judging or criticizing
what you say
--kozak: OR….remembering what you say for later.....
Ingrid: It’s scary. There’s a fear that this is all a trick or something.
Cass: I don’t think freedom exists. There’s no environment when you’re
free. The only time you’re truly free is when you alleviate all
expectations you have for yourself (or others).
Artan: We think we’re free but we’re not. There’s always someone
shutting you down.The government, or people.
Adrianna: We’re raised to be under the control…we expect to be limited,
to be held back. We think we’re free but we never really are.
.

16. The importance of
free speech
Kendell: I could talk about the first thing on my mind. I saw my grade in
Math and saw how it didn’t reflect my effort.
Adiba: I wanted to say more! This piece makes you WANT to say more.
The time limit keeps you from getting to the final point.
Mattia: .
Christian: When I was up there I released all my emotions stored in me
for a long time. All those people on airplanes, STANDING UP! I just
wanted to tell them to sit down!
Benz: (all in Russian). I like how vague the project was…we could take it
anywhere. I wish i used bigger Russian words to confuse us more.
. “scared money don’t make no money.”
.Tatiana: It’s nerve wracking to stand up in front of the room. If it’s
something more rehearsed…maybe?

17.  What struggles do immigrants face?
 Abdul: Persecution from government if they’re
undocumented.
 Sarah: Poverty
 Promia: Being taken advantage of by workers or people.
 Who represents immigrants politically?
 Artan: Democrats, most of the time
 Danisa: Court appointed lawyers.
 .
 .

18.  What struggles do immigrants face?
 Discrimination
 Inability to share opinions because of fear of deportation
(undocumented immigrants)
 .
 .
 Who represents immigrants politically?
 The United Nations on some levels
 Documented immigrants look out for undocumented
immigrants.

19. Opened in 2011 in Corona, Queens
Engages local communities, social
services, and elected officials to reform
immigration laws.
Immigrant
Movement
International
Ongoing
Socially
Engaged
Artwork
108-59
Roosevelt
Avenue
Queens, NY‎
11368

20. We have been called many names. Illegals. Aliens.
Guest Workers. Border crossers. Undesirables.
Exiles. Criminals. Non-citizens. Terrorists. Thieves.
Foreigners. Invaders. Undocumented.
Immigrant
Movement
International
Ongoing
Socially
Engaged
Artwork
108-59
Roosevelt
Avenue
Queens, NY‎
11368

21. MIGRANT MANIFESTO…
Our voices converge on these principles:
1.We know that international connectivity is the reality that migrants have
helped create, it is the place where we all reside. We understand that the
quality of life of a person in a country is contingent on migrants’ work. We
identify as part of the engine of change.
2. We are all tied to more than one country. The multilaterally shaped
phenomenon of migration
cannot be solved unilaterally, or else it generates a vulnerable reality for
migrants. Implementing universal rights is essential. The right to be
included belongs to everyone.
3. We have the right to move and the right to not be forced to move. We
demand the same privileges as corporations and the international elite, as
they have the freedom to travel and to establish themselves wherever they
choose. We are all worthy of opportunity and the chance to progress. We all
have the right to a better life.

22. MIGRANT MANIFESTO…
4. We believe that the only law deserving of our respect is an unprejudiced
law, one that protects everyone. No exclusions. No exceptions. We condemn
the criminalization of migrant lives.
5. We affirm that being a migrant does not mean belonging to a
specific social class nor carrying a particular legal status. To be a
migrant means to be an explorer; it means movement, this is our
shared condition. Solidarity is our wealth.
6. We acknowledge that individual people with inalienable rights are
the true barometer of civilization. We identify with the victories of the
abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement, the advancement of
women’s rights, and the rising achievements of the LGBTQ
community. It is our urgent responsibility and our historical duty to
make the rights of migrants the next triumph in the quest for human
dignity. It is inevitable that the poor treatment of migrants today will be
our dishonor tomorrow.

23. MIGRANT MANIFESTO…
7. We assert the value of the human experience and the intellectual capacity
that migrants bring with them as greatly as any labor they provide. We call for
the respect of the cultural, social, technical, and political knowledge that
migrants command.
8. We are convinced that the functionality of international borders should be
re-imagined in the service of humanity.
9. We understand the need to revive the concept of the commons, of the
earth as a space that everyone has the right to access and enjoy.
10. We witness how fear creates boundaries, how boundaries create hate
and how hate only serves the oppressors. We understand that migrants and
non-migrants are interconnected. When the rights of migrants are denied the
rights of citizens are at risk.

24. Tania Bruguera
Referendum
2016
Immigration is probably something that
2015 will be remembered for, since the
European refugee crisis has been
dramatically polarizing the public opinion
(it inspired many great artworks as well,
while photographers documented the
suffering of the refugees, which is
recently shown in World Press Photo of
the Y‎ear). On the other side of the
Atlantic, the controversy has been raised
over Republican Presidential candidate
Donald Tramp’s plan to build a wall
between the United States and Mexico
(even Pope Francis reacted by saying
that: a person who thinks only about
building walls, wherever they may be,
and not building bridges, is not
Christian). These crisis and controversial
ideas often influence the work of many
politically engaged artists.

25. Tania Bruguera
Referendum
2016
….
. .

26. Final thoughts??
Tatiana: Forces you to think about topics that may be uncomfortable or
things we normally wouldn’t think about. When you look at it, it feels
like you SHOULD be addressing it.
Nila: addresses real world and controversial problems. She gives
suggestions. With the Immigrant Movement International (IMI) she is
completely socially engaged and gives solitions.
Christian: She’s very direct and blunt. The perfect example is how…..?
What other artist serves cocaine to their viewers?
Gya: Maybe A$AP Rocky?
Herbert: Where she got the cocaine?
Kozak: You need to think harder about this one.

27. TANIA BRUGUERA
“AS MIGRATION BECOMES
A MORE CENTRAL ELEMENT
OF CONTEMPORARY
EXISTENCE, THE STATUS
AND IDENTITY OF THOSE
WHO LIVE OUTSIDE THEIR
PLACE OF ORIGIN STARTS
TO BECOME DEFINED, BY
THEIR CONDITION AS
IMMIGRANTS (and not just
on sharing a common
language).”
IMMIGRANT MOVEMENT International
108-59 Roosevelt Avenue
Queens, NY 11368

28. TANIA BRUGUERA
“THIS PROJECT
SEEKS TO EMBRACE
THIS COMMON
IMMIGRANT
IDENTITY AND
SHARED HUMAN
EXPERIENCE AND
CREATE NEW WAYS
FOR IMMIGRANTS TO
ACHIEVE SOCIAL
RECOGNITION. “IMMIGRANT MOVEMENT International
108-59 Roosevelt Avenue
Queens, NY 11368

29. Tania Bruguera
Referendum
2016
FINAL RESULTS
14. 24