THE WORKSHOP
The
Callejón del Chorro, where the Taller
Experimental de Gráfica stands today, is a cull-de-sac, created
by closing the former Jamagüey street by a house. This house was
the oldest of the three houses that made up the alley, but it
was demolished in 1910, and replaced by the building that was
used as warehouse later.
In 1990s the
workshop moved to this old warehouse, as it had grown so much.
The Taller Experimental de Gráfica still occupies this building.
The Taller Experimental de Gráfica offers
intensive courses to teach the technique of wood and metal
engraving and the traditional lithography. Practical
engraving course is included in the programs of the School of
Arts. Courses for foreigners are highly recommended and
include one-on-one instruction by highly specialized teachers
for a modest price, depending on the length of the course, the
techniques used, and the number of editions made.
Personalized card editions and reproduction of
artistic works are also available.
Cuba imported thousands of lithographic
limestones from Germany in the beginning of the 19th century,
when the technique became widespread throughout the world. The
owners of the tobacco companies brought dozens of machines from
Germany and France and hoarded people to Havana who knew how to
use them. Many of the original machines are good preserved and
are still in use in the Taller Experimental de la Gráfica, like
the red woodcutting machine from 1829 that is the oldest of the
workshop.
The workshop has a space for more than ten
printing presses in use. The small Galería del Grabado upstairs
is an exhibition space where great original works of the center,
including etchings, lithographs, woodcuts and collagraphs, are
marketed. The visitor can walk freely between the gallery and
the workshop and watch the process of artistic creation. The
Gabinete de Estampas (Stamping Cabinet) serves to preserve the
lithographs from the first ones made in the workshop to the most
recent ones.
In 2016 the Taller Experimental de la
Gráfica had an important visitor: Michelle Obama visited this
place with her daughters Malia and Sasha during the historic
presidential visit to Cuba.
