Luis Antonio González, from Las Tunas, won the First Prize.

The Guernica Hall 2023 came to an end after two days of actions aimed at promoting artistic creation, from the continuity of conferences given by the Camagüey photographer Argel Ernesto González to a children's workshop that became a sample of the beauty that inhabits both children and adults.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Also commendable was the ceramics workshop given by the creator Yamila Coma, who took the attendees to the genesis of nature, the richness of kaolin, red and black clay, which have left the mark of man in our environment.

Yudier Gamboa Espinosa (right) won second place.

The Guernica Hall 2023 brought us closer to twenty pieces and the First Prize went to the work Escena de una despedida, by Luis Antonio González, from Las Tunas. Second place went to La eternidad no basta para todos, by Yudier Gamboa Espinosa, also from the Cuban Estern Balcony. The third prize went to Untitled, by Eider Maxhenri Garbey, from Santiago de Cuba.

In conversation with the members of the jury (art critic Dailin Carracedo and the creative members of the Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC), José Manuel Mayo, and Yamila Coma Vargas, they agreed on the need to support projects that rescue the manifestations of the visual arts.

Carracedo said: "This Salon brings back to mind the need for young visual artists to be motivated to present their work because it is not that we lack young talent, it is that for many reasons they do not present their work. This Salon has also been a thermometer to measure the 'whereabouts' of artistic creation and its current conditions. Now, for example, digital art and photography prevailed, while sculptures and audiovisual exhibitions were absent."

Likewise, José Manuel Mayo said: "The Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS in Spanish) is trying to work with young people who have not left the academy, and this is a good thing, but there is a 'risk' that the Hall will be below what is expected or what it was many years ago. I think that compared to previous years, it has regressed both in terms of participation and quality. It is commendable the work of the AHS to make a show where there are hardly any young artists. I was struck by the almost non-existent presence of pictorial works and the disappearance of sculpture in the Las Tunas salons."

The reception of this Hall, on the other hand, demonstrated the eagerness to create and to be part of a cultural network, an aspect that should be attended to by the cultural institutions created to support and promote visual creation. In line with this theme, José Manuel Mayo recommends that AHS carry out workshops for new creators.

Music, poetry, and good vibes accompanied the visual artists. The inauguration of the Hall was a party, as was the whole event. Young people give us hope and creativity.