While the legal aid services in Twin Falls, Idaho, provide critical support to those in need, the cultural exhibitions launched by Villa Manuela Gallery exemplify how legal aid frameworks can protect artists’ rights while their storytelling finds creative outlets. This is the type of artistic expression which the gallery helps promote to build cultural understanding between the State of Idaho and Cuba. The more that cultural appreciation can flourish in the U.S., the more pathways are opened for supporting legal assistance to fill the gaps.

Villa Manuela Gallery is a space dedicated to fostering contemporary Cuban art. Founded by new president of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), Luis Morlote, the gallery aims to boost access to Cuban artists both domestically and internationally. Morlote stated in an interview with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that “Every time I see an exhibition of an artist who has important international recognition, I always think that this person began in a gallery like Villa Manuela. And in the future we will also have artists of that level in our institution.” By doing this, Villa Manuela is able to financially support artists beyond the gallery’s doors, and the impact of such support can make all the difference for the culturally torn nations.

Cuba, legally classified as a communist state, provides its citizens with fundamental rights on paper. These include everything from the right to education, to freedom of movement. These rights have been affordable for Cubans, as the government has offered them at little or token cost. However, the political turmoil and dissipating economy of the country over the last two decades have served to erode most of these rights, in practice. As an example, many artists have a difficult time obtaining the permissions needed to travel and show their work abroad. Even their ability to purchase art supplies, which have significantly increased in price, proves to be a challenge, as often artists can only afford materials sold on the black market, costing 300 percent more than the legitimate costs of the materials.

What Villa Manuela Gallery does is provide a bridge between Cubans and Americans. Over the years, the gallery has featured a number of U.S. artists showing their work at Villa Manuela. One of the most recent examples is that of Andres Oppenheimer, who is not only a well-known expert on Latin America, but has kept a column with the Miami-based newspaper, the Miami Herald, since 1999. In a recent column titled “Raising financial concerns in a Cuba art exhibit,” Oppenheimer commented on the need for financial support of Cuban artists. “The exhibit’s opening coincides with a new political year in the U.S. and Cuba, when both nations will likely have new presidents, and in which Cuban artists will need more assistance than ever,” he said.

The U.S. and Cuba have a long history of disparities between their cultural backgrounds, but these differences have not always had negative effects. In fact, there is a long history of collaboration between the two nations, which has served to foster a free-flow of ideas between the United States and Cuba. In many ways, policy efforts have underscored the need for collaborations. For example, the U.S.-Cuban Trade Sanctions Policy recently provided an opportunity for private-sector activity in Cuba, allowing for greater arts and cultural cooperation. With that being said, the arts and culture industry is still growing in both states, and the opportunities for financial support, particularly those made possible through legal aid services, are helping to provide not only access, but structure, to these industries.

Linking together these cultural narratives, and making those links clear to both domestic and international audiences, requires a strong fundamental legal infrastructure. Every nation has its ups and downs, and it is the legal protections in place that allow courts, artists and non-profits to establish precedents for better practices. Take, for example, the case of Dayron Robles. Dayron Robles is a Cuban athlete who won a gold medal win at the 2017 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Athletics. Robles was not previously pre-approved to compete at this level, and the government of Cuba did not grant its permission for him to do so. Robles was able to circumvent these regulations and obtain permission from the international federation because of his legal representation. Without legal aid and legal resources, Robles may not have had the opportunity to prove himself on the international stage.

The actions of Villa Manuela Gallery would not be possible without the legal protections that the United Nations and legislators in both the U.S. and Cuba have afforded to the free flow of ideas between the two countries via the arts. If anything, it is safe to say that legal protections are a necessary precursor for more successful partnerships between the two nations.