HAVANA (CUBA).- An enormous "African American flag" with stars and stripes in black, green and red will greet visitors to the Havana Biennial, which opens Friday with a collection of works highlighting the US-Cuban thaw.

The flag, by black American artist David Hammons, is among the 100 works shipped south by the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York for the 12th edition of Cuba's preeminent art show.

Entitled "Wild Noise," the exhibit features works by 54 artists, with a special focus on African Americans, in a nod to the shared roots of the countries' black communities.

It also includes a selection of Polaroids by late pop art guru Andy Warhol, plus an offbeat "ice rink" by Irish-American artist Duke Riley, which will give Cubans the novel experience of skating and playing hockey on artificial plastic ice set up on Havana's famous seaside promenade, the Malecon.

"Thanks to this exhibit, Cubans will be able to appreciate a zone of contemporary American art of the highest quality, which is practically unprecedented for the Cuban public," said the exhibit's Cuban curator, Corina Matamoros.

In all, more than 200 artists from 44 countries will be featured in the biennial, which opens the day after the United States and Cuba hold their latest round of talks on restoring the ties they severed in 1961, in the midst of the Cold War.

"The world is very tuned in to what is happening in Cuba right now. Suddenly we're in style and everyone wants to come to Havana," said the biennial's director, Jorge Fernandez.

The biennial runs until June 22.
 



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