Artist: Ramiro Diaz | Location: New Orleans, LA
Frenchmen Street Spirits in Storage

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Artist: Ramiro Diaz | Location: New Orleans, LA
New Orleans, LA
I was born and raised in Havana, Cuba and graduated from an arts school in the city in 2002. I quickly began exhibiting ceramics and paintings around Cuba and Latin America, including pieces in permanent exhibits in the National Ceramics Museums of Cuba and Argentina. After experiencing government censorship of my art and then visiting an international crafts fair in Mexico with a group of Cuban artists in 2012, I realized that in order to reach my full artistic potential, I would have to leave Cuba. I was granted a professional visa to go to an arts fair in April of 2014 in Mexico near the border. Once there, I crossed over to the US on foot and was granted political asylum. I spent seven months in Miami before relocating to New Orleans.
New Orleans reminds me of all of the good parts of Havana - the music, the architecture, and the creative spirit of the people. Once I settled there, I began selling my art at a local market and exhibiting around the city and country.