Tania Bruguera is a political artist who works primarily in behavior art (arte de conducta). Her work explores the role of the audience in performances and the relationship between ethics and desire. In 2002 she created the Cátedra Arte de Conducta, the first center in Havana dedicated to the study of political art. Tania Bruguera (Havana, 1968) received her BA in 1992 from the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, and a MFA in Performance from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2001. Her performances, installations and videos have been featured at the 49th Venice Biennale (2001), Havana Biennial (2000), Kwangu Biennial (2000), SITE Santa Fe (1999), Johannesburg Biennial (1997), and XXIII Biennial of São Paulo (1996) as well as in  Spain, the U.S. (Chicago, Boston, N.Y.), Holland, Finland, and England. A 1998, Bruguera was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. Through her performance practice, she describes the chaos and pain, as well as the beauty that is Cuba. Coming of age in communist Cuba, Bruguera is of a new generation of artists choosing to stay on the Island rather then emigrate as did many artist before her. El peso de la culpa (The Burden of Guilt, 1995), the subject of José Muñoz' essay included here, explores conflictive feelings produced by staying. As Muñoz argues, her work is a critical retention of shame instead of more familiar Cuban negotiation of shame, that includes rejection, outward projection, or cleansing. Cabeza Abajo (Head Down), for instance, also displays a posture other than the direct or simplistic rejection of shame. The critical nature of her controversial of her work has produced an ambivalent response in Cuba fueling both censorship by the Cuban government and admiration. 

Begin this path: Tania Bruguera (Cuba)

1. Performing Greater Cuba: Tania Bruguera and the Burden of Guilt
2. Tania Bruguera: Interview
3. Videos (Plays and Performances)
4. Other Resources
5. Biblography

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