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The World Food Programme (WFP) launched last Tuesday, from the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, three national visual arts competitions grouped under the theme “Views that Nourish,” with the aim of raising awareness about food security and promoting good nutritional habits.
The announcement comes at the worst moment of the food crisis in Cuba in decades: five provinces are facing critical levels of food survival —Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cuba— according to a report from the Food Monitor Program published this month.
Etienne Labande, representative of the PMA in Cuba, emphasized that these initiatives provide "people the opportunity to express themselves on a topic that often lacks much space."
Labande added that "art serves as another language to convey the same message, complementing formal education with a broader impact."
The three competitions are aimed at different age groups and artistic expressions.
The National Children's Visual Arts Contest "PMA in Action" invites children and adolescents aged five to 18 years under the theme "A Multicolored Plate for Every Stage of Life," with a submission deadline of July 31 and awards to be presented in October in Havana.
The adult competition, "Gazing that Nourishes: Art for Awareness," proposes the theme "Knowledge that Nourishes: Nutrition, Tradition, and Community" and will accept submissions at the Center for the Development of Visual Arts (CDAV) until July 30; three monetary awards will be given, and the 12 best pieces will be included in an exhibition.
The third competition, "Perspectives that Nourish: Photographing Food Security," is open to individuals over 18 years old residing in Cuba across three categories: Nutrition Portraits, Life on Earth, and Stories of Resilience, with submissions accepted until June 29; the winning works will be exhibited at the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba in September.
Danilo Vega Cabrera, technical-artistic deputy director of CDAV, stated that "this year we are maintaining the guidelines, broadening the range of expressions, and we are open to a greater number of works, as long as they meet the quality and thematic requirements."
The call is supported by the University of the Arts of Cuba, the National Council of Plastic Arts, the San Alejandro School of Visual Arts, and the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, among other institutions.
The tension between the institutional message and everyday reality is hard to ignore: deaths from malnutrition increased by 74% between 2022 and 2023, rising from 43 to 75 fatalities according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), while 96.91% of Cubans lost access to food due to inflation in August 2025.
The situation particularly affects the youngest: only 9% of Cuban children have access to two of the eight essential foods for a healthy diet, according to UNICEF.
After Hurricane Melissa in November 2025, the WFP assisted more than 900,000 people in the provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, and Holguín, highlighting the extent of the food dependency faced by the island.
The WFP has been celebrating artistic competitions related to nutrition in Cuba since 1998, and the 2024 edition revived the visual arts contest for adults after a 20-year hiatus, as well as launching the creative photography competition for the first time; the 2026 call represents the continuation of this new phase.
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