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The Cuban Art Factory (FAC) announced a temporary closure this Sunday through an official statement published on Facebook, in which it acknowledges that it is "forced to take a pause" to reorganize, without specifying the exact reasons or the duration of the closure.
"This decision has not been easy, but we understand that in order to continue providing the quality and love you deserve, it is necessary for us to reorganize," states the text signed by the team of the cultural space, addressed to their "dear community."
The statement acknowledges that "the difficulties we face are part of a broader context," a phrasing that avoids directly naming the accumulated pressures of the Cuban regime on the institution, but is eloquent for those who have followed the conflict between the FAC and the state's cultural authorities.
Despite the closure, the institution promised to maintain a minimal level of activity: "Although we will be closing temporarily, we will open our doors on specific occasions for special events that we will communicate to you in advance."
The announcement comes months after an escalation of tensions between the FAC and the regime. At the end of December 2025, an incident at the entrance of the venue was used by the Cuban Institute of Music (ICM) and official media to launch a discrediting campaign over alleged racial discrimination.
The FAC described the accusations as "false, shameful, and defamatory" in a statement on January 1, 2026.
The director of the FAC, the musician X Alfonso, publicly responded to the regime that same day with a powerful statement: "We have been a thorn in the side of the Ministry of Culture since July 2018. Every week involves dealing with absurdities, censorship, and a lack of dialogue."
The conflict escalated in October 2025, when the regime censored a tribute to Celia Cruz that the FAC was organizing to commemorate the centenary of her birth, as reported by the institution itself.
It is not the first time that the FAC has faced a closure. Founded in February 2014 by X Alfonso in an old oil factory in Vedado, Havana, the space closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and did not reopen until March 2022, after two years of inactivity.
In October 2023, the energy crisis once again threatened its operation: the electricity plan assigned by the ministries only allowed it to open two days a month instead of its usual 16 days, and the FAC even asked the public to bring their own light source to continue operating with generators.
In September 2025, there was another temporary closure for maintenance, with reopening on October 2 of that year.
The FAC operates with total economic independence from the Cuban state. The institution has emphasized this repeatedly: "The financial self-sustainability of the FAC depends exclusively on the efforts of its members and the collaboration of private actors; no institution covers our operational expenses."
"Our commitment is to return to regular programming as soon as possible because we firmly believe in the power of art to bring us together and support one another during difficult times," concludes the statement from this Sunday.
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