After seeing an exhibition of Cuban Art in Düsseldorf, the art patrons and collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig began to interest themselves in contemporary Cuban art. They made many visits to Cuba and formed an important collection of Cuban art, including artists Belkis Ayón Manso, José Braulio Bedia Valdés, Los Carpinteros, Antonio Eligio Fernández, Kcho, and Marta Mariá Pérez Bravo. This couple of world-renowned European private collectors developed the idea to create a museum in Havana with support from their foundation, the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation located in Aachen. This German Foundation has links with over twenty public museums based in Europe and Asia. However, the creation of such a Project became impossible at the time, so they decided that a foundation with the mission of protecting and promoting Cuban artists in Cuba and abroad would be the idea. Thus, Ludwig's commitment and cooperation allowed the new foundation, the first in South America, to respond to the enormous economic difficulties of the island, which had previously caused the emigration of artists and the weakening of cultural institutions.[1]
Created in 1995 as an autonomous, non-governmental, and non-profit public entity, the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba is today an important center that helps protect, preserve and promote the work of contemporary Cuban artists in and outside of Cuba. It is administered by the American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC),[2] and is directed by its current president Helmo Hernández.[3]
