We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hander Lara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hander below.

Hander, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The main risk that I consider I have taken has been linked to the decision to leave my country, abandon a life already started, with a structured career to re-start a new one in this country. This might seem like a common drama for many people, but it is still a difficult and delicate matter. Such a decision, at least in my case, meant distancing myself from my family, friends and all my loved ones, to face this new beginning alone, but at the same time full of hope. Another difficulty posed by this new beginning lies in the fact that it is very complex to transfer professional credibility from one context to another, which is why it requires proving your ability and worth again, applying all your knowledge and experiences to make your way.

The main reasons that led me to make this decision were, on the one hand, the precarious economic situation in which my country found itself (which continues to worsen over time), and on the other hand, I felt that I had reached a professional limit, which I could not expand within that context, so I decided to make my way in search of new horizons and opportunities.

At first this decision turned out to be very difficult, but over time I have begun to see the fruits of perseverance and hard work, as proof that it was not wrong and that the sacrifice has been worth it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Cuban Visual Artist based in Miami. My father is also an artist, so from a very young age I was linked to a creative environment. Years later I decided to dedicate myself to visual creation, studying at the San Alejandro Fine Arts Academy, at the University of the Arts of Cuba and at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Stockholm, Sweden. I have developed my work in different media such as sculpture, installation, photography, drawing and painting. I’ve participated in around ninety group exhibitions and sixteen solo shows, exhibiting in different countries like Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Antigua & Barbuda, Belgium, Spain, England, the United States, Austria, Sweden and Iceland. In 2007 I was awarded with the First Prize of the European Union Art Contest. From 2009 to 2020 I worked as a professor at the Visual Arts Faculty of the University of the Arts of Cuba, and from 2012 to 2016 I headed the Sculpture Department of the of that institution. Since 2022 I have been teaching at the Miami Arts Charter School, in Wynwood, Miami. I have also given workshops and talks at different universities and art centers such as the Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule. Halle, Alemania, The Royal University of Fine Arts (Kungl. Konsthögskolan). Estocolmo, Suecia, The Jönköping Museet. Jönköping, Suecia, Teoloyucan Museum, Mexico among others.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

In my opinion, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist lies in experiencing a sense of freedom and adventure that the creative process generates. This can become an almost therapeutic exercise that allows you to channel emotional and psychological charges, in addition to serving as an instrument to re-think the way in which we understand the reality of things and the processes of our contemporaneity. For me, creation is a vital necessity, it is like breathing. It is a way to filter my life experience to transform it into something creative. In the creative exercise I find the purpose of my existence, which gives me enormous satisfaction.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The main objective that guides my career lies in the need to think and resolve my daily life from a creative vision. I seek to make my work increasingly effective when it comes to expressing an idea or intention, as a projection of my thoughts and my life story. What really drives my creation does not lie in market aspects (which is still necessary and important), but in the need to creatively generate images and ideas to move thought and spirit.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://handerlara.wixsite.com/misitio
• Instagram: @handerlara_art
• Linkedin: Hander Lara Figueroa

Image Credits
– Hander Lara – Flor Perez