Left Behind

Way before it became a dungeon for high-ranking Al-Qaeda leaders in the wake of 9/11, the American naval base on the southeastern tip of Cuba housed tens of thousands of Haitians and Cubans seeking to flee the political turmoil gripping their homelands. Though many of the Cuban balseros held at Guantánamo during the Clinton administration were eventually allowed entry to the United States, that was not the case for nearly 15,000 Haitians who were denied asylum by our government and later repatriated. Kept at Bay: Art on Guantánamo, a new multimedia exhibit opening from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Frost Art Museum (10975 SW 17th St., Miami), explores the experiences of people directly connected to life at Gitmo through recent history, ranging from American military personnel and their families to Haitian and Cuban refugees to post-9/11 terrorist detainees. The arresting show has been curated by students in the Museum Studies program at Florida International University, under the direction of Melissa Diaz. The group is working in association with the Guantánamo Public Memory Project, an organization steered by Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, which seeks to raise public awareness of the controversial naval station and its policies. The exhibit will be on display through October 19. Admission is free, and museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Call 305-348-2890 or visit thefrost.fiu.edu.
Wed., Sept. 10, 6-9 p.m., 2014