Visitors roamed a maze-like room Thursday night taking in the art of 10 Cuban women. Like the artwork, the winding walkway encouraged each viewer to decide their own path and interpretation.
The “Layered Lives” exhibition features 60 works showcasing perspectives on identity, spirituality, migration and the lived realities of the 10 Cuban women who created them. The work spans three decades of photography, painting, ceramics and prints. The exhibition runs from Aug. 25 to Jan. 3.
The exhibit is part of the Art After Dark Museum Nights: Noche de Museo series, which celebrates Cuban and Latin American art culture. Noche de Museo takes place every second Thursday of the month from 6 p.m to 9 p.m.
Thursday’s Noche de Museo offered attendees a variety of activities throughout the night. Beyond exploring the art exhibit, visitors could take salsa and bachata lessons with Gator Salsa and watch the movie “A Song for My Land” or “Una canción para mi tierra” hosted by the Latino Film Festival.
At the center of the exhibit is Mabel Poblet’s mirror piece, an iridescent floor-length chandelier that lights up the room in vibrant purple and blue hues. The piece is entitled “Diarios de viaje,” or “Travel Diaries,” and it consists of tiny pictures of Poblet’s travels.
Eric Segal, the Harn Museum’s director of education and curator of academic programs, said Noche de Museo is the museum's celebration of Latin American art, culture, language and creativity.
“Noche de Museo is always an opportunity to highlight Latin American art on view at the Harn Museum and to work with community and campus partners to celebrate and elevate Hispanic heritage,” Segal said.
Sofía Muñoz-Repiso, a 24-year-old first-year master’s student, tabled as part of UF’s Center of Latin American Studies, her program of study, to educate eventgoers about opportunities like study abroad.
Born in Miami and raised by her Nicaraguan mother and Cuban father, Repiso has always been immersed in Latin American culture. She said she found it fascinating to learn more about her heritage through her studies.
Events like Noche de Museo keep people’s minds open, Repiso said. They emphasize that Latino culture is here to stay, she said, and it’s important to know, celebrate and appreciate the community.
“It’s so easy to kind of fall into our own bubbles and our own bigotry,” Repiso said.
Noche de Museo is just one night a month, Repiso said, so people should come out and try different things.
“I think in a small town like this, it’s a good thing for people who may not be aware of Latinos or what kind of culture we have to contribute to come out and see exactly what we have to offer,” Repiso said.
Ada Voight, a 19-year-old UF fine arts student, went to the Harn as part of a class assignment. An artist herself, she said it would be boring to only display art from the same perspective. In exploring the pieces of “Layered Lives,” she looked for inspiration and diversity to add to her own style, she said.
Voight’s assignment was to analyze 10 artworks, explain how they made her feel and identify why she found them interesting.
“It’s beautiful to see experiences that you have — that aren’t usually shown publicly — thought poetically,” Voight said.
Without outside perspectives, Voight said, she’d be making extremely stale art.
Sara Garzon, who curated “Layered Lives,” said the artwork supersedes culture and dives into the deeper meaning of what it’s like to be a woman.
“I think about giving our audiences the expansive idea and understanding of the complexities and contradictions of being women,” Garzon said.
The exhibit was designed to be a maze because womanhood isn’t linear, she said. Viewers are offered a series of entry points but never any direct understanding of where they’re going.
“There’s many thresholds you can go through, but none of them really show you a way out,” she said. “That encapsulates what is at stake with this exhibition. There is no one direction.”
Contact Emily Medina-Finsen at emedina-finsen@alligator.org. Follow her on X @EmilyMedFinZ27.
Emily is a UF journalism senior and The Alligator's Fall 2026 El Caimán reporter. This is her second semester working with The Alligator and enjoys reporting on the community and stories surrounding Hispanic culture. Emily adores horses, teaching and riding in her spare time, adores reading and picking up new hobbies.
