Photographs by Doug Clifford show Cuba in December 2015, six months after restored diplomatic relations with the U.S.

exhibit-photo

Cuban artist, on the spot paintings of the local surroundings. (December 2015)

Exhibition: “Cuba Photographs, December 2015” by Doug Clifford

Opening Reception: Thursday, December 8, 2016 | 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: Walter Grossmann Gallery, Joseph P. Healey Library (5th floor) | UMass Boston | 100 Morrissey Blvd. | Boston, Mass. | Click here for directions.

Just 6 months after the United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations in 2015, UMass Boston alumnus Doug Clifford and his wife spent eight days traveling around Cuba, from Havana and Cojimar to Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad.

On Thursday, December 8, University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston invites you to the opening of an exhibition that features more than 30 photographs that document that trip.

From Doug Clifford’s introductory statement about the exhibition: “These pictures show some of the places we saw and some of the people we encountered. They do not show the extent of the strength and perseverance of the Cuban people. Cuba is a resilient and vibrant country, and I hope these images portray some of the energy and beauty we experienced there.”

This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Doug CliffordAbout the photographer
When Doug Clifford (class of 1974) started his studies at UMass Boston, he had just gotten out of the military after almost four years and had returned from Vietnam less than six months before his classes began. Though he majored in English, Clifford also studied photography while at UMass Boston with Warren Hill and Steve Trefonides. Clifford’s entire professional career was in education, from his work as a tutor in the Veterans Program at UMass Boston through his retirement from the English Department faculty at Bunker Hill Community College. He has had photographs published in venues ranging from student newspapers to the Time-Life series of books on Vietnam. In 1988, the Grossmann Gallery hosted an exhibition of photographs by Clifford called “Return to Vietnam.” Photographs from that exhibition are available online here.


University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

“Cuban American Activists Connecting to Cuba” – panel discussion at the Joseph P. Healey Library

Members of the "Brigada Antonio Maceo" in Cuba

Members of the “Brigada Antonio Maceo” in Cuba

The Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston, in partnership with Casa de las Americas, Havana, Cuba, is archiving documentation of the “Movement in support of Cuba by members of the Cuban diaspora in the U.S., Puerto Rico & other countries (1960s-1990s).”

Members of the Antonio Maceo Brigade & other Cuban diaspora activists defied Cold War political and family prohibitions to return to Cuba beginning in 1977, changing U.S./Cuba dialogues and their own lives.

On Wednesday, March 23, 2016, participants in the movement in support of Cuba participated in a panel discussion at the Healey Library titled “Cuban American Activists Connecting to Cuba: Enduring Impacts on U.S. Cuba Relations”.  Panelists included Miren Uriarte, Mariana Gaston, and Manuel Gomez (members of the Antonio Maceo Brigade), who reflected on their experiences and engaged in lively dialogue with the audience, which consisted of students, faculty, staff and community members. UMass Boston Provost Winston Langley, Dean of Libraries Daniel Ortiz, and University Archivist Joanne Riley, who traveled to Cuba in early 2016 to work out a collaborative agreement with Casa de las Americas, shared news of the archiving project underway at Healey Library.

This event was co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Joseph P. Healey Library, and the Graduate program in Transnational Cultural & Community Studies (TCCS) at the University of Massachusetts Boston.


University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.