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The Cuban government, via the Ministry of Culture, oversees, funds, and supports artists licensed to work on the island. The state formally recognizes state-sponsored artists and extends to these artists the right and opportunity to exhibit their works. State-sponsored artists are trained at a number of institutions, such as the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in visual arts, music, dance, and communication arts. Graduates of the ISA and other state institutions of art are exclusively employed and licensed to work as artists within and outside of the country.
Cuba's training and state employment of artists has been established since the early years of the revolution, and in 2018, Decree 349 expanded guidelines reserving exhibitions of art only for licensed state artists to showcase and disseminate their work. The artists listed within this guide under the category of "State-Sponsored Artists" have taken on the task of producing and disseminating digital art that is approved by the state. This, alongside the global interest in digital art/AFT's, has played a significant role in the development of digital art forms.
Commentary by K. L. Cespedes