Born in Matanzas, Cuba in 1967, Montes de Oca studied Art History at the University of Havana. As a researcher, curator and art critic based in Havana, she has curated numerous exhibitions and has published widely on Cuban, Latin American and Spanish art.

She has won several prizes, including Curaduría del 1er Salón de Arte Cubano Contemporáneo (1995), the Premio de Crítica dArte “Marcelo Pogolotti” (1998), the Premio “Guy Pérez Cisneros” de Crítica de Arte in the category of Reseña (1999) and in the category of Essay (2001). Recently, she co-authored Memory: Cuban Visual Art of the 20th Century/Memoria, Artes Visuales Cubanas del Siglo XX (2002, edition in English, and 2003, edition in Spanish) and co-curated the project Doble Seducción (Sala Amadís, INJUVE, Madrid (2003). She also produced an exhibition and catalogue entitled Labores domésticas, Versiones para otra historia de la visualidad en Cuba: Género, raza y grupos sociales (Pinar del Río and Havana, 2003-2004). She coordinated the conference/theoretical event at both the 8th and 9th Havana Biennials (2003, 2006).

Based in Havana, Lopez is an art critic and co-coordinator of the Batiscafo Project (http://www.batiscafo.org/)—a residency program launched in 2002 which seeks to facilitate dialogue and exchange between Cuban and international artists.

International artists work alongside Cuban artists in paired residencies that can result in working partnerships or separate outcomes.

Victor Fowler Calzada was born in Havana in 1960. In 1987 he graduated in Pedagogy (Spanish Language and Literature specialty) in the Instituto Superior Pedagógico “Enrique José Varona”, Havana. For several years he practised teaching in the secondary level. Between 1989 and 1992 he worked in the Biblioteca Nacional (National Archive) as a specialist for the Programa Nacional de la Lectura (National Program on Reading) where he organized the First National Conference for Promotion of Reading (Primer Encuentro Nacional de Promoción de Lectura). He was professor of the course Promoción de Lectura in the Escuela de Técnicos de Biblioteca. He has participated in several scientific events and international conferences, of which the most relevant are the Encuentro Nacional de Promoción de Lectura (1991, Biblioteca Nacional) and the Encuentros de Investigación José Lezama Lima’s work (1989, 1990, 1991, Biblioteca Nacional, and 1993, Universidad de la Havana), in all of which he took part and organized as well.

The Urban Field Speakers Series centres on the role of art in transforming the experience of the city. Through lectures, screenings and discussions, it explores how creative practices can help improve the quality of urban life and planning in Toronto and around the world. The 2006-2007 series brought together an array of international and local participants, including artists, architects, critical theorists, designers and historians, who are working at the intersections of technology, communications and aesthetics. Reflecting on a broad range of perspectives and practices, the events build upon each other to inspire dialogue on the role of the city in art, and art in the city.