Ismael Enrique Olazábal Báez

Ismael Enrique Olazábal Báez

Camagüey, Cuba (*1997)
About Artist

Ismael Enrique Olazábal Báez is a Cuban architect and visual artist who graduated in 2021 from the University of Camagüey “Ignacio Agramonte.” His practice brings together architecture and contemporary visual creation, shaping a career that connects design, teaching, and artistic production.

Throughout his professional path, he has worked as a professor of Design and Graphic Expression, while also participating in projects involving the design of institutional and hotel spaces, as well as collaborations with artists and editorial initiatives. These experiences have helped define an interdisciplinary practice in which architecture, illustration, and visual arts intersect.

Since 2023, he has collaborated with Taller Doña Martha Jiménez Gallery, reinforcing his connection to the contemporary Cuban art circuit. His experience also includes interventions in hospitals, hotels, and community spaces, reflecting a clear commitment to the relationship between art, environment, and lived experience.

His artistic career has been recognized with awards and distinctions in national salons and competitions. Among his most recent recognitions are the Antonia Eiriz Creation Grant and a collateral award at Prisma 11, both in 2026. He has also received prizes in events such as the Salón de la Ciudad, Salón Gestos, and Salón Fidelio Ponce, among others.

Since 2019, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions, and in 2026 he presented his solo exhibition Lo prometido at Casa México, Havana. His work reveals a particular sensitivity toward memory, space, and the symbolic dimension of objects, within a practice that links visual language with the marks of time and shared experience.

Curriculum

2021

Architecture graduate from Ignacio Agramonte University (Camagüey)

Solo Exhibitions
2026 As promised, Casa México, Havana, as a result of winning the Second Prize in the third edition of the Young Mala Yerba Art Competition (sponsored by the Los Carbonell Foundation).
Prizes and Mentions
April 2026: The Cuban Arts Group Collateral Award (Prisma 11 competition, Artemorfosis Havana). April 2026: Winners' Exhibition Malayerba, Salón Blanco (Havana) January 2026: Winner of the Antonia Eiriz Creative Grant from the AHS (Havana) November 2025: Second prize at the third edition of the Mala Yerba Young Art Competition (Havana), sponsored by the Los Carbonell Foundation. October 2025: Special Mention at the third edition of the René Valdés Contemporary Art Salon (Santiago de Cuba); Luciano Méndez Collection Collateral Award, AHS Collateral Award, Art History Department Collateral Award. September 2025: Second place at the 34th Fidelio Ponce Visual Arts Salon (Camagüey) and Collateral Award from the Office of the City Historian of Camagüey. December 2024: Mention at the 12th National Small-Format Salon April 2024: Mention at the 11th AHS "Gestos" Salon and Collateral Award from the Alejo Carpentier Universal Art Gallery February 2024: First place at the 34th edition of the City Salon; Collateral Award from the Visual Arts Council and Special Collateral Mention from the Caguayo Foundation
Collections

Los Carbonell Foundation (Panama)