potentially bringing an end to five decades of hostility. The first arrests were made on Tuesday, December 30th, after Bruguera announced a public performance with the intention of leaving an open microphone available to Cubans to allow them to freely express their thoughts. The performance, titled Tatlin’s wisper #6 – Havana Version, was already staged in 2009 during the 10th Havana Biennial. The event has attracted widespread media coverage both in favor and against her action and a public letter in support of Tania addressed to Raúl Castro was written and signed by over a thousand people across the globe. The letter stated: ‘We firmly believe her detention, and the withdrawal of her Cuban passport, are inappropriate responses to a work of art that simply sought to open space for public discussion.’ Eventually she was released and the Cuban government returned Tania Bruguera's passport on 10 July 2015, six months after confiscating it. In December 2015, Bruguera announced that she may still return to Cuba. She said that during the time of her detention she only agreed to leave under two conditions: that dissidents who were arrested after attending her aborted performance in Revolution Square be released; and that the Cuban government give her a signed and stamped letter guaranteeing that she could return to Cuba. On March 3, 2016 she launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for INSTAR (Institute of Artivism Hannah Arendt). The Institute focuses on creating bridges of trust, peaceful and considered responses in times of hardship, and to create a place where people with different political views can come together to build a better country. In October 2017, Tania Bruguera announced that she would be running for "President of Cuba", when the current President Raul Castro (brother of Fidel Castro) steps down. Bruguera has stated that the satirical performance is an act to expose the fact of Cuba being a one party state that is not elected by the people. She is hoping to enact change with bringing to light this reality, removing the culture of fear. Bruguera was arrested in December 2018 in advance of a planned protest against a Cuban law (Decree 349) that would require artists to apply for government licenses. On 6 December 2018, Bruguera was released from jail after three days along with a dozen other artists and activists for organizing sit-in protests against Decree 349. Bruguera filed a lawsuit against the Cuban government for defamation after the publication of information that sought to "damag[e] [the artist] and [her] family, psychologically, socially, and professionally,” was published in state-run media publications Gramma newspaper, Razones de Cuba, and La Jiribilla. Exhibitions Awards 2018: Inga Maren Otto Fellowship. The Watermill Center. Long Island, New York, United States. 2013: Meadows Prize. Meadows School of Art and The Meadows Foundation. Texas, United States. 2012: Honorary Committee. 40 Years of Latino Arts & Culture. El Museo del Barrio. New York, United States. 2012: Derek Williams Trust Purchase Award. Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales, Contemporary Art Collection. Wales, United Kingdom. 2012: Artes Mundi Finalist. National Museum of Art. Wales, United Kingdom. 2011: Mid-Career Artist CIFO Grant. Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation. Florida, United States. 2011: Best Show in a University Gallery in 2010: “Tania Bruguera: On the Political Imaginary.” AICA Awards. New York, United States. 2011: The Bronx Museum of the Art's recognition. The Bronx Museum of the Arts. New York, United States. 2010: Biennial Competition Award. The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. New York, United States. 2009: Ordway Prize Finalist. Creative Link for the Arts / The New Museum. New York, United States. 1st Neuberger Prize. Neuberger