Druid City is a bit like a curio shop. It’s enormously inviting, with natural splendor and a pretty city, that beckons from the outside, and feels lovely from the inside. It seems like a cool but pretty unassuming little place in the South, with lots of charm and a good energy. There are lots of great restaurants, with international and local food, and then there the splendor in the hotels Tuscaloosa offers. And everywhere, there are plenty of pleasant surprises.
There are some interesting local scenes and cultures, with a happening gallery scene, interesting music, and great places to hang out. In large part this is due to the college culture, that always keeps things buzzing, and keeps the vision focused on the global picture. This is especially evident in the upcoming “Side by Side+http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=8509 ” photography exhibition coming in October, 2010. In this exhibition, currently on display in Havana, Cuba, Nestor Marti teamed up with Chip Cooper. From Havana and Alabama, respectively, the idea of the project was to have both men walk through Old Havana, taking photographs. The images are displayed side-by-side, and the effect is mesmerizing.
It’s not simply a way of looking into the city, marveling at the bright colors, or the life-force behind the eyes of the people on the streets, but something else. Here, in these photographs, the viewer is able to meditate on the act of seeing. The same image seen through different lenses give a clue about the nature of the one doing the seeing, and it becomes a cross-cultural exposition on perspective.
It’s part of the Cuba Initiative at the University of Alabama+http://web.as.ua.edu/cuba/en/?page_id=2 . It began in 2001, as a means to build relationships between the university here and the island there. Since its inception, there have been more than 150 trips to Cuba, and Cooper says he’s been there 6 times in the past year, and already considers Havana to be like a second home. In a corner of a gallery, then, there are multiple worlds that open up in this city.
