“Cuba in Focus; Observations from the Ground” will feature artist Christopher Holt, a Waynesville native living in Asheville; videographer and photographer Wyman Tannehill, also a Waynesville native now living and working in Asheville; and longtime Western North Carolina journalist Jon Elliston, who has visited Cuba regularly for the past 20 years.

The trio was in Cuba in March of this year, the same month President Obama and the Rolling Stones made well publicized visits to the island.

Holt traveled around the island and set up his easel and painted various scenes, meeting and talking to Cubans from all walks of life. Tannehill, a filmmaker, accompanied Holt and took photos and video of the trip. Elliston, meanwhile, surveyed how mass communication in Cuba has and hasn't changed amidst the recent landmark changes in Cuban-U.S. relations.

The event will include a pre-event social beginning at 6:30 p.m. The 7 p.m. symposium will include a short presentation by each, followed by an informal question-and-answer session. There will be a showing and sale of some of Holt’s paintings from Cuba, and also a showing of Tannehill’s photos and videos.

The symposium and art show are sponsored by The Haywood County Arts Council, The Strand Theater and The Smoky Mountain News.