Randy Batista
National Medal of Arts recipient Randy Batista with President and First Lady Biden. Photo courtesy of White House
Bio
Randy Batista was born in 1949 in Ybor City, Florida, and was raised on the generational family farm in Oriente, a rural eastern province of Cuba. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Batista’s parents were not allowed to leave Cuba. They opted to send their 11-year-old son on an “Operation Pedro Pan” flight to live in the United States with his maternal grandparents in Mango, Florida. As a student at the University of Florida (UF) Batista discovered what would become his lifelong passion, photography. Jerry Uelsmann, a celebrated photographer known for his pioneering technique in composite imagery, became his mentor. After graduating from the UF College of Arts and Sciences in 1974, Batista opened his own commercial studio and gallery in downtown Gainesville, Florida. Batista’s passion for people and community injected energy into the burgeoning arts community. Leveraging his many relationships over two decades, Batista was responsible for the creation of numerous exhibits, monthly gallery walks, musical events, and charity fundraisers that paired his photography with the work of fellow artists. Animal welfare, land conservation, healthcare for uninsured women, and shelter for abused women and children were among the local issues addressed through his wildly creative fundraisers. In 1996, Batista returned to Cuba for the first time since his harrowing “Pedro Pan” exit. Batista saw— and documented—a Cuba that had become invisible to many in the 35 years that had elapsed. During his trips, he forged relationships with many Cuban artists. In 2017 and 2019, under Batista’s leadership, Gainesville hosted “Bulla Cubana”—a community wide festival of Cuban creativity in cinema, dance, music, art, murals, and textiles. While in the U.S., the Cuban artists participated in workshops and educational activities with American students. Batista’s work has been exhibited in many individual and group exhibitions and is included in the collections of museums and private collectors. Batista closed his studio in 2023 but he continues to create energy around art and community.
White House citation:
For focusing the lens on human nature. Born in Tampa, Florida, to Italian and Cuban immigrants and raised on both sides of the Straits of Florida, Randy Batista is known as the people’s photographer. With the camera as his sixth sense of deep empathy, he captures people’s pain and challenges us to respect their inherent dignity.
When I first heard that I was to be awarded a National Medal of Arts, I was pretty sure there had been some mistake. I was quickly reassured by Dr. Jackson that her call was neither a solicitation nor a scam call … after which I moved into a surreal state of cognitive dissonance. “Yes, I am an artist and I love being very involved in the creative arts of every medium, but I live in a small university town in Florida!” My thoughts swirled like the mighty wind gusts of Milton … which was bearing down on us at the time. Art has always been fundamental to my life. My work in photography and involvement with different art forms have given me the privilege of interacting with other people in transformative ways. Art is a source of inspiration. It offers a way to see things in new and creative ways. Art is often profoundly, movingly beautiful. The arts, importantly, provide a channel for healing. In a way, art is the breath of life. To me, personally, the award of the National Medal of Art means that even a single artist, in a small town, can perform those life-affirming functions that the arts bestow to our humanity. I am humbled to be recognized by so many experts at the NEA. I am deeply touched and grateful for this honor.