The CINTAS Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture & design, creative writing, music composition and the visual arts. The CINTAS Foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. In June 2011, the CINTAS Foundation entered into an extended loan to MDC’s Museum of Art + Design of the CINTAS Fellows Collection. It is comprised of nearly 300 pieces by artists of Cuban descent who have received prestigious CINTAS Fellowships awarded since 1963. The Fellows range from Carmen Herrera to Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Maria Martinez-Cañas, Teresita Fernandez, Pulitzer Prize winner Oscar Hijuelos, multiple-Obie winner Maria Elena Fornes, architect Andres Duany, Latin Grammy finalist composer Tania Leon and many others