A bilingual exhibition planned for later this year will mark one of the first cultural tie-ups between the US and Cuba following decades of frosty relations between the two nations.

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York will kick-off the US-Cuba collaboration with ¡Cuba! – an exhibition that will include live animals and specimens as part of a showcase of Cuba’s culture and history.

AMNH is working with the Cuban National Museum of Natural History on the project, with the two institutions signing a memorandum of understanding on 9 July. The MoU, which was also co-signed by the Cuban Environmental Agency, includes collaboration on research, future exhibitions and education.

¡Cuba! will debut on 21 November, themed around the biodiversity of Cuba including its 4,000 islands, rare wildlife and plants. In addition, it will highlight Cuba's culture, its peoples, and its history. The exhibition – supported by the Dalio Ocean Initiative and the Ford Foundation – will run until 31 August 2017.