National Museum of Mexican Art
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The The National Museum of Mexican Art (Formerly known as the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum) is a museum which features Mexican, Latino, and Chicano art and culture. The museum was founded in 1982 by Carlos Tortolero. Located in the neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago, Illinois, the current building in Harrison Park opened on March 27, 1987. The museum is the only Latino museum accredited by the American Association of Museums. The mission of the museum is to display Mexican culture as one sin fronteras (without borders).
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[edit] Collections
The museum has a permanent collection featuring prominent works by Mexican artists and artifacts from Mexican history. The permanent exhibit "Mexicanidad: Our Past is Present" explores the history of Mexico in five stages: Pre-Cuauhtémoc Mexico, Colonial Mexico, Mexico from Independence to Revolution, Post-Mexican Revolution to Present-day Mexico and The Mexican Experience in the US.
[edit] Annual Día de los Muertos exhibit
Every October, the museum has a Día de los Muertos ("Day of the Dead") exhibit which features altars and Día de los Muertos-related art by Chicago-area and international artists. This exhibit is the nation's largest. The 2005 exhibit was dedicated to three Chicago artists, Carlos Cortez, Ed Paschke and Allen Stringfellow.
[edit] Other initiatives
The museum also has a program of arts education, performance and community initiatives. In 1994, the museum created two new festivals, Del Corazon: the Mexican Performing Arts Festival and the Sor Juana Festival, dedicated to an important Mexicana scholar. In 1998, the museum created the Yollocalli Youth Museum. It also runs the radio station WRTE 90.5 FM, Radio Arte, a non-profit, community station that serves the Pilsen/Little Village area but is heard throughout the Chicago metro area with a programming ranging from Latin Alternative to community affairs and other eclectic programming run by its GM Silvia Rivera and PD Carlos Mendez.
[edit] Name change
The name of the museum was changed to The National Museum of Mexican Art in December of 2006. This name change reflects the status of the museum as the only member of the American Association of Museums dedicated to Latino culture. [1]
[edit] See Also
- Radio Arte - WRTE
- Pilsen, Chicago
