National Museum of Mexican Art

History

Carlos Tortolero and a group of Mexican-American teachers first formed the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum in 1982. In 1986, the museum signed an agreement to use a Chicago Park District building. The museum building in Harrison Park opened in 1987 and was expanded in 2001. The design on the façade of the building was inspired by the friezes of Mitla in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The name of the museum was changed to the National Museum of Mexican Art in December 2006. This name change reflects the status of the museum as the only member of the American Alliance of Museums dedicated to Latino culture.

Radio Arte

The NMMA ran the radio station WRTE 90.5 FM, called Radio Arte, a non-profit, community station from late 1996 to December 30, 2012. In Spring 2011, the museum announced that the radio station and the building it has been in since the late 1990s had been put up for sale due to financial issues. On June 22, 2012, it was announced that Chicago Public Media had purchased the license of WRTE FM. On December 31, 2012, Chicago Public Media took control of the frequency after FCC approval, thus ending its run as the only Latino-owned broadcast station of any kind in the Chicago area.

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.

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.

Other initiatives

The NMMA 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 Mexican scholar and writer, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. In 1997, the museum created the Yollocalli Arts Reach.

References

References

1. (20 October 2022). "National Museum Of Mexican Art In Pilsen Gets $500K To Expand Educational Programs". Block Club Chicago.
2. V.v.B. (5 October 2017). "Latinos have become Chicago's second-largest ethnic group". [[The Economist]].
3. (October 28, 2022). "11 Completely Free Things to Do in Chicago".
4. (2010). "The National Museum of Mexican Art: A New Model for Museums". The Journal of Museum Education.
5. Davalos, Karen Mary. (2005). "Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum". Chicago Historical Society.
6. (29 September 2022). "11 Latino Architects Whose Work Can Be Found Around Chicago".