After two decades of steady growth in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
December 8, 2006 (Press Release) --
The switch is intended to reflect the museum's status as the nation's largest Latino arts organization and the only Latino museum accredited by the American Association of Museums, along with the fact that it now has annual attendance of more than 200,000 from more than 60 countries.
"We have been doing things on a national level for a while now," said museum president and founder Carlos Tortolero. "On a recent trip to Mexico, we mentioned our new name to colleagues, and their response was, 'It's about time.' "
Cesareo Moreno, the museum's visual arts director, agreed. "The change is finally acknowledging all the work we've been doing the last 20 years. 'Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum' is a great name, but it more accurately reflects the beginning 20 years ago. The new name recognizes what we have become."
What the museum has become is a force to be reckoned with. Its permanent collection is one of the five largest collections of Mexican art in the country. Sixteen of the museum's exhibitions have toured -- six of them to Mexico, including "The African Presence in Mexico," which opened in Monterey last month.
"We are very proud of our Mexican history and culture, and we want to share that on an international level," Moreno said. "We celebrate a culture without borders."
At the same time, he said, the museum will maintain its strong connection to its neighborhood, to Chicago and to the city's community of Latino artists. "They're the foundation on which we're built."
The museum's 2007 anniversary event schedule includes a new exhibit of traditional Mayan textiles, "Arte Textil Maya: Collections of the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya," opening Jan. 19.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY KEVIN NANCE
"We have been doing things on a national level for a while now," said museum president and founder Carlos Tortolero. "On a recent trip to Mexico, we mentioned our new name to colleagues, and their response was, 'It's about time.' "
Cesareo Moreno, the museum's visual arts director, agreed. "The change is finally acknowledging all the work we've been doing the last 20 years. 'Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum' is a great name, but it more accurately reflects the beginning 20 years ago. The new name recognizes what we have become."
What the museum has become is a force to be reckoned with. Its permanent collection is one of the five largest collections of Mexican art in the country. Sixteen of the museum's exhibitions have toured -- six of them to Mexico, including "The African Presence in Mexico," which opened in Monterey last month.
"We are very proud of our Mexican history and culture, and we want to share that on an international level," Moreno said. "We celebrate a culture without borders."
At the same time, he said, the museum will maintain its strong connection to its neighborhood, to Chicago and to the city's community of Latino artists. "They're the foundation on which we're built."
The museum's 2007 anniversary event schedule includes a new exhibit of traditional Mayan textiles, "Arte Textil Maya: Collections of the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya," opening Jan. 19.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY KEVIN NANCE
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