National Museum of Mexican Art

National Museum of Mexican Art

Established	1982
Location	1852 W. 19th Street Chicago, IL 60608 USA
Type	Art Museum
Public transit access	CTA Bus routes: Routes 9 and 50 CTA 'L' (Pink Line): Damen or 18th St.
Website	Official website

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 Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, the current building in Harrison Park opened on March 27, 1987. The museum is the only Latino museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the museum is to display Mexican culture as one sin fronteras (without borders).

Collections

The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, May 26, 2007.

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. The 2005 exhibit was dedicated to three Chicago artists, Carlos Cortez, Ed Paschke and Allen Stringfellow.

Other initiatives

The National museum of art 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 1997, the museum created the Yollocalli Arts Reach. It also ran the radio station WRTE 90.5 FM, 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 pending FCC approval thus ending NMMA's 15 years of ownership and on December 31, 2012 Chicago Public Media took control of the frequency after FCC approval thus ending its stint as the only Latino owned broadcast station of any kind in the immediate Chicago area.

Name change

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.

External links

Official website

Museums in Chicago

Art	Art Institute of Chicago Arts Club of Chicago Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art Driehaus Museum Intuit Loyola University Museum of Art Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Photography National Museum of Mexican Art National Veterans Art Museum Renaissance Society Smart Museum of Art Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art

Architecture	Chicago Architecture Foundation Charnley-Persky House Clarke House Glessner House Noble–Seymour–Crippen House Robie House

Children	Bronzeville Children's Museum Chicago Children's Museum StoryBus

Culture	Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture Museum of Broadcast Communications National Radio Hall of Fame Chicago Cultural Center Chicago Design Museum Chinese American Museum of Chicago DANK Haus German American Cultural Center Irish American Heritage Center Leather Archives and Museum Mitchell Museum of the American Indian National Hellenic Museum National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture Polish Museum of America Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership Swedish American Museum Ukrainian National Museum

History	Chicago History Museum DuSable Museum of African American History Hull House Money Museum Newberry Library Oriental Institute Pritzker Military Museum & Library Pullman National Monument

Science	Adler Planetarium Field Museum of Natural History International Museum of Surgical Science Museum of Science and Industry Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Planned	American Writers Museum Barack Obama Presidential Center Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

Former	Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

Ethnic groups in Chicago, Illinois

Groups	African Americans Chinese Czechs Danes Germans Greeks Irish Italians Japanese Jews Koreans Latinos Lithuanians Mexicans Poles Puerto Ricans Russians Slovaks Swedes Ukrainians Welsh

Ethnic enclaves	Bridgeport Chinatown Greektown Lincoln Square Little Italy Little Village Paseo Boricua Pilsen Polish Downtown Polish Village Ukrainian Village

Institutions	American Indian Center Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture Bohemian National Cemetery Chicago Cultural Alliance Chinese American Museum of Chicago DANK Haus German American Cultural Center DuSable Museum of African American History German Waldheim Cemetery Hull House Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture International Polka Association Irish American Heritage Center Lithuanian Opera Company of Chicago National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame National Museum of Mexican Art Polish American Association Polish Museum of America St. John of Rila Church in Chicago Spertus Institute Swedish American Museum Swedish Club of Chicago Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art Ukrainian National Museum

Events	Airport Homes Race Riots Chicago Freedom Movement Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Haymarket Affair Englewood Race Riots, 1949 Fernwood Park Race Riots, 1947 Division Street Riots 1968 Chicago riots

Related	Berlin Wall Monument Bohemian Club Bohemian National Alliance Chicago Black Renaissance Chicago Outfit Chicago's Mexican Independence Parade Celtic Fest Chicago Chinaman (politics) Čikagos Aidas Chicago Shimpo Draugas Dziennik Związkowy (Polish Daily News) Kwanusila List of diplomatic missions and trade organizations in Chicago Midlothian Scottish Pipe Band Polonia Triangle Suznanie To Chicago and Back Vakarai

Coordinates: 41°51′22″N 87°40′23″W / 41.856162°N 87.672948°W / 41.856162; -87.672948

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