Museum Musing

Bright and early this morning we met with Raquel and Cesáreo at the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) for a vibrant discussion centered around the Chicago Mexican community through the lens of fine art. The NMMA was started by a group of ‘Xicago’ public school teachers who saw a need in their community for arts and culture education for their young people. The twin pillars of education and community have been truly embedded in everything the NMMA has done since its infancy. One of the ways they accomplish this goal is by being both free and completely bilingual since their opening. Cesáreo emphasized several times that if the institution even charged a dollar for admission then families in the community could not come, and often its children who come either with schools or in groups end up bringing their parents back instead of the more traditional model of parents bringing their kids places.

One of the most beloved endeavors of the NMMA is the Yollocallí Arts Reach community center. (Their website is delightful by the way, please do check it out.) This community center and free youth arts program helps to build strong cultural and community ties while providing young people with skills and support to achieve goals they may not know exist. I think this is something my own institution should study. We don’t offer nearly enough children’s/youth programming as it is, and if we had something like this community center where the museum professionals from any and all departments contributed we might build a better connection with the future of our own city. It could allow us to develop future connections for the museum as kids grow into adults with their own lives like Raquel did. There are so many types of jobs at my museum that kids could try their hand at everything from archaeology to music to blacksmithing.

After some truly fantastic tacos at 5 Rabanitos we met with Susan and Emmeline at the Field Museum where we were lead through the newly renovated Native Truths exhibit. Susan and Emmeline told us how the exhibition was made possible through the contribution of over 130 tribal nations! The hard work and passion of those Nations was on full display in the Native Truths exhibit. After a tour of a few more exhibit spaces we packed into a conference room and talked about the process of designing and planning for new exhibits within the museum. They generously pealed back the curtain for us and were honest about the difficulties and intricacies of the job.

Definitely in my top three days so far!