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Mexico City recently welcomed the Museo Vivo del Muralismo in its historic center, sprawling across more than 3,000 square meters of vibrant murals executed by both Modern artists such as Diego Rivera and Roberto Montenegro and contemporary creators including Manuel Felguérez. The museum is situated within a historic building that served as the central offices for Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education (SEP), part of a UNESCO World Heritage site that was formerly a colonial-era convent and customs facility.
Initially, the murals adorning this building, first commissioned by SEP's founder José Vasconcelos in 1923, drew tourists and students alike. Now, as a no-cost museum, it has reimagined many of its past office spaces as galleries. These new spaces delve into muralism in Mexico while highlighting the importance of both the venue and the SEP itself. As Gloria Falcón, the museum's education director, explains, the museum serves as a platform to engage with Mexico's cultural legacy, advocating values like justice, inclusion, and critical thinking.
The museum, which encompasses 8,500 square meters, was announced in 2020 by Mexico's then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and opened last September, just days before the end of his administration. A government-sponsored initiative, it continued ongoing restoration efforts for the site and its murals, bringing in specialists to develop 12 permanent and temporary exhibition spaces that provide insight into the murals.
The Museo Vivo del Muralismo combines the building’s initial murals with contemporary art. "Creating a historical and thematic narrative for all audiences while celebrating additional contributions, including those by women, was challenging," shares Mercedes Sierra from the Autonomous National University of Mexico, who collaborated with art historian Iñaki Herranz on the mural texts. The collection ranges from ancient cave artistry and Mesoamerican works, such as those at Cacaxtla, to contemporary pieces expressing social, political, and gender issues.
Vasconcelos's office, adorned with Montenegro's symbolic murals, demonstrates his dedication to state-sponsored art as a means to forge a national identity during a time when the SEP aimed to modernize society. Mexico City houses other notable mural venues like the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Abelardo L. Rodríguez Market. However, the Museo Vivo del Muralismo frames the muralist movement as a collective effort, exploring the challenges faced by women artists such as Aurora Reyes and María Izquierdo. The museum sheds light on the cancellation of Izquierdo’s 1946 mural due to opposition from male peers.
Despite not encompassing every artist, the museum captures the ideological, historical, and social influences on Mexico's celebrated mural movement, along with its subsequent experimental phase represented by artists like David Alfaro Siqueiros. "There isn’t just a single muralist movement in Mexico," notes curator Ana Garduño. "Throughout its history, the country has experienced a diverse array of muralist expressions."
