Employees of Mexico’s public museums and theaters are striking to protest lack of wages, and remixing famous portraits to denounce the ongoing exploitation of cultural labor.
Mexico City
Posted inNews
Feminists Take Over Federal Building in Mexico City and Use Painting as a Weapon
In protest of femicide, the artists painted over portraits of all-male historical figures hanging in the National Human Rights Commission.
Posted inArt
A “Healing Blanket” Against Gender Violence, Created by 600 Women Around the World
The moving results will soon be on view in a virtual gallery by California’s Social and Public Art Resource Center.
Posted inNews
In Mexico City, Art Collective Paints Names of Femicide Victims on Streets
The names, painted on International Women’s Day, were scrubbed away around 24 hours later.
Posted inIn Brief
Art Critic Destroys $20K Glass Sculpture at Zona Maco
The glass work shattered to pieces “as though it had heard my commentary and sensed what I thought about it,” according to Mexican art critic Avelina Lésper.
Posted inArt
Taking in Local Projects at Zona Maco, Latin America’s Largest Art Fair
Even with art on view from dozens of countries, I found myself most drawn to work from local Mexican artists and spaces.
Posted inNews
Facing Delayed Wages, Non-Unionized Workers of Mexico City’s Institute of Fine Arts Stage Protest
A group of around 40 employees quietly entered the Palace of Fine Arts during an event. They silently held up their placards as many in the audience cheered and yelled “contrato digno” — a call for “dignified contracts.”
Posted inNews
Claiming Months of No Payment, Workers at Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts Demand Wages
One anonymous employee says it worries him that he has not been paid for six months, despite continuing to do his job and sometimes working late nights.
Posted inNews
Farmworker Unions and LGBTQ Activists Clash Over Nude Portrait of Mexican Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata
At a Mexico City museum, farmworker unions demanded the painting of the Mexican Revolution leader be destroyed. Their protest escalated to a clash with LGBTQ activists, amounting to violence and use of homophobic slurs.
Posted inNews
In Mexico City, Widespread Protests About Women’s Rights Target a Monument and Museum
Dozens of breastfeeding mothers gathered at Mexico City’s Museum of Modern Art in protest of discriminatory regulations, while the Angel of Independence monument was vandalized with feminist graffiti and crocheted hearts.
Posted inNews
In Anti-Rape Demonstration, “Glitter” Protesters Vandalize Historic Mexican Monument
Residents in anguish over gender-based violence in Mexico City graffitied one of the capital’s most historic landmarks in an act of frustration against government officials.
Posted inArt
Making Art from Architecture in Mexico City
Artists often use whatever materials they can find, creating works that reflect on the socioeconomic realities of their surroundings.
