The Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo ("University Museum of Contemporary Art"), also known as MUAC, is a large contemporary art museum located within the main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). It opened in November 2008 and it is the first Mexican public museum exclusively focused to the arts created in the XXI century. In 2013 Mexican curator Cuauhtémoc Medina was appointed curator in chief. In 2015 adjunct curators Amanda de la Garza and Alejandra Labastida were included in the 25 women curators on the rise list.

Architecture

The building was designed by

Teodoro González de León Teodoro González de León (May 29, 1926 – September 16, 2016) was a Mexican architect. Biography González de León studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arquitectura of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) from 1942 to 19 ...

, who also designed the

Museo Rufino Tamayo Museo Rufino Tamayo is a public contemporary art museum located in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park, that produces contemporary art exhibitions, using its collection of modern and contemporary art, as well as artworks from the collection of its fo ...

, the COLMEX building and co-designed the

National Auditorium National Auditorium ( es, Auditorio Nacional) is an entertainment center at Paseo de la Reforma #50, Chapultepec in Mexico City. The National Auditorium is considered among the world's best venues by specialized media. It was designed by Mexic ...

(Auditorio Nacional) with Abraham Zabludovsky. The MUAC is part of the University Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Universitario) a massive arquitectural complex encompassing different auditoriums, galleries, libraries and research facilities. The building is characterized by its minimalist inclined glass façade that contrasts with the surrounding architecture, most of it designed in the 1970s. The spacious halls with high ceilings are suitable for exhibiting a wide range of art media. The esplanade in front of the museum features the large-scale sculpture ''La espiga'' by Mexican artist

Rufino Tamayo Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, ...

. Made with carbon steel and rising over 18 meters tall.

Collection

One of the main objectives of the museum was to bring together a collection that could function as the main point of reference for Mexican art created after 1968. However some of the collection artworks date back to 1952, a symbolic date since that is the year in which Ciudad Universitaria (the main campus of

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...

) was inaugurated. The 1968 student movement and other influential political fights such as the 1994

Zapatista uprising On January 1, 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) coordinated a 12-day Zapatista uprising in the state of Chiapas, Mexico in protest of NAFTA's enactment. The revolt gathered international attention. Background Disease, ensl ...

are considered as important conceptual frameworks that give shape to the assortment of this artistic and documentary repertoire. The collection brings together works from more than 300 artists, including names such as:

Francis Alÿs Francis Alÿs (born 1959, Antwerp) is a Belgian-born, Mexico-based artist. His work emerges in the interdisciplinary space of art, architecture, and social practice. In 1986, Alÿs left behind his profession as an architect and relocated to Me ...

Carlos Amorales Carlos Amorales (Mexico City, 1970) is a multidisciplinary artist who studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. The most extensive researches in his work encompass ''Los Amorales'' (1996-2001), ''Liquid Archive'' (1 ...

Julieta Aranda Julieta Aranda (born in 1975 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a conceptual artist that lives and works in Berlin and New York City. She received a BFA in filmmaking from the School of Visual Arts (2001) and an MFA from Columbia University (2006), both ...

Tania Candiani Tania Candiani (born 1974) is a Mexican artist known for her interdisciplinary, large-scale, multimedia installations. In 2011, she was named a Guggenheim Fellow. Candiani was born in Mexico City. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fine A ...

, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Minerva Cuevas, Jose Dávila, Julio Galán,

Mario García Torres Mario García Torres (born 1975 in Monclova, México) is one of the most internationally renowned Latin American artists. He has used various media, including film, sound, performance, ‘museographic installations’ and video as a means to cre ...

, Alberto Gironella,

Mathias Goeritz Werner Mathias Goeritz Brunner (4 April 1915, Danzig, German Empire – 4 August 1990, Mexico City) was a Mexican painter and sculptor of German origin. After spending much of the 1940s in North Africa and Spain, he and his wife, photographer ...

, Grupo Semefo,

Graciela Iturbide Graciela Iturbide (born May 16, 1942) is a Mexican photographer. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and is included in many major museum collections such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The J. Paul Getty Museum. Biograp ...

, Daniel Lezama,

Sarah Minter Sarah Minter (born 1953 in Puebla, Mexico, died 2016) was a Mexican filmmaker and artist. Career Minter produced 8mm and 16mm films, video installations, and documentaries that displayed intersections of the body, politics, and the city. Her fir ...

, Yoshua Okón,

Gabriel Orozco Gabriel Orozco (born April 27, 1962) is a Mexican artist. He gained his reputation in the early 1990s with his exploration of drawing, photography, sculpture and installation. In 1998, Francesco Bonami called Orozco "one of the most influentia ...

, Fernando Palma Rodríguez, Pedro Reyes,

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

, Pablo Vargas Lugo, among many others. Cámara_de_Sonido_en_el_Muac

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo National Autonomous University of Mexico