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 The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(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, who also designed the Museo Rufino Tamayo, the COLMEX building and co-designed the

National Auditorium National Auditorium () 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 Mexican architects Pedro Ram ...

(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 peoples, Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th cen ...

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

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 (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

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

Zapatista uprising On 1 January 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) coordinated a 12-day uprising in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, in protest against the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The rebels occupied citie ...

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 as an architect and relocated to Mexico City, ...

, Carlos Amorales, Julieta Aranda,

Tania Candiani Tania Candiani (born in 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. Work Candiani has shown her work around t ...

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

Mario García Torres Mario García Torres (born 1975) is a visual and conceptual artist. He has used various media, including film, sound, performance, ‘museographic installations’ and video as a means to create his art. García Torres often mentioned untold o ...

, 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 people, German origin. After spending much of the 1940s in North Africa and Spain, he and his wife, ...

, the , Graciela Iturbide, Daniel Lezama, Sarah Minter, Yoshua Okón,

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

, , 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 ...

, , among many others.

References

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