African Presence in Mexico
“The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present”
A New Exhibition To Open At The DuSable Museum
August 13, 2010
Chicago, IL. (12 July 2010) —- The DuSable Museum of African American History is pleased to announce a new exhibition, “The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present,” presented by The National Museum of Mexican Art. This critically acclaimed exhibition will open on Friday, August 13, 2010 and continue through Sunday, November 14, 2010 at The DuSable which is located at 740 East 56th Place (57th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue) in Chicago.
Curated by Sangrario Cruz of the University of Veracruz and the National Museum of Mexican Art’s Visual Arts Director Cesareo Moreno, this exhibition through paintings, photographs, lithographs and historical texts, highlights the impact that Africans had on Mexican culture and examines the complexity of race, culture, politics, and social stratification. No exhibition has showcased the history, artistic expressions and practices of Afro-Mexicans in such broad scope as this one, which includes a comprehensive range of artwork from 18th Century Colonial caste paintings to contemporary artistic expressions. The African Presence in Mexico is also a bilingual exhibition that includes text panels, tours and various educational and public programming in both English and Spanish.
Organized and originally presented by the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, this traveling exhibition has made stops in New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, D.C., and California, as well as Monterrey and Veracruz, Mexico. The exhibition features important historical figures, such as Yanga, an African leader and founder of the first free African township in the Americas (January 6, 1609), and illuminates the contributions of Africans to the artistic, culinary, musical and cultural traditions of Mexican culture from the past through the present day. Featured in the exhibition are artists such as Rufino Tamayo, Elizabeth Catlett, Francisco Toledo, Maria Yampolski, Francisco Mora, and Afro-Mexicano artists; Ignacio Canela, Mario Guzman, Guillermo Vargas and Hermengildo Gonzalez.
The national sponsor for the African Presence in Mexico traveling exhibition is Chase. Additional sponsors include: Sara Lee Foundation, Boeing Co., Wallace Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Polk Bros. Foundation, Ford Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Kraft Foods, Woods Fund of Chicago, Joyce Foundation, Albert Pick, Jr. Fund, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Illinois Arts Council.
The DuSable Museum presentation supported by The Chicago Community Trust and The Boeing Company Charitable Trust. Additional support has been provided by: The Polk Brothers Foundation; the Chicago Park District; the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs CityArts III, and United Airlines, the official airline of the DuSable Museum.
The DuSable Museum of African American History is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM and Sunday from 12:00 Noon until 5:00 PM. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for students and senior citizens,$1 for children ages 6 through 12, and children under the age of 6 are free. Sundays are FREE to all. The Museum may be reached by CTA buses #3, #4 and #55 and free parking is also available on the premises.
The DuSable Museum of African American History, one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the country, has been dedicated to the collection, preservation, interpretation and dissemination of the history and culture of Africans and Americans of African descent for 49 years. For more information on the Museum and its programs, please call (773) 947-0600 or you may visit our website at www.dusablemuseum.org.