My Art Week in Mexico City 2024

14 Feb 2024

A strange blend of chaos and order, rebellion and rules, passion and reservation, fire and water. 

Mexico City.

A city that is hard to place.

It was for the past three years that I had yearned to visit Mexico, after hearing so much about the contemporary arts scene and with my growing interest in Latin America as a region. It is a country located on the opposite side of the world, some 16,000 kilometres from where I reside - Singapore. The only images I had in my head were fleeting ones from my dreams fused with stereotypical international media images of colourful textiles, vibrant music, indigenous folk culture, modernist architecture and daily homicides. Prior to my trip, virtually everyone from Southeast Asia that I had spoken to had warned me against solo travel to Mexico due to safety concerns as a woman. Having decided against transiting through the United States, it took almost 40 hours door-to-door via Istanbul and Madrid to reach Mexico City.

Art week in Mexico City is curated around the anchor fair Zona Maco (held in a convention centre in Polanco, one of the business districts) and two satellite fairs Feria Material and Salon Acme (held between the historical centre and trendy areas of Roma Norte and Condesa). I had received information about the VIP programmes and events around town only the week before, and was told that there would be things popping up during the week. I was astonished with the number of quality events going on - comparable to the central art hubs of London, Paris and New York. The prominent galleries in Mexico City (OMR, Kurimanzutto, Nordenhake, PEANA) all had several external presentations of their represented artists, in addition to gallery shows. 

I arrived on Sunday night and set out on an ambitious programme the following morning. Some observations that immediately stood out to me as I travelled through the city on foot, public bus, subway and car were:

• Contentment and humility of the people 

• Warmth, friendliness and hospitality of the people

• Fearlessness and passion as seen in activism, historic and contemporary murals, and contemporary art

• Constant reminders of the violence that still exists today observed around the city in posters of missing women and protests signage rebelling against the government

• The rich history of the country scattered across the city in architecture, from Spanish colonial rule to French art nouveau and art deco to Mexican modernism

• Casual atmosphere of the city, fashion style and behaviour of the people

I attended more than 20 events over 7 days. Here are some of my highlights:

Casa/EStudio Nancarrow: A group show organised by PEANA. PEANA is a 7-year-old gallery based in Mexico City, focusing on emerging Mexican artists with experimental practices. This group show was part of their off-site programme, showcasing young contemporary Mexican artists in historic sites - in this case, the composer Conlon Nancarrow's House Studio designed by Mexican architect Juan O'Gorman as his last building in 1950. It was a rare opportunity to have access to this historic house, which is normally closed to public, and an up-close view of the naturally-coloured volcanic rock murals.

Casa Pedregal by Luis Barragán: There is no architect as well-known as Barragán in Mexico. I was lucky to get a guided tour of Casa Pedregal, a private residence located in a quiet, leafy suburb, that has been owned by Mexican art collector César Cervantes since 2013 (after he sold his art collection to buy the house). As Cervantes says "Most contemporary architecture is obsessed with “creating an effect”. It is calculated, aided by the computer, and presents as an intellectual effort. I have been thinking about how this house does not have an intellectual effort; it is the emotional effort. This house, it is all about emotions." And it is. And in that way, it is the epitome of perfect - encapsulated in its interior, emotional warmth, harmony of colours, organic scent, size, proportions and location.

Boris and Rocio Hirmas collection: Mexico City-based collectors Boris and Rocio Hirmas graciously opened their home in Bosques de las Lomas to the Material Invited programme. It was a pleasure and inspiration visiting a private residence and seeing their collection of established and emerging Mexican artists. 

Cristóbal Gracia studio: We were fortunate to visit Cristóbal Gracia's studio, courtesy of Pequod Co. Gracia is only 36, but I feel like he has had such a long life and artistic career. Listening to him speak about his practice and working process confirmed that he is one of Mexico's most important artists of his generation - a human that is genuinely concerned about social issues and universal humanity, and an artist that is able to intelligently translate his thoughts into his work.

Sofia Hinojosa at Salón Silicón: Sofia Hinojosa was a new discovery for me. A new mother at 31, her recent work explores the blurred lines between working life and domestic life - this show, titled "Hotel Fatiga", brings attention to the invisible labour that fuels the hotel tourism industry in Mexico - where tourists are the most powerful economic agents for the profit of large companies, and low-wage workers at these companies are often overlooked while toiling long hours.

Moris at Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo: I first saw the work of Moris at NF/ NIEVES FERNÁNDEZ's booth at Taipei Dangdai 2023. This solo show in Mexico City was the third of a four-part installment in collaboration with different galleries around the world. Moris is an incredibly humble and thoughtful artist, coming from the slums of Mexico City and incorporating found materials from the city's streets, to make a bold statement about the ongoing violence in the country. A strong, emotional and powerful show.

Salón ACME: Salón ACME is a hugely successful pop-up art show, created for and run by artists, and is now in its 11th edition. I was fortunate to get a sneak peek an hour before the official opening. It is divided into many sub-sections, however, I found it overwhelming and could only remember the Proyectos section (adjoining building where galleries pay for a space) and the main section of artist installations, which consisted of two floors of about 15 themed rooms, with many works priced under USD 5,000. Out of some 1,800 applications from an open call, about 80 artists were chosen to present their work by a yearly-rotating panel of 6 industry professionals - for this edition, the jury members were Benedicta Badia (Argentina), Darío Escobar (Guatemala), Pati Hertling (Germany), Anaïs Lepage (France), Alex Romero (Mexico) and Santiago Villanueva (Argentina). Salón ACME also collaborated with Feria Material, creating an international visitors' programme for 8 international curators: Vivian Crockett (Curator, New Museum and co-curator of the 2026 New Museum Triennial), Cedric Fauq (Chief Curator, CAPC Bordeaux), Caroline Ferreira (Artistic Director of Festival Move, Centre Pompidou), Yoann Gourmel (Curator and Head of Public Programming, Palais de Tokyo), Emmanuelle Hamon (Head of Collections, Les Abattoirs, Toulouse), Luc Meier (Director, La Becque Artist Residency, Switzerland), Rosario Pero (Head of Collections, Reina Sofia), Isabelle Rjeille (Curator, MASP Sao Paulo and co-curator of the 2026 New Museum Triennial). I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of technique, concept and presentations of the artists and young mediators in each room at Salón ACME. It is a great place for new discoveries of powerful works and important artists of tomorrow.

Feria Material: Material is the main satellite fair to Zona Maco and they had put together an enriching Invited programme. With a cluster of edgy galleries spread shoulder-to-shoulder over two floors, it was here that I realised how rich and fearless gallerists are in Mexico - I saw risk-taking installations and subject matter representing each gallery's programme, that I had never seen presented at other art fairs, such as queer identity, violence, sex, women's issues and indigenous identity. When I arrived on the afternoon on the opening day, the building was bustling with young people, middle-aged people and established collectors. A few galleries that stood out to me and where I made new discoveries were: Salón Silicón (Mexico), Instituto de Visión (Bogotá / New York), Revolver (Bueno Aires / Lima / New York) and Proyecto E.M.E. (Cuernavaca).

A fact that surprised me about Mexico is the closeness of trade relations and connectivity with the United States, and less so with Central and South America - which I had thought to be due to its geographic location, and shared language, culture and religion. We see a clear Western influence in wealthier neighbourhoods like Lomas, Polanco, Roma Norte and Condesa with European-style architecture, cafes, restaurants and shopping malls. At the art fairs, gallery openings and private tours, it was evident that many Americans, as well as those based in the US, from art industry professionals, collectors, art enthusiasts, graduate students and art historians, had travelled in for their love and curiosity of Mexico. After all, Mexico was meant to be the Paris of the Americas - and today, we often forget that Mexican territory once included most of Southwest US - California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming.

LAGO/ALGO: This large cultural centre, inaugurated in Spring 2022, is located inside Chapultepec Park, and founded by Cristobal Riestra (Owner & Director, OMR) and Joaquín Vargas Mier y Terán (CEO, Grupo CMR). Their group show, curated by LAGO/ALGO's creative director Jerôme Sans, presented installations by Julian Charrière, Ebecho Muslimova, Ana Montiel and Artists Against The Bomb, was spellbinding and mesmerising - an immersive experience in an architectural gem.

Museo Tamayo: Museo Tamayo was founded by the artist Rufino Tamayo in 1981 and is located inside Chapultepec Park. Normally, the museum's permanent collection would be on display but there were two solo shows by artists Kosovar Petrit Halilaj and Icelandic Ragnar Kjartansson. The installations on display were films and live music performances, and Kjartansson's work reminded me of the power of the video medium and its ability to touch your soul.

MUAC (University Museum of the National Autonomous University): Of all the museums I visited, I was most impressed with MUAC - based on its overall presentations and nature of the museum. MUAC is a university museum affiliated to the public National Autonomous University, dedicated exclusively to 21st century art. At the top of my head, I struggle to think of any public university museum in the world that specialises in contemporary art (apart from the Hammer Museum, which was established from a private collection). Outside of the three main exhibitions of Beatriz Gonzalez, Alexander Apostal and Lawrence Abu Hamdan, I also discovered the work of Clemencia Echeverri, Enrique Jezik and Jonathan Hernandez in their permanent collection.

Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil: I had not heard of this museum before but it had been recommended to me by an established collector and two gallerists during my week in Mexico City. There were exhibitions on three floors, and I was moved by the group show featuring women artists of the Los Grupos movement of the 1970s. This show opened a new gateway in my mind, when I realised the importance and influence of women in Mexico since the 1960s, the early presence of queerness, and contributions of women writers to arts criticism in the 1970s and 1980s.

As art week progressed, I realised that Mexico City is truly a unique, remarkable city. The audiences I saw everywhere covered a diversity that I had never seen anywhere in the world - age, culture and ethnicity; an image that remains in my head is the long queue outside Museo Soumaya (an art museum specialising in historical and modern Mexican art). I always had a nagging thought at the back of my head that the content and reputation of Mexico was being downplayed by the international media (as per normal to manage one's insecurity and project an image of importance in the lens of one's self-interest). Over the weekend, I found time to visit several important historical and modern art and archaeology institutions, and it was here that my realisations were confirmed - it is not that Western European art is of superior quality (perhaps a higher ratio of quantity and quality if you consider overall), but more a fact that international PR, marketing, professional translation and archiving invested by the arts industry in developed Western countries still hold higher priority than most "Global South" countries. And this perspective can be changed collectively with voices supporting Mexico - speaking about positive experiences in a manner that is impartial and altruistic.

The other institutions that I visited and were crucial to my understanding of historical and present-day Mexico were:

• Museo Nacional de Antropología

• Museo Soumaya

• Museo de Arte Moderno

• Museo Nacional de Arte

• Murals of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros in Palacio de Bella Artes and Colegio de San Ildefonso

Despite having my iPhone stolen on a rickety public bus and getting through food poisoning after an awful meal in the Centro Historico, the fortune and time to be able to travel so faraway is one that I am grateful for. Mexico City is a long way from home, far from the glitz and glamour of cities like New York, Paris, London and Hong Kong, but it is one worth travelling to, and a city to experience over time, in 360 degrees.

Today, I leave Mexico City with a bittersweet feeling in my heart, vivid images of the richness and fearlessness of what I saw in the streets, and memories of the people, art and communities that I encountered etched into my mind. 

I will be back soon.