MAP – Museo de Arte Popular [cdmx]

Mexico City has many great attractions. As a tourist, it is a fun place to explore because you never know what to expect. It’s difficult to stand out against the other amazing attractions in a city of 25 million people. This was one of those museums that jumped off the page. Located inside an old fire hall, the Museo de Arte Popular (Popular Art Museum) was one of our favourite attractions in Mexico City. With many different modern and transitional displays, the museum is able to capture some of the incredible creativity that makes Mexican culture and art so incredible.

Mexico has a very diverse history, with many different regions with their own traditions. Rarely is there a national consensus. The museum has many different types of popular art, including clothing, handicrafts, masks and folk art. The museum has done such a good job collecting many different interpretations of modern popular art in Mexico, while still promoting the history of the country. The inside of the musum is quite neat because it features a large central plaza in the middle. with balconies looking down from each of the 4 floors.

The Museum has been open since 2006 and has “set out to be an indisputable reference point for Mexican popular art, promoting it through its permanent, temporary and itinerant exhibitions” while also promoting art in the community. Their website (MAP / Museum of Art Popular) has information on their current and future shows.

We visited the museum around the Dia de la Muerte (Day of the Dead), so there were many skulls and other “death” themes throughout. There were very traditional items, like clothing and baskets as well as modern, like the Volkswagen Beatle and various musical instruments covered in traditionally coloured beads.

MAP – Museo de Arte Popular