Noticias
Over 200 pieces from the 18th to 21st centuries in the Museum of Mexico City
Opening of the exhibition Images to See You. A Display of Racism in Mexico·
May 17, 2016Social stigmas, stereotypes, labels that normalized the segregation and scientific studies that tried to justify the discrimination based on physical differences are shown through 200 pieces that make up the exhibition Images to see-you. A display of racism in Mexico, opened in the Museum of Mexico City.
The Secretary of Culture of the Federal Government, Rafael Tovar y de Teresa; Patricia Mercado Castro, deputy mayor of Mexico City, who came on behalf of the mayor, Miguel Ángel Mancera; Jaqueline Tapia, president of the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination in Mexico City (COPRED, for its acronym in Spanish) and Eduardo Vázquez, secretary of Culture of Mexico City, headed the opening of the exhibition, which gathers scientific collections, photographs, paintings, documents and objects that persist over time as a sign of a social problem based on race, appearance and social status classifications.
Tovar y de Teresa said that the essence of Mexico's culture comes from the sense of diversity and this exhibition is related to that ideal of pursuit of respect and recognition of the other, and the concept of race is purely cultural, it is a matter of semantics where unfortunately some of the worst behaviors of history are housed.
He noted that being able to see all these concepts reflected in artistic works is an opportunity to open our own horizon on the meaning of the terms: discrimination and racism.
There are works from the collections of the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA, for its acronym in Spanish) and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH, for its acronym in Spanish) by important artists who have had not only the esthetic vision, but social, in order to leave a testimony of these behaviors which we have to fight together to eradicate them, Rafael Tovar y de Teresa said.
At the ceremony, which was also attended by Maria Cristina Garcia Cepeda, general director of the INBA, and Maria Teresa Franco, general director of INAH, Eduardo Vázquez said that this exhibition emphasizes a reflection that takes us to understand our diversity as part of the campaign Encara al racismo (Facing racism), which is supported by the Department of Culture.
"This exhibition offers not only to show, but to question the social construction based on racism and sets before us a mirror that invites to reflect about a problem that persists today."
Tomás Rojo, spokesman of the Yaqui tribe, expressed his gratitude for making visible, through culture, a problem that remains and manifests itself in various forms that must be erased by memory and everyone’s participation.
During the inaugural tour the public knew six themes of the exhibition: 1) La humanidad negada (Denied Mankind), 2) El rostro (The face), 3) El cuerpo (The body), 4) El color (The Color), 5) El orden (The order), 6) El otro, yo, nosotros (The other, me, us) that show the erroneous racial theories of the old days, the social orders based on segregation and the elements that have been arbitrary discrimination detonators.
The exhibition, Images to see-you. A display of racism in Mexico is presented in the Museum of Mexico City until September 25th at Pino Suarez No. 30, Historic center of Mexico City.
Mexico,Distrito Federal
