MACO´s 20th Anniversary

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• Published on Thursday, 08 March 2012 09:10
• By Brendan Missett

They say that fine art is timeless, but this week the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO) in Oaxaca, Mexico, proudly quantified just how long it has been a respected member of the region's artistic community.

On Tuesday, February 28th, MACO celebrated its 20th anniversary with a full day of festivities that invited the public to join in on the celebration. Those strolling past the museum's central Oaxaca location at Macedonia Alcala 202 were greeted by a giant, red number 20 in the middle of the cobblestone pedestrian walkway and by the sound of fanfare piping from within MACO's galleries.

The event began at 10 a.m., as passersby were ushered in to have their pictures taken in the open center of the 20's gaping zero. By noon, a brass band had taken stage in the museum's open-air central room, while visitors were treated to tostadas, quesadillas and cervezas.

Several distinguished guests were in attendance, including the Oaxacan artist Ruben Leyva, who delivered a speech at the museum's inaugural ceremony in 1992.

What's the importance of 20 years of MACO?

"It's like when a person turns 20 years old," Leyva said. "It's now mature and established, and is met with different expectations than when it was 15." He continued to explain that MACO's coming of age signifies a new period in which the museum must skirt the risks it has taken in the past and carefully select its exhibitions to craft an artistic temperament that meets its heightened demands.

MACO's collection comes from artists from around the world, though much of its gallery space is used to exhibit works from Oaxaca's most celebrated painters. Permanent exhibitions are dedicated to Oaxaca natives Francisco Toledo, Rodolfo Morales, Rufino Tamayo, Todolfo Nieto and Francisco Gutierrez.

Throughout the afternoon, crowds continued to filter in and out, drawn by a jazz band at 4 p.m., and another course of bocadillas and mango ice cream as the sunlight faded into a peaceful early evening. Once night fell, MACO's 20th anniversary event began its finale, as rounds of lanterns and hot-air balloons were released through the museum's roof, lofting to a tilted half moon.

The theme of the even was "Say 'Coma' Twenty Times," (COMA, COMA, CO-MACO, MACO, MACO...), and each balloon displayed a giant black coma on a white background, as if to give the night a slight pause as the party continued.