French documentary photographer Bénédicte Desrus officially launched her Arraigo exhibition Tuesday morning at the Museo Regional de Antropología de Yucatán at Palacio Cantón, bringing two years of quiet, door-to-door work in Mérida’s historic center onto one of the city’s most prominent boulevards. The ceremony, held on the sidewalk along Paseo de Montejo, drew officials from…
A photo exhibition two years in the making will make its public debut on Paseo de Montejo next week, when French documentary photographer Bénédicte Desrus opens Arraigo as part of the 14th annual Feria Internacional de la Lectura Yucatán (Yucatán International Reading Fair), known as FILEY. The inauguration takes place at 8 a.m. Tuesday, March…
Billy Kasberg doesn’t fit neatly into any one category, which is exactly the point. The Austin-based artist — who now splits his time between Texas and Mérida — makes paintings that feel like a cross between a microscope slide and a fever dream: dense, layered acrylic compositions in which human anatomy, microbiology, and the raw…
Tendejónes, small neighbourhood shops, have been a staple of Mexican life for centuries, from the most significant cities to the tiniest towns. Until recently, it was unlikely to find yourself more than a few blocks away from one. But these days, while they are not exactly scarce, modern convenience stores have certainly put a serious…
Mérida is betting it can create something Mexico City doesn’t have: an art week that feels less like a sprint and more like a conversation.
After a decade of bringing contemporary art to Mérida, La Sala Art Gallery is marking a new chapter with a move to Calle 60 in the heart of Centro. The gallery, founded in 2014 by Spanish artist Alfredo Romero and director Laura Garcia, has opened at its new address with an exhibition featuring four international…
A Mexico City artist who draws inspiration from Spanish masters and Mexican modernists will showcase his work in Mérida. César Mauricio Ruiz Quiroz, 20, brings his exhibition “Timeless” to SoHo Galleries on Dec. 20. Despite his age, Ruiz Quiroz has already shown work at prestigious venues, including Barcelona’s Museu Europeu d’Art Modern, which champions contemporary…
Fabricio Vanden Broeck describes his artistic process as a dialogue between media, a continuous “round-trip” between the initial impulse of a drawing and the tangible weight of a sculpture. This creative conversation is the heart of his exhibition, “Ida y vuelta” (Round Trip), on display at the Museo de la Ciudad de Mérida. The exhibition…
As Lux Perpetua Art Centre celebrates its first decade of promoting contemporary Mexican art in Mérida, the cultural center is setting its sights on a bigger stage. “The purpose of the gallery is to grow internationally and become well-known nationally,” says Mimi Cervera, general director of the Lux Perpetua Art Centre Project and founder of…
Art enthusiasts, creators, and cultural advocates gathered to inaugurate Antesala, a new venue for contemporary art in Mérida. Located in the same building as Galería Secreta, this multidisciplinary space arrives under the direction of cultural promoter Mario Torre, whose vision is to amplify local artistic expression. Antesala was created to provide a platform where visual…
An upcoming art exhibition in Telchac Pueblo brings together artists from three countries to explore identity and transformation in an unlikely venue: the ruins of a partially restored henequén factory. NEPANTLA, running Oct. 23-28, showcases photography, sculptural furniture, textiles, ceramics, and paintings from creators across Mexico, the U.S., and Cuba. The immersive show, curated by…
The Gran Museo del Mundo Maya in Mérida kicked off a week-long celebration of International Day of Indigenous Peoples on Friday with traditional music, artisan markets, and ancient Maya ball game demonstrations. The festivities began at 10 a.m. with the opening of U K’iiwikil koonol, an artisan bazaar featuring work from communities across Yucatán’s interior….
‘Gesto y color: El legado de Gabriel Ramírez Aznar’ is a fiery retrospective of Yucatán’s most uncompromising artistic voice. For 60 years, Ramírez (Mérida, 1938) has built a body of work that pulses with violent contrasts, abstract explosions of color, and an unrelenting dedication to craft. The exhibition presents 50 oil and acrylic works that…
Embroidery in Yucatán goes beyond its role in fashion and daily life. Here, it carries deep spiritual significance.
As the first ice pops melted, authorities issued a chilly reminder: reproducing any pre-Hispanic art without permission is a no-no.
Francisco Toledo’s Papalotes (kites in Nahuatl) take “flight” at Casa de Montejo, a 16th-century architectural jewel in Mérida’s Plaza Grande. Los Papalotes de Toledo is a whimsical exhibition celebrating the kites of artist Francisco Toledo (1940–2019). The show has captivated attendees at several venues across the country with its fusion of artistry and cultural heritage….
We have four questions for artist-writer-storyteller Assata Akil about her career and philosophy. And about her fierce fictional character, IFE.
In a makeshift art studio behind B&G Atelier, Dave Ortiz sits surrounded by wooden shoe lasts—those wooden foot-shaped forms used by cobblers to make shoes. To most people, they’re simply utilitarian objects. To Ortiz, they’re canvases waiting to be transformed. “I sit with them for a while, and then they tell me what they want…
SoHo Galleries is preparing to host a cultural event combining music and visual art. Artist Mauricio Gallardo will present his jazz-inspired exhibition, offering visitors an experience that explores the connection between these two art forms. The exhibition, benefiting Cultura Yucatán A.C., opens 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at SoHo Galleries, Calle 60 400 A x…
“Juntos,” a dual exhibition by the creative team of Ebersole and Hughes, will explore identity, history and artistic reinvention through painting and photography. Picture it: It’s the summer of 1989, in the coastal town of Sitges, Spain. A 25-year-old Los Angeles native, clutching a copy of the provocative autobiography Tropic of Cancer. A creative urge takes…
The Merida English Library once again presents its annual Artist Studio Tour, offering art enthusiasts an intimate glimpse into the creative spaces of more than 50 local and international artists. The three-day event, running Feb. 14-16, showcases the diverse artistic community thriving here. Visitors can explore more than 30 studios throughout Mérida, with a concentration…
When French artist Alben opened his latest exhibition, “Accumulations,” at La Sala Art Gallery, over 400 people attended. The show highlights Alben’s unique process of encapsulating everyday objects—such as candies, toys, and religious symbols—in resin to create sculptures that explore memory, nostalgia, and the passage of time. Alben’s background is rooted in graffiti and street…
Set against the historic backdrop of Centro Cultural La Cúpula in Mérida, the upcoming Brutalidad Mate exhibition brings together two distinct but harmonizing visions of artistry and heritage. At its core are the fashion designs of Marta Cabané and the jewelry creations of Irving Urquidi, both of whom strive to awaken our senses to the…
Tom Swope’s first Mérida exhibition will highlight unexplained similarities between archaic Chinese motifs and Maya art. Swope, a former antiquities dealer about to open his eponymous gallery in the La Ermita neighborhood, is inspired by Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957) and has examined Chinese jades in his own collection. “I have been looking at archaic…
That’s all for now
That’s all for now