Oaxaca’s museums are just one of its attractions
Due to Oaxaca’s rich history and its artistic wealth, there are a number of museums that cater to each niche of Oaxaca’s past and present. Oaxaca itself is generally quite a good reflection of its past, modernization is slowly arriving and its customs and buildings are adapting to modern life, but many of the structures in the center of Oaxaca city are relatively unchanged. In the museums of Oaxaca you can find information about pre-hispanic Oaxaca, the arrival and influence of the Spanish Conquistadors, anthropological information about the various indigenous populations, and of course Oaxacan art.
Oaxacan Museum of Contemporary Art (MACO)
The Oaxacan Museum of Contemporary Art’s objectives are to: “Celebrate beauty, freedom and imagination and also to educate by stimulating reflection, analysis and discussion in order to enrich community life.” The MACO is Located on Macedonia Alcalá Street which is the pedestrianized Street near the Zácalo.
Find out more about The Oaxacan Museum of Contemporary Art.
Rufino Tamayo Museum
Rufino Tamayo was an artista who over the course of twenty years collected nearly a thousand pieces of pre-Hispanic art, which is now dutifully on display. The Rufino Tamayo Museum is considered to be an arts museum because the pieces which it contains are from three different art periods. This eye opening museum has been open since 1974.
Find out more about the Rufino Tamayo Museum
Oaxacan Graphic Arts Institute (IAGO)
The Oaxacan Graphic Arts Institute (IAGO) is a museum come library in the centre of Oaxaca City that was founded by the famous Oaxacan Painter Francisco Toledo. The IAGO has a large exhibition of artwork housed in five exhibition halls. The Oaxacan Graphic Arts Institute also has an enormous collection of books, films, and magazines etc. that are dedicated to the arts. The Oaxacan Graphic Arts Institute is also home to the Álverez Bravo Photographic Centre.
Find out more about the Oaxacan Graphic Arts Institute (IAGO)
Centro Cultural Santo Domingo de Guzman (CCSD)
The CCSD is housed inside the Santo Domingo Church, which has been declared a place of cultural heritage of humanity by the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization due to its rich history. The CCSD is actually composed of several independent museums.The museum gives an invaluable insight into Oaxacan history and culture.
Find out more about Centro Cultural Santo Domingo de Guzman (CCSD)
Living Museum of the Sea Turtle ( Museo Vivo de la Tortuga Marina)
The Living Museum of the Sea Turtle belongs to The Mexican Turtle Centre ( Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga) which in 1991 was the only one in the world. The Museum exhibits six species of turtles which are native to the Mexican coast, six species of freshwater turtles and two species of tortoise. The main objective of the museum is to create awareness of these animals that are in danger of becoming extinct. If that wasn’t cool enough the museum is on the beautiful Mazunte beach.
Find out more about the Living Museum of the Sea Turtle
Oaxaca Textile Museum (Museo Textile de Oaxaca)
The Oaxacan Textile Museum is just a few blocks from the zócalo in the centre of Oaxaca City. The Museum offers free guided tours or if you prefer you can attend a conference, if you feel like it you can even practice dying your own T-shirt (natural dyes obviously), or if you prefer you could just wander around admiring the excellent craftsmanship. The museum is part of a larger program to preserve Oaxaca’s cultural heritage.
Find out more about the Oaxaca Textile Museum (Museo Textile de Oaxaca)
Oaxacan popular Art Museum (MEAPO)
The Oaxacan Popular art Museum is a small crafts museum in San Bartolo Coyotepec that is dedicated to a variety of crafts, but principally to black pottery as that is the speciality of the village. The museum tries not to focus only on the exhibits themselves but also the artisans who made them, and their cultural influences.
Find out more about the Oaxacan popular Art Museum
Oaxacan Painters Museum (MUPO)
The Oaxacan Painters Museum opened with the intention of providing a creative space for contemporary Oaxacan artists and does not limited itself to exhibitions of paintings and photographs but also hosts concerts, lectures and conferences. The Oaxacan Painters museum is located in the very centre of Oaxaca next to the Cathedral.
Find out more about the Oaxacan Painters Museum
A map of the Oaxaca’s museums
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