EL MUSEO'S HISTORY

1990s Transformation

The second renovations on the galleries are complete, the collection area is improved, the theatre and murals are renovated and restored, and financial stability is achieved. A new logo is introduced along with the first modifications to El Museo’s mission to much controversy from the community, which continues through the next decade.

Select a specific year below:

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1990

In bi-weekly discussions that last over a year, El Museo del Barrio’s staff and Board draft the institution’s first long-range, strategic plan to stabilize the institution. Under the leadership of Chair Michael Janicki (1990–1997), and subsequent Chairs Estrellita Brodsky (1997–2000), and Tony Bechara (1997 to present), El Museo del Barrio expands and diversifies its Board of Trustees to include non- Latinos and Latinos of all national backgrounds. Susana Torruella Leval, former Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA) is hired as Chief Curator. El Museo hires its first full-time Registrar, Marcela Clavijo.

MAY 4–JULY 1

Nuestra Visión presents works by more than 1,000 multicultural elementary school children of New York City who participated in the 1989–1990 series of hands-on-workshops with El Museo’s Artists-in-Residence, Pepón Osorio. It is accompanied by a brochure, and is presented in Washington, D.C.

MAY 11–JULY 1

Visual Insights on Paper, curated by Carlos Ortíz Sueños, is presented. It features prints and drawings from the Permanent Collection.

JULY–OCTOBER

Navia, Suárez, Rosario: Three Contemporary Sculptors, curated by Nelson Rivera Rosario, is on view. The exhibition includes works by Antonio Navia, Jaime Suárez, and Melquiades Rosario Sastre, and is also presented at Museo de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. The exhibition is accompanied by a 39-page catalogue.

JULY 20–SEPTEMBER 16

Art Underground: A Public Art Project by Nitza Tufiño is on view.

NOVEMBER 2–DECEMBER

Through the Path of Echoes: Contemporary Art In Mexico, a travelling exhibition curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, and organized and circulated by ICI (Independent Curators, Inc.), is presented. The project highlights 55 works by 17 artists, including Eugenia Vargas Daniels, Julio Galán, Flor Garduño, Sergio Hernández, Estela Hussong, Francisco Castro Lenero, Salvador Lutteroth, Rocío Maldonado, Alberto Montano, Adolfo Patino, Rubén Ortíz, Georgina Quintana, Adolfo Riestra, Ray Smith, Gerardo Suter, Germán Venegas, and Nahum Zenil. The exhibition was part of a citywide celebration of Mexico and was accompanied by an illustrated catalogue.

NOVEMBER 1990–MARCH 1991

Another Face: Mexican Masks in El Museo del Barrio’s Permanent Collection, is presented. Curated by Susana Toruella Leval, it is accompanied by a 39-page catalogue.

El Museo staff badge photos: Brenda Alejandro (Education Curator); Petra Barreras del Río (Director); Marcela Clavijo (Registrar); Pepón Osorio (Artist-in-Residence); Donna Perkins (Security); Miguel Ramos (Maintenance Supervisor); Federico Ruíz (Director of Operations); Susana Torruella Leval (Chief Curator).

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1991

The collection storage area is renovated and improved. Accountant Javier Morales, a member of the Army Reserves, is called up for duty in Operation Desert Storm. Eventually, he returns safely to his position at El Museo.

JANUARY 24-MARCH 15

International Show for the End of World Hunger, a travelling exhibition organized by Artists to End Hunger, Inc., is presented. It highlights 41 works by 41 artists for auction including Horst Antes, Arman, Luis F. Benedit, Joseph Beuys, Fernando Botero, Louise Bourgeois, Bard Breivik, Michael Buthe, Santiago Cárdenas, Sandra Chia, Francisco Clemente, José Luis Cuevas, Walter Dahn, Agnes Denes, Antonio Dias, Omar Galliani, Leon Golub, Betty Goodwin, Richard Hamilton, Howard Hodgkin, Jorg Immendorff, Per Kirkeby, Ernesto León, Roy Lichtenstein, Marisol, Helmut Middendorf, Marta Minujín, Robert Morris, Claes Oldenburg, Nam June Paik, A.R. Penck, Robert Rauschenburg, Gerhard Richter, James Rosenquist, Susan Rothenberg, Antonio Saura, Antonio Seguí, Francisco Toledo, Andy Warhol, William T. Wiley, and Bill Woodrow, and is accompanied by a 107-page catalogue.

MARCH-AUGUST 1991

Portfolio Commemorating the First Centennial of the Abolition of Slavery is presented. It includes 9 prints by 9 artists: José R. Alicea, Augusto Marín, Myrna Báez, Rafael López del Campo, Antonio Maldonado, Antonio Martorell, Jaime Romano, José A. Rosa Castellanos, and José Antonio Torres Martinó.

MAY 2–AUGUST 4

Con to’ los Hierros: A Retrospective of the Work of Pepón Osorio, curated by Susana Torruella Leval, presents a retrospective of Osorio’s multi-media projects. The exhibit is accompanied by a 44-page catalogue. MAY 17–MAY 24 Cine de Mestizaje: The National Latino Film and Video Festival, curated by Chon Noriega and Marlina González- Tamrong, is presented at The Anthology of Film Archives, New York. It includes works by 80 Latino film and video artists from throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, and is accompanied by a 24-page catalogue.

WINTER 1991– AUGUST 2, 1992

Recent Acquisitions for the Permanent Collection is on view. The exhibit highlights 25 contemporary works recently acquired with funds from The Ford Foundation, The Metropolitan Life Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the De Witt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund by Cándida Alvarez, Diógenes Ballester, Robert Coane, Edgar Franceschi, Antonio Frasconi, Ismael Frigerio, Elizabeth Grajales, Marina Gutiérrez, Ana Mercedes Hoyos, Alfredo Jaar, Germán Ortíz Cadena, Pepón Osorio, Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, Tony Vélez, Nitza Tufiño, and Juan Sánchez. As well, it highlights selections from major gifts of traditional and pre-Columbian art, including over 90 Puerto Rican santos de palo from the Walter and Lucille Fillin Collection, and 50 clay vessels produced by the Taínos in the Dominican Republic from Brian and Florence Mahoney.

DECEMBER

Caras y Sueños/Faces and Dreams, a selection of work by children participating in the Education Program, is on view.

Letter from Javier Morales, El Museo’s Accountant and U.S. Army Reservist, from “Operation Desert Storm.”

Pepón Osorio’s El Velorio, installed in Con to’ los hierros (photo by Tony Vélez).

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1992

MAY 28–DECEMBER 2

Voyages to Freedom: 500 Years of Jewish History in Latin America and the Caribbean, curated by Kenneth Libo, is presented. This exhibit features story panels describing Jewish history in Latin America.

SEPTEMBER 1992– MARCH 1993

Antonio Martorell & Friends: La Casa de Todos Nosotros/A House for Us All, curated by Susana Torruella Leval, introduces the work of the Puerto Rican printmaker and installation artist, Antonio Martorell, to New York audiences. The exhibition is accompanied by a 57- page catalogue, and is presented at Cayey Campus of the University of Puerto Rico and La Casa del Libro in San Juan (Puerto Rico).

DECEMBER 1992–MARCH 1993

A House Party, an installation by children in conjunction with La Casa de Todos Nosotros, is on view.

Antonio Martorell’s La ceiba de Ponce, installed in La Casa de Todos Nosotros (photo by Frank Gimpaya).

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1993

MARCH

Director Petra Barreras del Río resigns; Chief Curator Susana Torruella Leval is appointed Interim Director. El Museo del Barrio temporarily closes its galleries in order to implement the following improvements: re-design of the entrance to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; the renovation of the admissions area and galleries; preparation for the installation of climate control systems; and the creation of a reading room. The work is completed in May 1994.

APRIL 15–JULY 15; OCTOBER 28–DECEMBER 9

Impresiones, Posters from the Collection of El Museo del Barrio, is presented first at Pace University/Pleasantville Campus, and then at Pace University/Manhattan Campus.

APRIL 21–MAY 4

From the Heart of a Child/Del corazón del niño, art created by children from PS 171 in El Museo del Barrio and Columbia University’s Caring Program, is presented at the Tweed Gallery, New York.

JUNE 3–SEPTEMBER 7

Posters by Antonio Martorell from the Collection of El Museo del Barrio, is presented in The President’s Office of Hostos Community College.

JULY 1–OCTOBER 2

Pa’lante: Political Works from the Collection of El Museo del Barrio, curated by Susana Torruella Leval, is presented at Lehman College Art Gallery. The exhibition includes works by Luis Camnitzer, Robert Coane, Frank Espada, Rafael Ferrer, Antonio Frasconi, Marina Gutiérrez, Lorenzo Homar, Carlos Irizarry, Alfredo Jaar, Lizette Lugo, Antonio Maldonado, Antonio Martorell, Leopoldo Méndez, Fernando Salicrup, Jos Sánchez, Jorge Soto, and Mariana Yampolsky, and is accompanied by a 14-page catalogue.

NOVEMBER

Susana Torruella Leval is appointed Executive Director of El Museo del Barrio. Torruella Leval serves as Executive Director from November 1993 through June 2002.

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1994

JANUARY 3–JANUARY 14

Los Aguinaldos del Infante, an exhibition in conjunction with El Museo del Barrio’s annual Three Kings Day Parade, is presented at Taller Boricua.

FEBRUARY–MARCH

Revelaciones: The Art of Manuel Álvarez Bravo, co-curated by Arthur Ollman of the Museum of Photographic Arts (Albuquerque, New Mexico) and Nissan Pérez of The Israel Museum, is presented. The travelling survey is accompanied by a 134-page catalogue.

SPRING

El Museo’s Board of Trustees organizes the first annual gala dinner, a major fundraising event that continues successfully to the present.

MAY 5

El Museo del Barrio inaugurates its renovated galleries, and celebrates its 25th anniversary, with a special, threepart exhibitions series (1994–1995) in which artists create works in dialogue with works in the Permanent Collection.

MAY 6–AUGUST 14

25th Anniversary Exhibition, Artists Talk Back: Visual Conversations with El Museo, Part I – Reclaiming History, curated by Susana Torruella Leval, is presented. The exhibition includes works by Francisco Alvarado Juárez, Myrna Báez, Charles Biasiny-Rivera, Félix Bonilla Norat, Rolando Briseño, Luis Camnitzer, Josely Carvalho, Norberto Cedeño, Robert Coane, Papo Colo, Rafael Colón Morales, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Juan De’Prey, Marcos Dimas, Judite Dos Santos, Raúl Farco, Rafael Ferrer, Luis Flores, Frank Gimpaya, Carlos Irizarry, Leandro Katz, Michael Lebrón, Augusto Marín, Hiram Maristany, Rafael Montañez Ortiz, José Morales, Lillian Mulero, Nestor Otero, Catalina Parra, Martín (Tito) Pérez, Liliana Porter, Sophie Rivera, Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, Angel Rodríguez Díaz, Freddy Rodríguez, Jorge Luís Rodríguez, Fernando Salicrup, Juan Sánchez, Paul Sierra, Jorge Soto Sánchez, Jorge Tacla, Nitza Tufiño, Rafael Tufiño, Kukuli Velarde, and Gillian M. Wainwright. The exhibition is accompanied by a 52- page catalogue.

MAY 24–JULY 16

The Latino Papers: Posters, Prints and Works on Paper from El Museo del Barrio’s Permanent Collection, curated by Lowery Stokes Sims and Luis Camnitzer, is presented at The Equitable Gallery, New York. The exhibition features 73 works on paper. In 1997, this exhibition is “reinterpreted” by Antonio Martorell and is travelled nationally for 3 years by The Gallery Association of New York State as A Walk Through the Paper Forest: Latino Prints and Drawings from El Museo del Barrio, accompanied by a 10-page brochure.

AUGUST

El Museo del Barrio presents its first long range plan in a document entitled Visiones, the culmination of the process begun in 1990. Visiones introduces a broader version of the museum’s mission statement that read: “El Museo del Barrio’s mission is to establish a forum that will preserve and project the dynamic cultural heritage of Puerto Ricans and all Latin Americans in the United States.” The 1994 mission statement includes “Latin Americans in the United States” for the first time.

SEPTEMBER 9–OCTOBER 30

25th Anniversary Exhibition, Artists Talk Back: Visual Conversations with El Museo, Part II – Recovering Popular Culture, curated by Susana Torruella Leval, is presented. It Includes works by Edna Acuña, Adál, Grace de Almeida, Eloy Blanco, Miguel Caraballo García, René David Chamizo, Felipe Colón Colón, Félix Cordero, Bruce Davidson, Jack Delano, Pablo Delano, José Franco, Ralph Fasanella, Adrián García- Borikongo, Marina Gutiérrez, Manuel Hernández Acevedo, Lewis Hine, Lorenzo Homar, Mary Kent, Helen Levitt, Manuel Macarrulla, Justo Martí, E. Vicente Martínez, Gregorio Marzán, María Mijares, Liora Mondlak, Pepón Osorio, Liza Papi, Miguel Pérez, Bob Rivera, José Rodríguez, Angelo Romano, Moses Ros, José Rosa Castellanos, Emilio Rosado Méndez, Luciano Rosario de Rodríguez, Edwin Rosskam, Edgar Ruíz Zapata, Regina Silveira, Carmelo Sobrino, Elaine Soto, Hilario Soto, Rafael Tufiño, Francisco Vidal, Pedro Villarini, Willie Velez, and Tom Webb. The exhibit includes a recreation, La Bodega, conceptualized by Arthur Tobier, and reconstructed by José Morales, Manuel Vega, and Pablo Delano. It is accompanied by a 67- page catalogue.

SEPTEMBER 1–30

Windows of Our Culture, the Hispanic Vision: an Exhibit of Hispanic Art, is presented at Merrill Lynch Campus Art Gallery.

OCTOBER 16, 1984– JANUARY 8, 1995

Masks and Santos from the Collection of El Museo del Barrio, is presented at the White Plains Public Library.

NOVEMBER

La Familia, organized by the Mexican Cultural Institute, is presented.

DECEMBER

The National Arts Stabilization Fund awards El Museo del Barrio a grant to improve and stabilize its financial position.

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1995

JANUARY 15–MARCH 5

Art of the Other México: Sources and Meanings, organized by the Mexican Fine Arts Center (Chicago) and curated by René H. Arceo-Frutos, Juana Guzmán, and Amalia Mesa-Bains is presented. A travelling exhibition of 98 paintings and sculptures by 20 artists of Mexican descent living in the U.S., it includes Célia Álvarez Muñoz, Judith F. Baca, Santa Contreras Barraza, Carlos Alfredo Cortéz, Nicolás de Jesús, Margaret García, Rupert García, Adán Hernández, Ester Hernández, Luis Jiménez Jr., Carmen Lomas Garza, Frank López-Motnyk, César Augusto Martínez, Marcos Raya, Patricia Rodríguez, Peter Rodríguez, Rubén Trejo, John Valdez, Patssi Valdez, and David Zamora Casa.

MARCH

Fatima Bercht, former Director of Visual Arts of the Americas Society, New York, is hired as Curator.

APRIL 7–AUGUST 13

25th Anniversary Exhibition, Artists Talk Back: Visual Conversations with El Museo, Part III – Reaffirming Spirituality, curated by Susana Torruella Leval, is presented. It includes works by Ray Abeyta, Rodolfo Abularach, José Alicea, Juan Alindato, Cándida Álvarez, Diógenes Ballester, Tony Bechara, Norma Bessouet, Juan Boza, The Cabán Family, Carlos Cabán, Flores Cabán, Tomás Cabo, Zoilo Cajigas, Tony Capellán, Rimer Cardillo, Norberto Cedeño, Papo Colo, Rafael Colón Morales, Esperanza Cortés, George Crespo, Jaime Davidovich, Marcos Dimas, Juan Downey, Rico Espinet, Ana Flores, Edgar Franceschi, Álvaro A. García, Domingo García, Joanne Gover Yoshida, Carlos Gutiérrez Solana, Miriam Hernández, Lorenzo Homar, Arturo Lindsay, Ramón Martínez, Antonio Martorell, Ana Mendieta, Raquelín Mendieta, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Osvaldo Mesa, Rafael Montañez Ortiz, Carlos Ortíz Sueños, Néster Otero, Germán Pérez, Ernesto Pujol, Carlos Raquel Rivera, Genaro Rivera, Gloria Rodríguez, José Rosa, Federico Ruíz, Juan Sánchez, Fanny Sanín, Andrés Serrano, Jennifer Sloan, Jorge Soto Sánchez, Jorge Toro, Rubem Valentim, José Antonio Vázquez, Manuel Vega, and Pablo Yglesias. It is accompanied by a 55-page catalogue.

SEPTEMBER 7–DECEMBER 17

Trampa de los espíritus/Spirit Trap: Selections from Reaffirming Spirituality, curated by Fatima Bercht, is presented.

SEPTEMBER 7, 1995– JANUARY 7, 1996

Four Corners/Cuatro Esquinas: Recent Paintings and Drawings by José Morales, curated by Fatima Bercht, is on view. A one-person exhibition of 10 paintings, it is accompanied by a 6-page brochure.

SEPTEMBER 7, 1995– JANUARY 7, 1996

AMANAPLANACANALPANAMA, a site-specific installation about the history of the Panama Canal by Luis Camnitzer is on view.

SEPTEMBER 18–SEPTEMBER 27

Selections from El Museo’s Permanent Collection, including 6 works from the Permanent Collection, is presented in the AVON’s offices.

SEPTEMBER 23–OCTOBER 2

Posters from El Museo del Barrio’s Collection, highlighting El Museo’s fine silkscreen posters from Puerto Rico, is presented in NYNEX’s offices.

25th Anniversary Exhibitions: Artists Talk Back: Visual Conversations with El Museo: 1994 Part I: Reclaiming History, Jorge Luis Rodriguez’s A Monument to 500 Years of the Cultural Reversal of America (photo by: T Chas Erickson). 1994 Part II: Recovering Popular Culture, La Bodega: An Island in the City (photo by: T Chas Erickson). 1995 Part III: Reaffirming Spirituality, Federico Ruíz’s Revelations #2 (photo by: T Chas Erickson).

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1996

El Museo del Barrio’s Board of Trustees creates a Mission Task Force composed of Board and staff members to reconsider the wording of the 1994 mission statement.

JANUARY 25–APRIL 7

Historia de la isla: Graphic works by Puerto Rican Artists 1968–1980, curated by Nellie Escalante, is presented. The exhibition highlights prints and posters by 15 Puerto Rican artists in El Museo del Barrio’s collection whose themes address political issues pertinent to the island of Puerto Rico.

JANUARY 25–APRIL 7

Recent Acquisitions: Works from El Museo’s Collection, curated by Fatima Bercht, is on view. The exhibition presents notable acquisitions from the past five years, including a large-scale installation, paintings, drawings, prints, and a group of masks.

JANUARY 25–APRIL 7

Contemporánea: Portrait, a sitespecific installation by Carla Preiss, is on view. Curated by Fatima Bercht, this inaugurates the Contemporánea series (designed by Susana Torruella Leval), dedicated to site-specific, commissioned installations selected for their polemic and innovative format.

JANUARY 25–MAY 5

Leandro Katz: Two Projects/A Decade, curated by Julia P. Herzberg, is on view. The exhibit presents The Catherwood Project and Project for the Day You’ll Love Me, and is accompanied by a 24-page catalogue.

APRIL 18–AUGUST 4, 1996

Image and Memory: Photography from Latin America, 1880–1992, curated by Wendy Watriss, Artistic Director of FotoFest’s International Festival of Photography, Houston, organized and circulated by ICI (Independent Curators, Inc.), is on view. The travelling exhibition includes 141 photographs from 9 Latin American countries (Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, El Salvador, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru) and it is accompanied by a 450-page book. It includes photographs by: Alicia Damico, Sara Facio, Eduardo Gil, Annemarie Heinrich, Oscar Pintor, Grete Stern, Juan Travnik, Mário Cravo Neto, Marc Ferrez, Penna Prearo, Miguel Río Branco, Cássio Vasconcellos, Pedro Vásquez, Benjamín de la Calle, Fernell Franco, Becky Mayer, Jorge Obando, Jorge Ortíz, Melitón Rodríguez, Juan Camilo Uribe, Juan José de Jesús Yas, Luis González Palma, Flor Garduño, Crisanto Cabrera, Filiberto Cabrera, Martín Chambi, Juan Manuel Figueroa- Aznar, Sebastián Rodríguez, Carlos Vargas, Miguel Vargas, Mario Marotta, Juan Angel Urruzola, Alexander Apóstol, Fran Beaufrand, Luis Brito, Nelson Garrido, Edgar Moreno, Vasco Szinetar, and others.

JUNE

The Mission Task Force rewords the 1994 mission statement. The 1996 mission statement reads, “El Museo del Barrio will collect, preserve, exhibit, interpret and promote the artistic heritage of Latin Americans, primarily in the United States.”

JUNE 11–SEPTEMBER 15

Contemporánea: Working Shoes, a site-specific installation by Ana Busto, curated by Fatima Bercht, is on view.

AUGUST 15–SEPTEMBER 8

Eloy Blanco: Pursuits in Painting, curated by Fatima Bercht, is on view.

AUGUST 15–OCTOBER 13

ADAL: Out of Focus Nuyoricans, curated by Fatima Bercht, is on view.

SEPTEMBER 27, 1996– JANUARY 12, 1997

The Liberated Print: The Portfolio in Puerto Rican Graphics, organized by the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and curated by Dr. Teresa Tió, is presented. The exhibition includes prints by José R. Alicea, Luis Alonso, Angel Casiano, Wilfredo Chiesa, Carlos Dávila Rinaldi, Juan Díaz, Rafael Ferrer, Consuelo Gotay, Anaida Hernández, Manuel Hernández Acevedo, Luis Hernández Cruz, Lorenzo Homar, Antonio Maldonado, Victor Maldonado, Carlos Marichal, Antonio Martorell, Marta Matos, José Meléndez Contreras, Héctor Méndez Caratini, Roberto Moya, Luis Muñoz Lee, Ida Nieves Collazo, María de Mater O’Neill, Francisco Palacios, Carlos Raquel Rivera, Rubén Aponte, Rafael Rivera Rose, Félix Rodríguez Báez, José Rosa Castellanos, Nelson Sambolín, Samuel Sánchez, Carmelo Sobrino, Julio Suárez, José Antonio Torres Martinó, Robert Tort, Rafael Tufiño, Isabel Vázquez, and Eduardo Vera Cortés. It is accompanied by a 70-page catalogue. FALL El Museo del Barrio is awarded a multi-year Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Collections Accessibility Initiative, which, over five years, funds a series of exhibitions, publications, education programs and outreach activities that make El Museo’s Permanent Collection more accessible to a larger public.

NOVEMBER 1996–MARCH 1999

Santos: Sculptures Between Heaven and Earth, curated by Fatima Bercht, inaugurates a five-year series of exhibitions entitled, The Caribbean and Latin American Traditional Arts Series, which highlight El Museo del Barrio’s prominent collection of santos de palo. The first part focuses on santos made in Puerto Rico. These installations rotate each Christmas to feature the Three Kings, the Nacimiento, and related iconographies.

NOVEMBER

Carolina Ponce de León, former Curator of Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Bogotá, is hired as Curator. Fatima Bercht becomes a part-time Associate Curator.

DECEMBER 1996– APRIL 13, 1997

Contemporánea: The Persistence of Sorrow, a site-specific installation by María Elena González, curated by Fatima Bercht, and accompanied by a 6-page brochure, is on view.

Pattern and drawing for Three Kings Day Parade costumes, designed by Mario César Romero.

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1997

JANUARY

Deborah Cullen is hired as Curatorial Assistant; Noel Valentín is hired as Registrar.

FEBRUARY 13–APRIL 13

The Conceptual Trend: Six Artists from Mexico City, curated by Rubén Gallo and Terence Gower, is presented. The exhibition includes works by Marco Arce, Sylvia Gruner, Daniella Rosell, Melanie Smith, Pablo Vargas Lugo, and Yishai Yusidman.

FEBRUARY 13–APRIL 13

The Veiled Mirrors: Recent Works by Alicia Creus, curated by Fatima Bercht, presents textiles and drawings. It is accompanied by a 6-page brochure.

FEBRUARY 13–APRIL 13

Bio* (as in Biography, Biology and Biogenesis), curated by Carolina Ponce de León, is presented. The exhibition includes mixed media works by Alejandro Castaño, Ana Claudia Múnera, and Pablo Van Wong, and is accompanied by a 28-page catalogue. The exhibit is also presented at the Colombian Consulate, New York.

MAY 7–SEPTEMBER 7

Re-Aligning Vision: Alternative Currents in South American Drawing, curated by Mari Carmen Ramírez and Edith A. Gibson for the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery (Austin, TX), debuts at El Museo. The travelling exhibition includes drawings by Carlos Alonso, José Balmes, Arturo Barrio, Luis Bendit, Herman Braun-Vega, Marcelo Bonevardi, Waltercio Caldas, Juan Calzadilla, Ernesto Deira, Antonio Dias, Juan Downey, Mercedes Estévez, León Ferrari, Héctor Fuenmayor, José Gamarra, Gego, Anna Bella Geiger, Rubens Gerchman, Beatriz González, Haroldo González, Alberto Greco, Carmela Gross, Alberto Heredia, Romulo Macció, Ivens Machado, Anna María Maiolino, Antonio Manuel, Cildo Meireles, Oscar Muñoz, Luis Felipe Noé, Guillermo Nuñez, Marie Oresanz, Liliana Porter, Raquel Rabinovich, Nelson Ramos, Emilio Renart, Luisa Richter, Miguel Angel Ríos, Carlos Ríos, Miguel Angel Rojas, Mira Schendel, Regina Silveira, Tunga, and Jorge de la Vega, and is accompanied by a 237-page catalogue.

SEPTEMBER 27, 1997– MAY 3, 1998

Taíno: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean, organized by Project Directors Fatima Bercht and Estrellita Brodsky, and Guest Curated by Dr. Ricardo Alegría, Dr. José Juan Arrom, and Dr. Dicey Taylor, is presented. The most comprehensive exhibition on Taíno culture to date, it includes 139 objects from 8 institutions, including El Museo del Barrio, the American Museum of Natural History, and the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (New York); National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.); Museo Antropológico Montané de la Universidad de la Habana (Cuba); Fundación Centro Cultural, Museo Arqueológico Regional, Altos de Chavón, Fundación García Arévalo, and Museo del Hombre Dominicano (Dominican Republic); Museo Nazionale Preistorico ed Etnografico “L. Pigorini” (Rome, Italy); and Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (Puerto Rico). Accompanied by both a 190-page anthology (the book is co-published with The Monacelli Press, NY), as well as a 56-page exhibition catalogue, El Museo launches its website in conjunction with this project (www.elmuseo.org).

SEPTEMBER 27, 1997– JANUARY 11, 1998

The Taíno Legacy, curated by Fatima Bercht, is presented. Photographs, videos, and public programs encourage understanding of the culture’s continuity.

SEPTEMBER 27, 1997– JANUARY 11, 1998

Contemporánea: Coaybay/Site of the Afterlife, a site-specific installation by Jorge Crespo, curated by Fatima Bercht, is on view.

SEPTEMBER 27, 1997– MARCH 31, 1998

El Batey: The Goya Family Activity Center provides an interactive area for children and school groups to work on activities related to Taíno mythology, craftsmanship, and science.

Taíno: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean book cover.

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1998

JANUARY 29–MARCH 29

Brian Nissen: Chinampas, coorganized by the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, is presented. It is accompanied by a 6-page brochure.

JANUARY 29–JUNE 28

Contemporánea: Recurrent Memories, a site-specific installation by Diamantina González, curated by Fatima Bercht, and accompanied by a 6-page brochure, is on view.

APRIL 17–JUNE 28

FOCOS: Carmen Herrera: The Black and White Paintings 1951–1989, curated by Carolina Ponce de León, presents 22 hard edge, geometric abstract acrylic paintings. The exhibition is accompanied by a 32- page catalogue.

MAY 30–OCTOBER 25

FOCOS: Beatriz González: What An Honor to Be With You At This Historic Moment, Works 1965–1997, curated by Carolina Ponce de León, is presented. Including over 55 paintings, drawings, and painted sculptural works, the exhibition is accompanied by an 80-page catalogue.

JUNE

Artists, educators, and community leaders with the task force, Puerto Ricans for the Next Millenium (PRFNM), communicate their disappointment regarding the omission of “Puerto Ricans” in the 1996 mission statement. PRFNM requests that Puerto Ricans, as the founding community, be specifically mentioned in the mission statement, and that El Museo preserve itself as a Puerto Rican institution. Discussions among the Trustees and staff are renewed on the wording of the 1996 mission statement.

JUNE 9–JUNE 28

El Mexterminator is presented in collaboration with Creative Time. Featuring 3 performances and an installation by Guillermo Gómez- Peña, Roberto Sifuentes, and Sara Shelton Mann, the project is accompanied by a 6-page brochure.

JULY 16–OCTOBER 25

Contemporánea: So Quiet in Here, a site-specific installation by Rubén Torres Llorca, curated by Carolina Ponce de León, and accompanied by a 6-page brochure, is on view.

SUMMER

Major renovations of Teatro Heckscher begin with the restoration of the murals.

SEPTEMBER

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awards El Museo del Barrio a General Operating Support Grant for outstanding professionalism and services.

SEPTEMBER 24–OCTOBER 25

Caribbean Classics: Fernando Ortiz and the History of Afro-Cuban Music, organized by Inter Americas/Society of Arts and Letters of the Americas, presenting books, sound recordings, and musical instruments, is on view.

NOVEMBER 14, 1998– FEBRUARY 7, 1999

Contemporánea: Domino/Dominó, a site-specific installation by Bibiana Suárez, curated by Carolina Ponce de León, and accompanied by a 6-page brochure, is on view.

NOVEMBER 14, 1998– FEBRUARY 28, 1999

The Art of Jack Delano, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Travelling Exhibition Service, brings together the complete range of Jack Delano’s (b. 1914–d. 1997) artistic endeavors. The nationally-touring exhibition features photographs from the Farm Security Administration (FSA), film stills, posters, and book illustrations, and is accompanied by a 2-page brochure.

NOVEMBER 14, 1998– FEBRUARY 28, 1999

Gods, Spirits and Legends: Twentieth Century Art in El Salvador, curated by Dr. Mariano Castro Magaña, and organized in collaboration with Friends from El Salvador, is presented. The exhibition includes paintings by Negra Álvarez (Margarita Álvarez de Martínez), San Avilés (Ernesto Avilés), Mayra Barraza, Licry Bicard (Lillian Cristina Andreu de Bicard), Antonio Bonilla, Marcelino Carballo, Carlos Cañas, Benjamín Cañas, Roberto Huerzo, Valero Lecha, Ana María Martínez, Jose Mejía Vides, Rosa Mena Valenzuela, César Menéndez, Victor Rodríguez Preza, Salarrué (Salvador Salazar Arrué), and Benjamin Saúl. It is accompanied by a 176- page book, and an 8-page brochure.

NOVEMBER 14, 1998– FEBRUARY 28, 1999

Casitas: Gardens of Reclamation, presents photographic documentation of casitas in New York, by Ejlat Feuer and Daniel Winterbottom. Carolina Ponce de León moves to San Francisco, California, where she serves as Executive Director of Galería de la Raza. Fatima Bercht returns to a full-time position as Chief Curator. Deborah Cullen, now Assistant Curator, becomes Curator. Margarita Aguilar is hired as Curatorial Assistant.

El Museo’s third and present logo, designed in 1998 by Jonathan Wajskol.

Guillermo Gómez-Peña (at right) in El Mexterminator (photo by Karl Peterson)

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1999

PRFNM continues to advocate that Puerto Ricans be acknowledged in El Museo del Barrio’s mission statement. Debates continue regarding the expansion of El Museo’s mission statement to include Latin Americans.

FEBRUARY 24–JUNE 30

Contemporánea: Cinema Kinesis, a site-specific installation by Marta Chilindrón, curated by Deborah Cullen and Carolina Ponce de León, and accompanied by a 6-page brochure, is on view.

APRIL 9–JUNE 30, 1999

El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files/The Selected Files, conceived and cocurated by Deborah Cullen and Carolina Ponce de León, opens. The SFiles is El Museo del Barrio’s biennial group exhibition that presents new and innovative Puerto Rican, Latino, Caribbean and Latin American artists living and working in the New York area, selected from their submissions to El Museo’s Artists Archives. The Bienal activates El Museo’s relationship with a wide range of emerging artists in the metropolitan region. The first installation highlights works by 23 artists, including Pedro Abreu, Desirée Álvarez, Monika Bravo, Luis Carle, Esteban Chávez S., Fernando Colón González, José Luis Cortés, André Cypriano, James de La Vega, Mary Teresa Giancoli, Laurence Gomez, Berta Jottar, Ronaldo Macedo, Arnaldo Morales, Iván Navarro, Enoc Pérez, Jaime Permuth (in collaboration with Jennifer Dodge), Alejandro Quiroga Vial, Rita Rivera, Riché Rodríguez, Luis Roldán, Miriam Romais, and Julio Valdez. It is accompanied by a 32-page catalogue.

APRIL 9–OCTOBER 24

The second major re-installation of the Caribbean and Latin American Traditional Arts Series, highlighting two different religious practices—popular Catholicism and Santería—and their interaction in the New World is presented. Curated by Fatima Bercht, this included Puerto Rican Santos de Palo: Sculptures Between Heaven and Earth; Altares de los Orishas: Afro- Caribbean Sacred Spaces (with an altar dedicated to Yemayá by Salvador “Junito” Ortíz); and Buscando Milagros/Searching for Miracles: Photographs by Héctor Méndez Caratini.

JULY–AUGUST

El Museo’s West and East Galleries are closed while HVAC ducting is installed.

JULY 8–AUGUST 21

The Site/Studio/Street Festival presents contemporary, off-site projects, linked to the Bienal and held throughout the summer, that explore the cultural creativity of El Barrio. An announcement in the form of a map locates murals, artists’ studios, and cultural centers in El Barrio. Yasmín Ramírez and Julia P. Herzberg serve as Consulting Curators during 2000 and 2001.

SEPTEMBER 11–OCTOBER 29

Dead Time: Elizam Escobar, Antonio Martorell, and Dread Scott, a collaboration with Taller Boricua, is presented at Centro Cultural Julia de Burgos.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999– JANUARY 9, 2000

Pepón Osorio: TRANSBORICUA, curated by Julia P. Herzberg, is presented. Preceded by Phase I, during the summer of 1999, in which Tertulias were held in El Barrio, and Phase II, in which the work was presented in Youngworld Department Store on 106th Street and 3rd Avenue, in August and September. In Phase III, the work is presented at El Museo. The exhibition is accompanied by a 6-page brochure.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999– JANUARY 9, 2000

Pressing the Point: Parallel Expressions in the Graphic Arts of the Chicano and Puerto Rican Movements, co-curated by Henry C. Estrada and Yasmín Ramírez, is presented. Prints, posters, and other works on paper that express the affinities between U.S. Puerto Rican and Chicano graphic arts movements (1960s–1970s) are exhibited. The exhibition includes prints by Ignacio Aguirre, Myrna Báez, Leonard Castellanos, Yreina D. Cervantez, Carlos A. Cortéz Koyokuikatl, David “Davo” Cruz, Marcos Dimas, Richard S. Duardo, Sandra Maria Estéves, Tony Evora, Ricardo Favela, Juan R. Fuentes, Adrián Gacía, Arturo García Bustos, Manuel García, Rupert García, Ester Hernández, Lorenzo Homar, Carlos Irizarry, Luis Jiménez, Bill Langley & Guillermo Vásquez, Yolanda M. López, Linda Lucero, Antonio Maldonado, César Augusto Martínez, Antonio Martorell, Joaquín Mercado, Leopoldo Méndez, Malaquías Montoya, Isidoro Ocampo, Pablo O’Higgins, Amado Maurilio Peña, Jr., José Guadalupe Posada, Michael Ríos, Carlos Raquel Rivera, Rafael Rivera García, Rafael Rivera Rosa, José A. Rosa Castellanos, Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF), Fernando Salicrup, Nelson Sambolín, Jorge Soto Sánchez, Nitza Tufiño, Rafael Tufiño, Rafael Tufiño II, Manuel Vega, Xavier Viramontes, Alfredo Zalce, Revista Chicano-Riqueña, and others. Accompanied by a 56-page catalogue, the exhibition was later presented at the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin, TX (June 12–August 13, 2000).

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999– JANUARY 9, 2000

Juan Sánchez: Printed Convictions. Prints and Related Works on Paper, organized by the Jersey City Museum and curated by Alejandro Anreus is presented; Julia P. Herzberg is the on-site Curator for El Museo’s presentation of almost 50 graphics and drawings created over 15 years. The exhibiton is accompanied by a 64-page catalogue.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999– JANUARY 9, 2000

A Tribute to En Foco: 25 Years of Making Photographic History, curated by Charles Biasiny-Rivera and Miriam Romais, is on view. A digital presentation summarizing 25 years of En Foco, the presentation includes 75 works from over 75 photographers.

OCTOBER 31, 1999– JANUARY 14, 2001

The third re-installation of the Caribbean and Latin American Traditional Arts Series, highlighting the relationship between Puerto Rican and Mexican devotional arts, is on view. This includes Between Heaven and Earth: Devotional Art from Puerto Rico and Mexico, curated by Fatima Bercht; and Our Lady of the Apocalypse: The Virgin of Guadalupe and Other Miracles, curated by Sophia Vackimes.

OCTOBER 31–NOVEMBER 2

Día de los Muertos Altar, organized by Miriam de Uriarte, Director of Education.

OCTOBER 31–DECEMBER 7

¡Vivan los Muertos! curated by Eduardo Pineda and Deborah Lawrence, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, is on view. The exhibition presents 16 works by California Bay area Chicano artists inspired by the celebration of Día de los Muertos.

DECEMBER 12, 1999– JANUARY 6, 2000

Nacimiento, curated by Fatima Bercht, presents 21 large-scale santos de palo created by 21 Puerto Rican santeros.

DECEMBER

El Museo del Barrio receives the first endowment grant in El Museo del Barrio’s history,from the Ford Foundation.

Altares de los Orishas: Afro-Caribbean Sacred Spaces (photo by Carlos Ortíz).

Inauguration of El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files/The Selected Files, featuring courtyard “drawing” by James de la Vega (photo by Carlos Ortíz).

Director Susana Toruella Leval with artist Antonio Martorell, Three Kings Day parade (photo by Carlos Ortíz).

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